Chapter 33 The Guardian’s Trial; ✨️
Meanwhile, on the mountain ridges, Kael stood on the thin line between tearing Nancy apart and listening to her. Normally, the only thing that restrained him was Eva. Being away from her now felt as if the beast inside him had been left without a leash.
“Where are they, you cursed blood!” he snarled. “Where did you take my wife?”
Nancy got up from the ground and brushed the snow off her clothes. An impudent smile settled on her face, far too bold for her age.
“They’re at the Devil’s Castle. It was the only place that could protect her from the hunters,” she said.
Kael’s eyes widened. He knew the traps of the Devil’s Castle well, but compared to the number and experience of the hunters, it was not an insurmountable obstacle. Hiding Eva there, or believing that a scrawny, alpha-less wolf could protect her, made no sense to him.
“This is illogical,” he growled. “What’s the real purpose? Did Caleb give a new order? Or are you stalling me, you little cursed blood?” he said, stepping toward her.
Nancy took a few steps back. She was afraid, but she stood her ground.
“We were left without a pack because of a mistake our ancestors made! Stop calling us cursed blood! For the first time in our lives, Joe and I are trying to do what’s right, even if it means betraying our father! Is it really that hard to believe us?” she said. Her lip trembled.
Kael sensed the truth of her emotions through the rhythm of her heartbeat. Still, he was wary of what awaited him at the castle. In the past, the purpose of their bloodline had been clear: to separate the ancient alpha and the Rose pair, to prevent peace.
“Very well,” he said. “Pray that I find Eva alive and unharmed. Otherwise, this time I will tear your cursed-blood brother apart with my own hands.”
Fire began to burn in his amber eyes.
Suddenly, he merged with the night in his massive wolf form and vanished from sight.
Nancy stood frozen in shock from what she had just experienced. But at least dawn was only minutes away, and Eva was safe.
At the same time, Caleb had reached the hunters’ location. The moment he stepped out of the vehicle, he scanned the area.
“Where is the Rose girl?” he asked.
A large hunter approached, his face hidden behind a black snow mask, his body encased in a kind of technological armor. He was the hunters’ second-in-command.
“Neither the alpha nor the Rose girl is here. The Rose witch knew we were coming. She left long ago,” he said.
There was no anger on Caleb’s face. He had expected this from Joe’s behavior.
“Just as I thought. Despite years of effort, I couldn’t cleanse that Rose guardian blood within you, could I, Joe?” he murmured.
He lifted his gaze to the sky and watched the moon slowly being veiled in blood under Noel’s influence.
“The process has begun. Then we must arm ourselves,” he said.
The second leader’s expression was clear, cold, indifferent, and displeased with Caleb.
“We’re done with you, Caleb. Continue your blood feud on your own. Our agreement was centuries ago. Measures for the alpha should have been taken much earlier, but you informed us too late. I don’t know what you planned or what you stood to gain. But now… I won’t throw a single one of my hunters as bait before the ancient alpha. We had one chance, and we lost it,” he said.
“If we’re lucky, the Alpha will keep the demons under control this time…” he added, giving Caleb a meaningful look before turning away and leaving.
Caleb did not seem shaken by this at all. On the contrary, a sly, filthy smile curved his lips.
“Actually,” he murmured, “a new opportunity has just arisen.”
It seemed this cursed blood had plans of its own…
Meanwhile, at the castle:
Eva extinguished the ancient fire in her hands and, with fury burning and violet shadows circling her eyes, walked toward Joe. With a single movement of her finger, she forced his tall body down onto his knees and stepped closer. Looking down at him, she pressed her index finger behind his earlobe, pulled his shirt aside, and murmured:
“Either appear as you are, or be as you appear.”
The words were like a mystical lock.
Immediately, Joe’s face contorted with pain. At the spot Eva touched, a vein surfaced—among thin black veins, a thick golden one glowed. It then trailed downward from where she had pulled his shirt aside, forming an inverted crescent moon rune on his chest.
A small smile appeared on Eva’s face.
“Oh, Alarya! Did you protect him to the very end? A Rose guardian born of cursed blood!”
As Elly watched all this, an expression of dawning realization spread across her face. The ancient legend went as follows:
The Börü race fought on the front lines of wars. They returned victorious, but during certain lunar cycles, they could not resist the demonic spirit within them and slaughtered innocent people. When this was discovered, the people demanded that the Rose witches break the seal and imprison the Börü race. But the Rose women believed they could prevent it, that a witch could place a leash on a wolf.
This was a mistake.
Over time, the massacres continued, and the maiden guardian of the Rose lineage shared her breath with a guardian. That day, the guardian alpha was born, a pure wolf, free of demonic spirit.
Elly stepped closer and asked Eva,
“Is he truly a guardian alpha?”
“So it seems,” Eva replied. “Provided he can prove himself to the Great Homay.”
She then lifted her gaze to the ceiling and looked at the glowing rune.
“This is why he called me here. It appears I’m the one who will send him down this path.”
But was Joe ready for this trial?
And more importantly, could our jealous ancient alpha, Kael, accept a new alpha born from his wife’s bloodline?