Chapter 111
Naya looked at Samantha, noticing that Samantha’s eyes were still locked on hers. She had been silent ever since they captured her, not even attempting to resist. She remained calm, following Naya and the team without any struggle.
In any case, Samantha was the perfect bait—the exact hostage they needed to finally enter enemy territory.
Ignoring any distractions, Naya brushed off Samantha’s unnerving stare and turned to her team. She gave each of them their instructions for once they entered the Crimson Stone Pack.
Soon enough, they crossed the gates. The sun was slowly setting as they passed through the first group of soldiers at the border.
Sage moved closer to Naya and murmured, “Captain, isn’t it strange? That Alpha Princess hasn’t said a word. She didn’t even try to get those soldiers’ attention.”
Naya clenched her hands. She felt something was off too.
“What if it’s another trap?” Sage asked.
Naya looked ahead, her eyes cold. “If that’s the case, we’ll kill her immediately.”
The Midnight Seven all looked at Naya. There was no hesitation or sympathy in their eyes. The air was thick with tension, heavy with their determination to complete their mission.
It was their ultimate goal—the one mission they had to accomplish so they could return to their pack and finally bring justice for the deaths of their people, for their families who were still grieving even after so many years.
One by one, they moved to Naya, showing their loyalty and resolve.
“Let’s finish this,” Jeffrey said, his eyes dead serious.
Naya nodded and signaled everyone to prepare. Ahead of them, the enormous gates to the main village of the Crimson Stone Pack loomed.
When Naya glanced to the side without turning her head, she noticed Samantha had closed her eyes. As she had been the entire time, she was silent and didn’t say a word.
Finally, a soldier at the gate signaled for the carriage to stop.
As before, Naya pressed the dagger against Samantha’s back, leaving just a small inch before the blade would pierce her skin.
When the soldier saw Samantha, he was startled. “Princess, aren’t you supposed to be heading to the West Wood Pack?”
Samantha replied with a straight face, “It was canceled due to the drought and an ongoing rogue infestation in their territory. Let this carriage pass so I can get to my room and rest.”
“I…I understand,” the soldier said before instructing the other guards to open the gates.
Naya listened to their interaction and couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Samantha. This woman. Was she doing this on purpose?
Before Naya could find an answer, the carriage moved, and they soon reached the carriage space for the royal family. Following their plan, the team split into two groups. The first group—Jeffrey, Kevin, Reo, and Nile—was to bring Samantha to her room and hold her hostage for the time being, while the second group—Naya, Billy, and Sage—was tasked with finding the heir.
Once inside Samantha’s room, Samantha finally spoke.
“Did you really think it would end after you fulfill your mission?”
The Midnight Seven all froze.
Naya turned to look at her.
Samantha slowly raised her head to meet Naya’s gaze, her expression detached despite the varied emotions in her eyes and tone.
“If you manage to kill the pack’s heir, do you think this bloodshed that’s been happening for years will stop?” she asked.
Jeffrey growled softly and stepped closer to her. “Your pack is the reason for our pack’s downfall years ago. You savagely destroyed our homes and killed our families! Do you expect us to do nothing?!”
Nile chimed in, “He’s right. No matter what you say now, you can’t change our minds. Even if you refuse to tell us where the heir is, we’ll find him.”
“We don’t care about your pack or how it’s been for you all these years,” Reo said, grinding his teeth. “You invaded our territory first. An eye for an eye. You killed our Luna, we’ll kill your heir.”
Naya stood silently, listening to her team speak with anger.
Samantha’s eyes never left Naya. “Why aren’t you saying anything? You, of all people, should know the truth and decide for everyone. But… you don’t actually know the whole truth, do you?”
As she said this, she looked around at Naya’s team, who all appeared stunned.
“What truth is she talking about?” Kevin asked.
Jeffrey frowned and turned to Naya. “Yeah, what’s this about, Captain?”
Naya remained silent. Her hands trembled, and for some reason, her heart began to race. Different images started flashing in her mind, the content of her last dream replaying before her eyes.
“Enough,” Reo suddenly said. “That woman’s just spouting nonsense to distract us! Don’t let her sway us. Captain, you should go and find the heir. Finish him quickly and bring his head back.”
At that moment, a series of footsteps echoed from outside, followed by a male voice shouting.
“Princess! We need to leave! The pack is under attack!”
The Midnight Seven glanced at each other.
