Chapter 173: Chapter 173
Author’s POV
A deep sense of immense relief flooded Casimir’s chest, easing the heavy ache that had resided there ever since suspicion had fallen on Noelle. She was not a true enemy; she was merely a desperate sister trying to protect her blood. She had a good, noble cause for the desperate games she was playing. A true reason, not the treachery his mother and father had feared.
It was then that he noticed a child behind one of the hybrids. She was no older than Neo.
Larissa looked upon the frightened child with utter indifference, stepping over a patch of frozen brambles to stand closer to the hybrid leader. “A fine lever,” she conceded, her tone ruthless. “Leverage means nothing if your army marches blindly into their kill-zones. I have spent days wandering around the Crescent Moon pack house. I know their guard rotations, their blind spots, and exactly where their inner courtyard is weakest.”
She paused, offering a sly, crooked smile. “Provide me with a charcoal stick and a piece of parchment, and I shall draw out the entire map for you.”
The hybrid leader sneered, though interest flickered in his bloody gaze. “You have until the weekend, she-wolf. In two days, we will march upon the Crescent Moon Pack during the full lunar eclipse. Your map could prove useful.”
“Two days is more than enough time for me to map every stone and sentry post,” Larissa replied smoothly.
Casimir’s mind raced rapidly. ‘Two days.’ They had only two days before these abominations attacked his home. But as he looked at the terrified little girl, Noelle’s sister, Diane, a daring thought bloomed in his chest. If Diane could be rescued from these shackles, the hybrids would lose their leverage completely. Noelle would have no reason to obey them. She could be saved, and the Crescent Moon would not be caught unprepared.
‘I must tell mother and father. Now.’
Casimir did not have to close his eyes. He focused his mind, reaching out across the distant hills through the sacred mate-and-pack link. He summoned the image of his father’s solid strength and his mother’s comforting light. ‘Mother... Father... Can you hear me?’
‘Mother... Father... can you hear me?’ he sent, his mental voice urgent.
Instantly, his father’s dark, commanding presence roared back through the link. ‘Casimir! Speak, son. Are you safe?’
‘Aye, father,’ Casimir reported hastily, keeping his breathing entirely silent as he watched the hybrids cluster around a rough stone table nearby. ‘I have tracked Larissa to the Western Ridges... into the Dead Forest. She has met with a war-band of hybrids. They plan to attack our pack in two days.’
A pulse of furious shock rippled from Alpha Damien, followed immediately by the cool, sharp focus of Luna Ophelia. ‘What of Noelle?’ his mother asked softly, her voice probing his spirit. ‘Is she their spy?’
‘She is, mother... but not by choice,’ Casimir explained quickly, recounting everything he had witnessed. ‘They hold her younger sister, Diane, hostage here in their camp. They are forcing Noelle to open the gates under threat of the child's death. Larissa is currently drawing a map of our weak points for their leader, a monster named Loid.’
Then he hesitated.
‘Casimir,’ his mother's voice came, quiet and certain, as though she had read his thoughts. Casimir could feel her lingering and deep, maternal warmth. ‘You wish to make an attempt to save the girl, do you not?’
Casimir took a quiet breath, squaring his shoulders in the dark. ‘Aye, mother. I do. If we leave her here, they will kill her the moment the battle begins. And if I save her, Noelle will no longer be their pawn. I can do this.’
A heavy silence fell between them. Casimir could feel his father’s protective instinct raging. He growled at the thought of his pup facing a camp of blood-drinking monsters. But Ophelia’s calm wisdom prevailed. ‘Very well, my son. I permit it,’ she whispered, her mental tone filled with solemn trust. ‘But you must listen to me carefully.’ she instructed, her voice urgent. ‘You have the potion I slid into your pouch before you left. Drink it now. It will heighten your reflexes threefold. But if the worst should happen, if you are spotted, you must not engage them in open combat.’
His father's voice followed in a low voice. ‘If your attempt fails... if you find yourself cornered or caught, find a way to tell those abominations that you are the son of the Alpha and Luna of Crescent Moon. Do you hear me?’
Casimir blinked in the dark, quickly understanding his father's brilliant tactical mind. The hybrids would never waste a prize like the Alpha’s son; if they knew his true identity, they would capture him as a high-value hostage to trade or leverage, rather than slaughtering him outright on the spot.
‘I understand, father,’ Casimir asserted. ‘I shall bear your instructions in mind.’
‘Be careful, my sweet pup,’ Ophelia whispered, her mental voice cracking slightly with raw, motherly emotion that tore at his heart. ‘May the moon be with you.’
‘And you too, mother.’ And with that, their presence receded, leaving Casimir alone in the dark.
Out in the clearing, the hybrid leader, Loid, grunted at Larissa. “Very well, turncoat. You shall remain in our camp under guard while you draw this map. We cannot be too careful with fresh recruits.”
Larissa inclined her head stiffly. “As you wish.”
As the group began to disperse toward their camp, Casimir turned the problem over in his mind. Two hybrids stood guard near Diane. Even should he manage to distract them both, there was no certainty the child would run if bid to, not with fear so plainly written across her small face.
Casimir took out the potion then and drank it. The effect was immediate. His body suddenly felt lighter, as though he could run for miles without growing exhausted. He reckoned that this would play a huge part when it was time for him to finally make his escape.