The black-haired boy didn't answer immediately. Instead, he finished tying his shoe with a sharp, almost aggressive tug before finally turning to face Raul.
His golden eyes locked onto him, sharp and piercing.
"Why did you venture into the forest alone, Raul?" His voice was deceptively calm, but the frustration simmering beneath was impossible to miss.
"You know this isn't our territory. Do you have any idea what could've happened if I hadn't arrived in time?" His voice dropped, low and dangerous. "If those hunters had killed you?"
Raul's head lowered, his shoulders instinctively hunching as a small, involuntary whimper slipped past his lips—almost canine in nature. His brown hair fell over his forehead as he swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," he mumbled. "Duko just wanted to stretch and familiarize himself with the new environment. I couldn't say no to him, you know."
The one addressed as 'Your Highness' clenched his jaw, golden eyes flashing with barely restrained frustration.
"So you disobeyed my instructions just to please your wolf?" His voice was razor-sharp, each word laced with irritation. "We're talking about your life here, Raul—both of your lives, dammit."
Raul immediately shook his head, voice rising in urgency. "Of course not, Your Highness! I swear, it won't happen again."
The black-haired boy exhaled sharply, his annoyance still evident. His fingers flexed at his sides before he ran a hand through his dark hair, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
Raul glanced around, his voice lowering. "At least we know we're in the right place now. He truly operates here in Ridgehaven, it seems."
"And now they know that I'm here," the black-haired boy shot back, his tone edged with displeasure.
Raul's stomach twisted with guilt. "I'm so sorry, Your Highness," he said, his voice earnest. "But we still have some advantage. They only know your wolf form, not your human one."
The black-haired boy's glare was unrelenting. "Don't you get it? The fact that they know I'm here puts Lady Ulva in danger. Wherever I am, they'll assume she is too."
Raul's throat tightened at the weight of those words. He knew how much Lady Ulva meant to him—how far he'd go to protect her.
The black-haired boy remained silent for a moment, the tension between them thick, suffocating. Then, finally, his golden eyes met Raul's again, the sharpness in them giving way to something more controlled.
"Please, stop with the 'Your Highness,' Raul." His voice was firm, yet quieter this time. "We're here on a mission. Start addressing me by my given name."
Raul hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, Your High—uhm, Marrok." He corrected himself, though the name felt foreign on his tongue.
Marrok sighed, shaking his head before grabbing the now-empty duffle bag and turning to leave. His strides were purposeful, but tension clung to him like a second skin, each step carrying unspoken weight.
But just as his foot lifted for the second step, Raul's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"You still haven't answered my question, Your—ehm, Marrok."
Marrok halted, his golden eyes narrowing as he turned back. "What question?"
Raul's gaze flickered toward the trees, hesitation flickering across his face before he met Marrok's stare again.
"What was that all about earlier?" he repeated, his voice quieter this time. "Why was Zeev acting that way toward the human girl?"
Marrok's expression darkened, his jaw tightening as Raul pressed on.
"And that warning bark when I tried to thank her for distracting the hunters…" Raul frowned in thought. "It was as if he was—" He paused, searching for the right word before finally settling on, "possessive of her."
Marrok let out a sharp exhale, rubbing his temples as frustration gnawed at him. "I don't know what's come over him." His golden eyes darkened, reflecting the unease simmering beneath his skin.
Raul wasn't about to let it go. "And that lick?" he pressed, his tone edged with disbelief. "He even let her pet him—like a damn dog. Zeev never lets anyone do that. Not even Lady Ulva."
That part stung. Raul knew it, and so did Marrok.
Raul crossed his arms, watching him carefully. "What's really going on, Marrok?"
Marrok clenched his jaw, exhaling sharply through his nose. "Seriously, I don't know." His fists tightened at his sides. "Zeev refuses to speak to me." A bitter chuckle escaped him. "You know how he is—he barely talks to me at all. He just does whatever the hell he wants."
The frustration in his voice was raw, unfiltered. Zeev had always been distant, defiant, unpredictable. But this… this was different.
Raul frowned, his teasing nature momentarily fading. "You need to make peace with your wolf, Marrok. You need to figure out why he does what he does. There has to be a reason for every one of his actions. At least I believe so."
Marrok shot him a tired glare. "You think I'm not trying?" His voice was edged with irritation. "I've tried everything. But most of the time, all I get is silence."