“That must be our pack,” Sage said, receiving shocked expressions from her team.
“Our pack?” Even Naya was surprised.
Sage explained, “The plan was adjusted after you left, Captain. I gave them the signal before we headed here. Our pack… will be joining us.”
Naya’s eyes widened. Without delay, her second team went out to find the heir. Outside, the peaceful village from just a few minutes ago had transformed into a battlefield, like what had occurred in West Wood Pack.
There, she saw familiar faces attacking the Crimson Stone Pack—they were members of her own pack, the Light Shadow Pack. One of the soldiers from her pack spotted Naya and rushed over.
“Naya, Beta Alfredo is on his way here. You should work together and kill the heir,” the soldier said.
Naya nodded and quickly signaled her team to move. On their way, they encountered numerous fighters from the Crimson Stone Pack, whom they swiftly teamed up against and defeated. After a while, Naya realized the pack village was larger than she had expected. She decided to divide them further to find the heir’s location. After checking all the rooms in the main house, Naya reached an empty chamber.
As she stepped in, she couldn’t help but stop as a wave of images suddenly flashed before her. Again, they were the same images from her dream—images that took place in this exact area...
Naya froze and gasped.
“This place,” she uttered, “…It’s that child’s room in the village.”
This was Ruben’s room. The heir she was supposed to kill.
But as Naya walked around, searching for any trace of him, she found nothing. There was no scent, not even a hint that he had been here recently… or in many years...
Suddenly, Naya heard footsteps. She quickly hid behind a large mahogany cabinet.
“Luna Alicia, please don’t be reckless!” came the voice of a woman.
It was followed by another woman’s voice. “You don’t have to follow me, Leira.”
“But, Luna—”
Luna Alicia pushed the door open and stepped in. A gust of wind blew through the open window, making the curtains billow. Luna Alicia took a few steps until she stood by the table. A melancholic expression crossed her face before she uttered softly, “I know you’re hiding there.”
Naya froze, her heart pounding.
She then heard Luna Alicia’s voice, softer now, as she looked directly at Naya’s hiding place.
“Come out and face me.”
Knowing she was discovered, Naya slowly stepped out, revealing herself. She stood face-to-face with a woman whose long black hair cascaded down her back. Her expression was soft—almost heartbroken—and her eyes shimmered with unshed tears as they met Naya’s. There was a heaviness in the air, as if the sadness emanating from the woman permeated the room.
Naya noticed another figure in the room, standing just behind the woman. This was clearly her assistant, and though her demeanor was calm, there was a readiness in her posture, a subtle tension that suggested she was capable of engaging in a fight if necessary.
Luna Alicia’s expression, however, was what caught Naya’s attention—it was eerily similar to Samantha’s, a mix of sorrow and something else Naya couldn’t quite place.
Determined to stay focused, Naya steeled her heart, ignoring the unsettling atmosphere. She swiftly drew two daggers from her pocket and aimed them at Luna Alicia, her voice cold and unyielding. “Where’s your pack’s heir?”
Leira, the assistant, tensed, ready to act, but Luna Alicia raised a hand to stop her. The Luna’s gaze remained fixed on Naya, her voice calm but with an undercurrent of something deeper. “Why do you want to find him?”
Naya’s heart pounded in her chest, a sensation she was unaccustomed to feeling during a mission. Usually, she never entertained questions from her opponents, yet this time, she found herself answering, her voice chillingly steady. “To kill him. It’s my destiny to kill him.”
Luna Alicia met her gaze, shaking her head slowly. “No… It’s not.”
Naya’s grip tightened on her weapons, her frustration mounting as she pressed the blade closer to Luna Alicia. Leira moved to intervene, but again, Luna Alicia stopped her, turning her full attention to Naya.
“You’re the Luna of this pack,” Naya said, her voice edged with impatience. “You know where the heir is so tell me where he is!”
For a very long time, she had been nothing but patient when it came to her mission. Now that someone – the Luna of the enemy pack herself – had appeared herself, Naya wouldn’t waste this chance.
“Even if I tell you where he is, you might not even accept it,” Luna Alicia responded, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she looked at Naya. The same eyes reminded her once more of the child in her dream.
And Naya didn’t want to remember that dream at all.
Gritting her teeth, Naya glared at her. “You will tell me or you will die too.”
