Chapter 58 CHAPTER 58
The forest of Silverpine looked different when Liam rode through its gates again. The air felt heavier, colder, as if something unseen lingered between the trees. Warriors hurried to bow as he passed, but even their movements looked slow, almost drained.
Alpha Richard came out of the main building with a bright smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Commander Liam,” he said warmly. “Twice in one week. This is a great honor.”
Liam slid off his horse, dust rising around his boots. “His Majesty asked me to return,” he replied, tone formal. “The king wants a closer look at your guards. A second inspection.”
Richard blinked at that. “The king rarely intervenes in pack business unless peace is threatened. We… we haven’t broken any laws.”
Liam offered a polite smile. “Then you have nothing to worry about.”
But deep inside, he already knew something was wrong here. this is the actual reason he was here. checking the guards was just his cover.
They walked toward the training grounds, and the moment Liam stepped onto the field, he saw it. Warriors moved sluggishly, their swords dragging, their stances unstable. Sweat poured from them far too quickly for such basic drills.
Trainer Allen rushed to meet him. “Commander,” he said with a stiff bow. “We… didn’t expect you today.”
Liam crossed his arms, watching a warrior miss his footing and drop straight to one knee, panting. “Your men are slacking,” he said plainly. “What’s happening to them?”
Allen swallowed hard. “I…I don’t know, sir. They eat enough, train daily… but their strength is fading. We can’t explain it.”
Liam studied him for several long moments. The trainer’s eyes were tired, his shoulders tense. His heartbeat - Liam could hear it - was too fast for someone standing still.
Something was definitely wrong.
His gaze shifted to the sparring pairs. One of them was Sebastian – Lisa’s mate. He was partnered with another – slightly younger but of the same build as him, and even from a distance, the difference in their energy was obvious. Lucas fought with more power than Sebastian, but even he was weaker than Liam remembered from his first visit.
Sebastian swung his wooden blade with a clumsy grip. The young man blocked it easily, and Sebastian stumbled, falling onto his backside.
Liam raised an eyebrow. “Silverpine prides itself on being the strongest warrior pack,” he said quietly, mostly to himself. “But this…”
Sebastian suddenly noticed him and scrambled to his feet, running over with a too-eager grin.
“Commander Liam!” he said breathlessly. “I didn’t know you were back. You should’ve told us you wee coming… we would’ve prepared better.”
He let out a laugh that tried too hard.
Liam smirked. “I don’t think preparation would change much.”
Sebastian didn’t even catch the insult. “You’re right, sir. We’ll train harder! You can count on me.” He thumped his chest proudly, then winced from the effort.
Liam turned away. It was pointless talking to him.
Richard, watching from the side, forced a smile. “Sebastian is improving; don’t you think?”
Liam didn’t answer. He had seen enough. The guards had become worse thatn he had left them before afew days ago. This was not a natural occurrence.
He could see the frustration edged in the trainer’s eyes. A part of him felt good at their suffering. He wondered whether to let whatever was eating at them continue making them suffer. They deserved this and more for all the suffering Lisa endured in their hands.
Richard insisted that Liam stay the night, almost too eager. Liam accepted - it played perfectly into his plans. But before returning to Richard’s home, Liam spoke calmly:
“I want to inspect the packhouse residences as well.”
Richard stiffened. “Now?”
“Now.”
The alpha couldn’t refuse without raising suspicion, so he led Liam through the residence corridor. Liam kept his expression neutral, but inside he catalogued everything - every nervous glance, every locked door.
When they reached the Hale household, Liam already felt his heartbeat slow in anticipation.
The door creaked open, revealing the same foul mess Richard had found when he had visitied earlier - clothes everywhere, dirty plates on the table, stale air thick enough to taste. The house looked abandoned by care, as if it had been rotting from the inside long before Lisa left.
