Chapter 144 - [Bonus ] Dear Wolf
Chapter 144 – [Bonus ] Dear Wolf
With the danger of fire, Edge panicked while I just gazed at the gap between the door and jamb in a daze. Fire. I had seen one… a huge one back in Everfell. I snapped my eyes when Edge shook my shoulders to bring me back to reality.
He looked at me in panic. "Luna, we need to move!" he exclaimed, looking at me straight in the eye. "I will break this wall, alright? Let me carry you on my back."
Just as Edge reached his hand to me, I slapped it on instinct. The space between his brows wrinkled. And only then did I realize my action. However, I didn't feel regret it, nor I was relieved. Actually, I didn't know what to feel anymore.
'My child… the road you chose is not a straight line, but a wandering path. You must push through the pain, confusion, and doubt. That is true madness.'
"Stop," I whispered, covering my ears to stop the voice in my head. "No more," I said. "I don't want to hear more… too much…"
I bent my knees closer to my chest as I shrunk. The voice kept whispering and so I kept telling it to stop. My mind was going on overdrive and one more riddle. I might lose it. This was too much to handle in a single day.
Revelation after revelation, a voice whispering of my choice I never recalled making, and a mission I never ever heard. Everything made my head hurt, forgetting the dangerous situation I was in and Edge was in.
"I don't want to hear it. I didn't… I didn't do that…" my voice shook, arguing to the voice in my head with deep hatred in my heart. A hatred I never knew I could ever feel in this lifetime. But what was even more surprising was that it wasn't directed to the voice, to my parents, to the vampires or werewolves.
This anger… its recipient was me as if my heart could remember the sin I had committed that my mind had forgotten.
And then… in my head, an image of a wolf wearing a white mask that looked like a lamb was looking back at me.
"Dear wolf…"
******
"My dear wolf…"
Edge stared at Rinnie, who was staring into nothingness, mumbling while covering her ears. He had never seen her like this as if she was… losing her mind. Was it from shock? Did she see too much blood? Edge was unsure if he went overboard since this sight was normal in the wild.
"Luna," he whispered, scrunching his nose up as the smoke grew stronger. Soft smoke fogged in the small room they were held captive. "Luna, I'm sorry!"
He ground his teeth and unhesitatingly carried her in his arms like a child. Holding Rinnie's head securely, Edge kicked the wall with all his might. Like glass, the wooden wall crumpled. But to his surprise, the fire was already surrounding the small abandoned house.
"Damn it!" he cursed, trying to see through the thick smoke and fire. He gazed down and Rinnie had a blank face as if she wasn't mentally with him.
"Alpha Hugo will kill me," he hissed, grounding his teeth as he glared ahead. Just as he was about to run through the fire that was engulfing the house, Edge met with another problem. Multiple figures stood in the smoke, unfazed by the fire that was spreading faster by the second.
"Hello, mumbling wolf!" a vampire greeted with a grin, walking forth and out of the thick smoke. "You enjoyed crushing my pawn's head. It was quite a sight to behold. But well, he served his purpose, and you helped him."
The vampire who approached shifted his eyes to Rinnie. Just like the vampire Rinnie was talking to previously, this vampire also had dim eyes. The side of his lips curled up seeing Rinnie's state.
"Oh, little lamb," he laughed under his breath. "If you want to see me, pay me a visit in Hendrik. I will wait for you and help you take down your dearest wolf."
When those words slipped past the vampire's lips, his dim eyes came to life. The wrinkle on the side of his lips faded as his expression completely changed. The person controlling the vampire's consciousness finally cut his link, knowing she got his message despite her current state of mind.
The vampire bore his fangs, causing Edge to let out a low growl. The latter's eyes darted at more vampires surrounding him.
"God damn it!" Edge cursed through his gritted teeth. Fighting was not a problem. But with this thick smoke, he didn't have the time to fight because she might suffocate. His grip on Rinnie's shoulder tightened, having to decide which course of action he must take in this crucial situation.
*HOWL*
Just then, Edge's entire body froze, hearing a loud howl not far away. It was followed by more howls from different wolves. Edge recognized those howls, especially the first howl that caused his heart to race in panic.
Hugo.
He was near, and he was furious. Edge could even feel the Alpha's deep breaths as Hugo got closer and closer.
******
Meanwhile, back in the capital of the Ronmin Empire…
Footsteps chorused along with the crackle of woods in the fireplace. Daniel stopped in front of the shelf inside the crown prince's quarters. Raising a hand, his index hovered in a direction of a particular book. His eyes narrowed as they glinted bitterly, pulling out the book carefully.
In silence, he gazed at the plain old cover. He placed a palm on it, caressing it as if it was something he treasured.
"I didn't think I will ever look at it," he whispered almost wearily, opening the book from the middle. As soon as he did, it revealed that the middle of the book was cut out to store what he kept hidden for a very long time.
Daniel caressed what was stored in it. An old white mask with a speck of blood. It wasn't just any mask, but a mask that was shaped like a lamb's head.
"Lamb, why did you come back? And with my brother?" he whispered, eyes narrowing in sadness.. "I won't let you hurt him, my dear lamb."