The threat came faster than she could think of. All she knew was to get rid of herself from this situation as fast as she could, especially with the way Luna Alicia was looking at her – her eyes about to shed tears that further sent confusion and anger to Naya’s chest.
When Luna Alicia remained silent, Naya chose the other way, launching into an attack.
Leira was quick to counter, her movements mirroring Naya’s with an unsettling precision. For a fleeting moment, Naya was taken aback. Leira’s skills were eerily similar to her own, but that only fueled her determination. They were all enemies, after all, and she would cut down anyone who stood in her way.
The clash between Naya and Leira intensified, their bodies moving in a deadly dance of combat as the sounds of battle from outside seeped into the room. The air was thick with tension, each movement a test of agility and endurance.
Suddenly, a flash of images from the same dream invaded Naya’s mind, startling her. They were images of the heir – the young boy Ruben and his mother, Louisa – by the edge of the cliff. Soldiers went after them and Louisa defended Ruben, almost wiping the entire group chasing after them. Then, a tall figure appeared and Ruben was attacked. Louisa jumped in and she and Ruben slipped, falling to the cliff together.
Naya gasped and faltered, losing her balance. In that split second, Leira seized the opportunity, her weapon poised to strike at Naya’s neck.
“Stop!” Luna Alicia’s voice cut through the tension.
Naya panted, still trying to decipher what she had seen. And most of all – why? Why would those things suddenly come to her?
Clenching her hands, she quickly regained her footing, breathing heavily as she faced back her opponents once more.
“This is enough, I don’t want to fight with you,” Luna Alicia said firmly. Then, with a deep breath, she added, “Give her the bottle, Leira. It’s time she knows the truth.”
Naya’s first instinct was to step back, her defenses rising. Were they going to make her drink poison now?
But then Luna Alicia’s words broke through her guard, her heart, which she had steeled for so long, beginning to waver.
“The Light Shadow Pack isn’t a warm place, is it?” Luna Alicia’s voice was gentle, almost knowing. “You’ve been given this mission, but deep down, you don’t really want to do it, do you?”
Naya stared at her, wide-eyed and trembling, her mind racing.
“I know it’s not easy but please trust me, I want you to know the truth,” Luna Alicia said. “I want you to remember. You’ve been to the Moon Sanctuary, right?”
Naya took more steps back, the throbbing in her heart increasing. She didn’t know how Luna Alicia knew but it could be that this was her skill. Luna Alicia was trying to trick her. This was why her heart and mind were in deep confusion.
Just as Naya was about to head out, suddenly, the door creaked open, and Billy stepped in. His eyes first met Naya’s before shifting to Luna Alicia, his expression unreadable.
“Billy,” Naya said softly, struggling to find her voice. She signaled him quickly to head out.
But Billy didn’t move. His head hung low as he stared at the ground and said quietly, “I can’t do that.”
Naya was stunned and confused.
He finally looked up, his expression blank as he looked at Naya, “Captain.”
Naya felt a cold wave of shock wash over her as she noticed the strange expression on Billy’s face. Her shock deepened when he casually greeted Luna Alicia, who responded with a small nod.
It took a long while before Naya was able to produce a sound. She stared at Billy and uttered, her voice barely above a whisper as the realization slowly sank in, “You betrayed us.”
“No,” Billy interrupted, his tone calm and unwavering. “I never once betrayed you, Naya.”
He met her gaze, his face unreadable. “I would never do that.”
But Naya’s anger ignited, her grip tightening on the daggers as she muttered through clenched teeth, “Liar. You’re a traitor to the pack.”
The realization hit her like a blow—Billy, a member of the Crimson Stone Pack, had been one of them all along. How could he do this? How could he betray their pack?
Naya’s mind spun, confusion and anger swirling within her as she tried to make sense of the situation. To her, it simply didn’t make sense. Nothing did – not him, not this, not any of it.
“Tell me where the heir is,” she demanded, her voice dangerously low as she fought to regain control, forcing herself to focus on her mission. It didn’t matter who Billy was or if he was a traitor. Naya had one goal—to complete her mission, no matter the cost.
Billy remained still, his eyes locked onto Naya’s as he finally spoke. “It’s me.”
Naya froze, her world coming to a standstill as his words sank in. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she watched Billy take a step closer.
With only a few paces between them, Billy paused, his expression unchanging as he declared, “I’m the one you’re looking for. I’m the heir of the Crimson Stone Pack.”