For a moment, Liam forgot how to breathe. His jaw tightened, and something hot and savage tore through his chest - the kind of anger that didn’t rise slowly but exploded like a crack in the earth. His wolf surged forward with a growl he barely contained, a sharp flash of fury that made the floorboards tremble beneath his boots. This filthy, collapsing space was the life Lisa had been trapped in. This was what she cleaned, what she scrubbed, what she carried alone while these people sat in their comfort and called her a slave. The realization struck him like a blow, and his hands curled into fists so tight his knuckles blanched, the urge to tear the house apart burning through him. He forced himself to swallow it down, every breath rough, every heartbeat thundering with the unspoken truth - Mooncrest’s princess had lived in this rot, and he hadn’t known.
The howl caught Richard offguard and just as he opened his mouth ask Liam about it, Hilda Hale came rushing, wiping her hands on an apron as if that would clean the disaster behind her. She forced a smile. “Alpha Richard… Commander.”
Richard’s expression hardened instantly. He stepped forward, anger sharp in his voice.
“For how long will you keep your home like this?” he snapped. “Ever since the slave left…”
The word slipped out before he could catch it.
Liam’s eyes narrowed. But this time he was able to control his wolf.
Hilda froze.
Richard cleared his throat fast, stumbling over his correction. “I…I meant… ever since your strength left you. That’s what I meant. You’ve… struggled.”
Liam acted as though he believed him. “I didn’t know you had a slave,” he said casually.
Richard answered too quickly. “You misheard.”
“Yes commander, you overheard. Hilda eagerly filled in. My Alpha was just checking in on my health. It has not been so good lately.”
Liam let the lie settle in the room like dust. Talking more about it would only make himand his wolf angry, putting the mission at hand at risk. The right time would present itself for him to deal with these fools for enslaving the princess.
He nodded politely, turned on his heel, and walked out.
Back at Richard’s home, dinner was served. The table was filled with roasted meat, vegetables, fresh bread - but the atmosphere tasted bitter.
Liam let his gaze settle on Sebastian.
He chose his moment.
“Sebastian,” he said calmly. “Has the goddess shown yu your mate yet? You must be of age by now.”
The entire table froze. Forks stopped midair. Even the candle flames seemed to hold still.
Sebastian’s smile faltered. “N-No, commander. I haven’t found her yet.”
Liam didn’t press. He could see the whole pack had been sworn to secrecy on anything concerning Lisa. He simply nodded and returned to his food, letting the discomfort spread like smoke.
Later that night, the house grew quiet. The moonlight spilled across the floor of Liam’s guest room. He sat near the window, sharpening his senses.
Something felt wrong.
Then he heard it - a soft movement outside.
He went still.
Sebastian slipped out of the packhouse, moving toward the woods. Liam masked his scent with a quick breath, then followed silently, keeping his steps light on the forest floor.
The trees grew darker around them. Sebastian walked deeper until he reached a clearing lit by the moon.
Sarah - the girl he had come to know was his chosen mate - was there.
Her smile stretched across her face when she saw him. “You took too long,” she whispered.
Sebastian laughed softly, lifting her into his arms and kissing her with a hunger that made Liam’s stomach turn. He hid behind a cluster of bushes, jaw tightening.
All he could think of was Lisa. The pain she endured every time these two had one of these episodes. For an instance, he was angry at the goddess for making her suffer in the hands of these two after all the misery she had endured with the Hales.
They began to touch, then lie down in the grass. Liam looked away for a moment, disgusted and furious.
But then he heard it.
A shift.
A strange sound - like air being pulled.
He turned back sharply.
As Sebastian reached his release, something pale and shimmering rose from his mouth - like a thin stream of mist. It drifted toward Sarah, and her lips parted, drinking it in.
The mist dissolved into her as though it belonged to her.
Sebastian’s body slumped, exhausted in a way no normal man would be. His chest rose and fell weakly.
Sarah, on the other hand, glowed. Her eyes flashed faintly - too faint.
Liam’s heart hammered.
This is dark magic.
This is unnatural.
His throat tightened. He reached for the mind link instantly.
Ethan, he said urgently, voice steady despite the shock.
You need to see this…