Free Web NovelChapter 64: Relief? Grief!
Rex
There was no use taking Gessia with us as I instantly transformed into my wolf form to get a stronger hold on her scent in time, my body shifting without hesitation as urgency pushed through me.
I could hear Axel and Thor do the exact same thing right behind me as I darted through the park and into the forest, ignoring the looks that fell on us as we passed like they didn’t matter at all.
Her scent was familiar but faint, something that worried me as I ran faster through the forest at the highest speed I could reach, pushing myself harder with every step.
Thor and Axel were just as fast, and I could tell they were also following her scent in the wind, but the further we went, the more displeased I became.
How had we not noticed that she ran, were our scouts and guards truly that useless that they couldn’t see a lone woman leaving, because I intended to deal with them the moment we got back.
But beyond that was the thought that Raven had the audacity to run from me, a thought that only made my anger rise further as I pushed myself harder.
I owned her, and I was the reason she was still alive, and after what she did, until she died, she was practically my slave, something I thought she understood clearly.
To think that she believed she could get away from me only made me run faster than before, wanting to be the first to catch her and make her understand her mistake.
Did she know that the punishment for deserters was death, I wondered, already thinking about how we were going to explain this to the pack when we brought her back.
Fool... that’s all you are... a fool.
She should thank me, because without me her fate would have been much worse, just like what I did to her entire family.
I could have had her thrown into the dungeons, but out of the graciousness of my heart, I didn’t, and yet she still chose to act like this.
Was it too much to expect to be served, especially when I had even given her a way out, recalling that I promised I would set her free if she was ever no longer of use to us.
"Graa—!" I growled under my breath as my head snapped up, my nose flaring in the air as I caught her scent stronger this time.
There was blood mixed in it.
I came to a halt as my gaze fell on the remains of a small beast that had been ripped into pieces, the sight making my expression harden.
"Grr—!" Axel growled from the right, clearly stating that she could have been eaten by a beast, and the thought alone made my mood worse.
Her scent was lower now, weaker, and it took longer than I wanted to find it again, but we didn’t stop.
Still, we found it, with Axel darting ahead suddenly, moving faster than before with an urgency that I didn’t expect but understood.
She was the only way we could get stronger if Gessia was to be believed, and allowing her to die would mean that we would forever have to fear the Alpha of the Moon Burn pack.
The same Alpha who had crushed our pack, killed our people, and taken others as slaves without hesitation.
Axel’s steps became faster, and it was easy to match his pace as I heard Thor following closely behind me, his presence steady and familiar.
I barely paid him any attention as all of us noticed the same thing at the exact same time.
Her scent in the wind was lighter but fresh.
She was close.
But as we moved further, I frowned slightly as another scent reached me, something unfamiliar but clear.
Human.
The moment I recognized it, a deep growl rose from the depth of my chest as I increased my pace with fury, already aware of the anger that would follow if she had chosen to go toward them.
If she had gone to the human village, then I would find her even if I had to burn half of it down.
She was mine.
Mine to use... mine to control... for the rest of her life.
She would spend every moment making up for her sins, for killing my pack members and my family.
In this life, I knew I did not deserve happiness or peace while others were dead.
And neither did she.
I ran faster, my eyes focused ahead as a scream suddenly tore through the air.
"Get off me!"
The voice was familiar, and it brought a brief sense of relief to my chest as I turned sharply toward it, darting in its direction without hesitation.
She was alive.
That was the most important thing.
The next thing that mattered came when I got close enough to see what was happening, and though I thought I was fast, Axel moved even faster.
The men heard us coming from a distance, our growls loud enough to reach them as they stumbled to their feet and grabbed their weapons.
But my attention was already locked on the one who stood half-naked, holding his trousers with one hand and a sword with the other.
"Wolves! We should attack together!" he screamed, but the others were already panicking, their fear clear and familiar in a way I had seen before.
What made it worse was that the other three could see that we were focused on only one of them, and they began to back away.
"You... you pussies!" he screamed.
Axel reached him first.
He tore into him without hesitation, ripping him in half, and I took the other half, tearing into him further until there was nothing left of him.
He tasted like meat.
Nothing more.
I let out a low growl as I turned in their direction, only to see that Thor had already reached the others, taking bites out of them as he pleased.
He was playing with them.
Dragging it out.
But I didn’t care.
My attention shifted.
Back to her.
Raven was on the ground.
Her clothes were torn into pieces, half of her chest exposed as she struggled to cover herself, her body trembling as she tried to move.
She was a mess.
Covered in mud, her black hair matted with leaves, sticks, and dirt, and yet her blue eyes still held that shine that made her look... pretty.
Her eyes were red from crying, tears still falling as she slowly raised her head to look at me.
I expected relief.
Gratitude.
Maybe even a small sense of safety.
It was clear that we arrived just in time.
They hadn’t touched her yet.
I could smell him on her, but he hadn’t mated with her, something that would have driven me into a rage all over again.
But instead of relief—
All I saw was despair.
Her gaze met mine, and there was nothing but hopelessness in her eyes as she let out a small chuckle, her lips curving into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
It was bitter.
Conflicted.
Like she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
And that—
That annoyed me.
Because I remembered clearly that she had run from us willingly, foolish enough to believe that there was somewhere better than this.
Even without her mistake and the consequences that followed, she was weak.
And the rule of nature remained the same.
The weak served the strong.
To survive, she would need to bond with a strong male who could provide for her and her children.
Thor’s growl pulled my attention away as I turned toward him, watching as he hunted down the remaining three one after the other, dragging out their deaths with slow, deliberate pleasure.
He enjoyed it. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
He liked watching them struggle, beg, and break before he finally killed them.
And for all his indifference, it was clear that he still found some form of satisfaction in watching humans suffer.
