Chapter 46

It took us almost a whole day just to get to the Rockies because Marcus insisted on coming up with a solid plan before leaving. We arrived at the southern tip of the mountain range at dusk and according to Darren, the Blackholes' base was still further deep into the mountains. The last time I was here, we only ever explored five percent of the place, so the thought of taking more time just to reach my son got me impatient. "I can't believe we still have to trek into the heart of these mountains," I complained to Marcus as we trekked. I could hear the faint song in my head as we walked, but I chose to ignore them as I didn't come here to investigate witches.

"This is the opposite path to the Royal Moon pack," said Marcus, who was carrying a large rucksack. "I think Dex told me before that following this path will lead us to a lake."

"How far is their place from here, Darren?"

"We'll probably reach their place after four hours by foot," Darren replied. He was walking way ahead of us, as per my request. I didn't want him to get too close to me since my wolf might get triggered by his scent. And I can't risk dulling my senses here just to block his scent, not inside our enemies' territory. I need my body to be battle-ready anytime.

"We can rest for a bit if you're tired, Milena," said Marcus, who noticed that I started walking a little slower. "You're still over fatigued from healing me back at the Atrium."

I shook my head. "I can still manage."

He suddenly stopped in front of me and kissed me on my forehead before giving me a hug that warmed my whole body up. "But you can also injure yourself. We can take a nap somewhere before moving on."

"No... We have to get to our son as fast as we can, Marcus. I'm worried that they might hurt Zenith."

"They better not," said Marcus, the fire in his eyes starting to ignite in the dark. "Or all hell will break loose."

"Hey, what happened—?" Darren wasn't able to finish his sentence because he saw us hugging each other. I saw his pained expression and I somehow felt guilty even if my mind was telling me not to feel that way. Come to think of it, seeing us this intimate must've hurt a lot for Darren. I never put myself in his shoes because I was afraid that it would only make my wolf yearn for him more, but right now seeing him like this made me realize how terrible his life turned out to be. He hadn't only lost me, but also a future that he could no longer have.

"What?" Marcus rudely asked him, obviously provoking Darren as he just interrupted us.

"I... I just saw some men ahead," Darren answered with a stutter, avoiding my gaze. "I think they're rogues. We have to hurry and follow them if we want to follow our plan."

Upon hearing that both Marcus and I quickly followed Darren for our plan was to run into some of the rogues in here and ransack them. That way we'll have a chance to pretend that we're rogues too since they wear hooded cloaks in here to hide their faces in case they run into some witches. We did manage to catch up with the rogues that Darren saw earlier. It turned out that they were indeed Yul's men, and they were heading back to their base with some supplies they needed.

After easily overpowering them, we took their cloaks and their supplies which were food and for some reason, beer, and then we dressed as them to infiltrate their base without them noticing. This was our plan— to infiltrate their place as stealthily as we could. We wanted to avoid fighting them because that would put Zenith in grave danger. If we could take back my son without anyone noticing then that's what we would have to do.

But of course, fate got in the way again because as we reached the end of the trail there was the icy lake, and in the middle of it was a stone house sitting on a small island made out of huge rocks. There was light coming from inside the house and we saw shadows moving there, an indication that we successfully found their base.

"This is it. This was the place where I fought Yul before," said Darren.

"How are we going to cross the river? I don't think we can swim across the water. The current is very strong."

“There's a boat," he said, pointing a few steps from where we were standing. There was indeed a small boat that could carry three to four people. This was probably what the rogues used to get to the island. "Come on. Hide your faces. We'll attack as soon as we reach their base," he added.

Crossing the lake was easier than I expected. My heart was beating so fast as we set foot at the small island, and just a few steps away from the bank was the stone house. There were no people guarding outside, but we could hear people talking inside so we decided to eavesdrop first before doing anything.

We heard the voice of a man talking inside. "Master Yul, are you okay? You're shaking again. Is it the cold?"

"No, no, it's excitement. She's finally here," said another voice. The three of us listened quietly to their conversation.

"The Purple-Eyed Werewolf? She's already here?"

"She is. I could already sense her presence. She's outside with two other people."

I had goosebumps all over me, but not only because of what I heard from the older man's voice inside the house. I got goosebumps because I could now recall this voice. Marcus noticed how shocked I was, so he asked me silently what was happening to me. I told him who the person inside was, and he was surprised by it too.

"Shall we let them in?" asked the younger man's voice.

"Yes. Open the door and let’s welcome our guests." We heard footsteps and before we could move, the wooden door swung open, revealing a young man whose eyes seemed to glow in the dark. And as if that wasn't scary enough, a familiar old man behind him stepped forward. "Welcome back, young half-breed," said Grandpa Lone Wolf, the very same old man that I met in these mountains five years ago.

"I can't believe this. Are you really the Blackhole called Yul?"

The old man nodded. "I am."

"But you're half-witch like me too!" I demanded. "We shouldn't fight! Just give me back my son! Where is he?"

"You're not going to see him anymore, half-breed," he replied. "Because I'm going to eat you to gain your powers. And my apprentice here will do honors of eating the two gentlemen with you."

I ignored what he just said. “Where is my son?" I asked loudly again. But I suddenly froze when I saw Yul transform in front of me. It was not a full moon tonight but he transformed into this massive wolf that had... horns. He looked like a demon. Was this the effect of eating our own kind? Or was he using his witch powers too?

He growled and then pounced into my direction, his mouth wide open for him to bite and tear my head off. But someone shielded me from the cannibal Blackhole. I heard a loud scream as I closed my eyes. The next thing I knew, Darren was in front of me, his head bloodied from Yul's fangs piercing him.

“I finally saved you,” he said, smiling weakly at me before falling to the ground.