Raul smirked, tilting his head slightly. "Maybe he's just trying to get under your skin as usual." Then, his smirk widened into something more mischievous. "Or maybe…" He let the words hang, his eyes glinting with amusement.
Marrok sighed, already bracing himself. "What?"
Raul's grin sharpened. "He did it to piss off Lady Ulva. If she catches that new scent on you, she's going to throw a fit." He chuckled. "I wouldn't put it past Zeev to do it just to get under her skin."
Marrok pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling sharply. "Let's just go. We need to unpack and get our things in order."
He turned on his heel and started walking, Raul falling into step beside him. Though the tension between them had eased, an unshakable heaviness lingered in the air.
Then, abruptly, Marrok stopped.
Raul nearly walked into him, pulling up short just in time. He blinked. "What's wrong?" His posture shifted, senses sharpening as he scanned the area. "Do you sense danger?"
Marrok's gaze was distant, thoughtful. "There's something strange about that girl."
Raul frowned. "What girl?"
Marrok shot him a pointed look. "The human girl, of course."
"Oh." Raul relaxed slightly, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I guess she is a bit strange. I mean, she actually got Zeev to lower his guard and let her touch him, and she didn't even seem fazed by wolves as massive as us."
A small chuckle escaped him. "Did you see the way she was throwing things at the hunters?" He grinned. "She's kinda brave. Do you think—"
"That's not what I mean." Marrok cut him off sharply.
Raul blinked, his grin faltering. "Oh." Now, he was genuinely confused. "Then what do you mean?"
Marrok's golden eyes darkened as he uttered the words that sent a shiver down Raul's spine. "Her mind."
Raul stiffened. "Her mind?" he echoed.
Marrok nodded slowly, his voice quiet but firm. "It's too quiet. As silent as a void."
"Maybe she wasn't thinking anything then," Raul offered cautiously, unsure if he was grasping the gravity of what Marrok was saying.
Marrok shook his head, frustration creeping into his tone. "That's impossible. Considering the situation she was in, her mind should've been racing." He glanced at Raul, his gaze sharp. "But for some reason, it was quiet—too quiet. No living being's mind should be that still."
Raul remained silent, struggling to find a response. He knew about Marrok's gift—how he could read people's minds like an open book. So if he was saying this, it wasn't something to brush off. Is that even possible?
Before he could voice his thoughts, the abrupt ring of Marrok's phone shattered the silence.
Marrok sighed, reaching into the duffle bag that had seemed empty. He pulled the phone out and checked the caller ID. His lips curved slightly. "Ulva must be getting worried." His tone softened, affectionate. "Let's go."
He shoved the phone back into his bag, and they continued walking.
But as they moved, a voice—raw and biting—echoed in Marrok's mind. "You damn idiot." Zeev's voice cut through, laced with frustration and anger.
Marrok's brows furrowed, irritation flaring in his chest. "Why does he hate me so much?"
→→→→→→→
The four hunters stumbled into the outskirts of Ridgehaven, their breaths ragged, bodies still trembling from their near-death escape. The dense night air clung to them like a suffocating shroud, the adrenaline refusing to fade.
"I can't believe he's here in Ridgehaven," one of them muttered, still reeling. His voice was tight with disbelief, his hands shaking as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
Who in their organization didn't know of the Moonchild's protector? They were lucky—damn lucky—they had come prepared, or they would've been nothing more than shredded corpses left in the dirt.
"This is why we shouldn't have played with that beast," another snapped, his voice laced with frustration. "You should've listened to me and killed that evil thing the moment the trap caught him!"
"The last I checked, you were also enjoying toying with it," another shot back, his lip curling.
Tension flared, and the two lurched toward each other, fists clenching, bodies coiled like vipers ready to strike.
"Enough!" The taller one—their leader—barked, his voice cutting through the heated air like a whip. "What's done is done. We need to report to him that he is here in Ridgehaven."
The others grunted, barely restraining their tempers. The leader's glare was enough to keep them in check—for now.
As they moved toward a sleek black car parked under the cover of darkness, one of them hesitated. His voice, unusually uncertain, broke the silence. "You think that girl will make it out alive?"
A cold chuckle followed. "Of course not," the leader scoffed, his tone filled with grim amusement. "Those beasts don't have empathy."