Chapter 20: Nightfall

“How long has your sister and her husband lived in the pack territory, Gamma? It seemed as if you knew the path very well,” Kieran commented, breaking the silence in our group.

The woods almost swallowed us whole as we followed Gamma Dion to the Nightfall territory. I couldn’t remember how long we had been walking around, but the trees were growing thicker and the trail steeper, without a sign of the pack house or even its premises. Lind kept on stopping every fifty meters to catch his breath, and I had long stopped feeling my legs.

There was no signal in the mountains. And Kieran had earlier pointed out a trail sign to me, warning that we were entering a landslide-prone area.

In the event of an emergency, getting help wouldn’t be a piece of cake.

“My sister’s been living here since she got married to the Nightfall Beta,” Dion replied. “That was five years ago. I’ve visited her plenty since then.”

After that, silence again. He did not seem to be fond of talking. The pup he was carrying had long fallen asleep, probably due to exhaustion. She stirred as Dion began to climb up again, prompting us to stay quiet.

There were fewer Lycans in slumber as we climbed higher up the mountains. Kieran maintained his gaze on Dion, while I checked our surroundings for anything that might help us uncover who cast the curse. Lind kept quiet, probably wondering how he got roped up in our business once again.

Kieran noticed something about Medea earlier. He wouldn’t have pressed her buttons if he was merely trying to annoy her when her Vassal was right in front of us, half-annoyed that we got delayed.

It would’ve been easier to discuss things with Kieran and Lind if Dion hadn’t been here with us, but Augustus would’ve raised hell if I turned down his request, even with Castiel around.

We can’t take any chances of offending him right now.

It took us another hour until we reached the last trail sign pointing to the route to Nightfall. The route became flat and paved with cobblestones. At the first turn of the trail, we saw the first group of houses nestled in the middle of the mountains.

The wreckage was evident. Some of the pack members’ things lay on the cobblestone road, as if they were dropped there in a hurry. Fireplaces were still lit. Some of the stoves were still on, but the food being cooked during the time of the affliction had long been burnt.

The first few houses were dead silent. Until…

“Help…”

My head whipped to the right, where I heard the voice come from. Around the entrance of an alleyway between rows of houses, a male Lycan lay on the floor, trying to crawl out into the streets.

Kieran immediately sprang to his feet and blocked a massive Black Wolf that emerged from the shadows of the alleyway. He lodged the handle of his axe in between the wolf’s mouth as he dared to take a bite on my Vassal.

“Not today, pup!” Kieran grunted as he tried to push the wolf back. His foot slid back as the wolf’s claws tried to reach him, emanating a distinct scent I would recognize from anywhere.

Wolfsbane and ivy!

Two more massive wolves, one red and a gray one, emerged from the alley. They dripped in the stench of wolfsbane and ivy that I almost gagged as soon as one of them came close to my face, snarling at me.

“Lind, Dion! Take cover and protect the pup!” I screamed as I took out my pistol and aimed it at the Black Wolf’s mouth. Three shots echoed throughout the mountains, disturbing the once-serene silence of the small town.

The massive creature fell on the floor, bleeding from the head. Kieran vaulted over the first Black Wolf’s body to slam his axe on the Red Wolf’s nape, sending it crashing down on the ground.

The gray one, seeing the fates of his brothers, began to run away, but with the spell Castiel taught me, I created a sphere around him to prevent him from running away, and shackled his hands and feet. Kieran prepared to strike, but I raised my hand.

“Speak,” I commanded, walking towards the Gray Wolf, who was visibly trashing around the sphere. “We don’t have all day.”

He spat at me, but it failed to reach me. His spit hit the barrier. The area fizzled, like acid melting a metal.

“I fucking knew it,” Kieran cussed under his breath. “I’d recognize that scent anywhere, you little shit.”

The barrier came down as Kieran grabbed the Gray Wolf by the neck, pinning it on the ground. His other hand wrapped around the wolf’s snout to prevent him from biting or spitting on us.

“Mixed breed mercenaries,” I deduced, examining the wolf’s eyes, tinged with a golden hue. “A mixed breed of a Lycan and a Red.”

Kieran’s face darkened. Everyone in the Rogue settlement knew his hatred for mercenaries because they would often raid settlements like ours to prey on the weaker Rogues and steal our already scarce supplies.

Mercenaries have greater abilities than a normal wolf, especially those that were of mixed Lycan and Red, both with superior abilities. Depending on the parent, their abilities could be extremely deadly if used for all the wrong reasons.  Most of them, if not all, were also resistant to wolfsbane and ivy.

It was also the same reason why they would often lace their weapons with them.

Uncle Reuben often told us that their settlement almost didn’t survive mercenary raids before Kieran arrived. If it wasn’t for his strength and clever thinking of training a few Rogues to guard the settlement while he’s away, they would’ve been left to die by these bastards.

“Who sent you, and why are you here?”

Kieran released his snout. But instead of speaking, the Gray Wolf just belted a maniacal laugh. “Oh, ain’t you a stunner… You’d do nicely as part of our final payment, sweetcheeks—”

He yelped in pain as I stabbed his chest with one of the silver-bladed daggers I carried around. “I said, I don’t have all day.”

“You want to know?” He struggled as he tried to move close to my face. “Then fuck m—”

Kieran grabbed him by the neck and pinned him down on the ground. His hand clamped harder and stronger around the Gray wolf’s neck, his patience running thin. “Answer the damn question. You’re in the presence of a Queen candidate.”

“Let me go! Fuck, you’re dead meat—” I motioned Kieran to crush his neck. The Gray Wolf’s eyes widened. He immediately changed his tune as he squirmed under Kieran’s hand. “I didn’t know her name, okay? She just gave me and my brothers 500 thousand minted gold coins for first payment and told us to burn talismans around Nightfall! She said we can loot and kill as many as we can, then she instructed us to kill a Lycan that matched your description! I swear, I didn’t—”