CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED & SIXTY NINE
Jason’s POV
I had been moving for four days when I reached the edge of Moonbrook’s territory.
My father’s directions had been correct. The Rogue King’s stronghold lay northwest of Moonbrook, deep into terrain most wolves avoided. Cold, damp, difficult ground where the trees grew close. It was not a comfortable place to build a stronghold. That was exactly why the Rogue King had chosen it.
I had two routes. I could go the long way and skirt past Moonbrook entirely. It would add two additional days to the journey, but it was safer than the other route. The other route was to cut straight through Colin’s territory.
‘Through,’ my wolf suggested. “We go through his pack territory.’
‘Have you lost your mind? That is suicide if we get caught,’ I said.
‘We are wounded and slowing down. Two more days is two days we do not have,’ my wolf reasoned. He was right. My shoulder wound had reopened. It was not fatal, but it could become fatal if I didn’t take care of it soon.
‘Fine. We will go through,’ I reluctantly agreed. I adjusted the mask on my face and pulled my hood up before moving toward the border.
The walls were half-built, but they were already substantial. Guards were posted at the entrance points, two at each gap, and the gaps themselves had been positioned to funnel anyone entering into a narrow passage where they could be observed from multiple angles.
I cursed under my breath and hid behind a tree.
Damn you, Talia.
Talia, somehow, once again had screwed me over with her stupid ideas. Why couldn’t she understand that a Luna should stay in her place and not concern herself about pack safety? Because of the wall, it was going to make it harder for me to sneak through. On top of that, Solon had named me a traitor and every Alpha in the region was now looking for me. I couldn’t wait to kill him.
‘Still think cutting through was the best idea?’ I taunted.
‘Focus on the guards,’ my wolf huffed.
There were six at the entrance, but I knew there were more nearby. There were too many to avoid and too many to engage as a group. We had to think of a plan. I watched them from my place behind the tree. They weren’t paying too much attention. Perhaps I could just slip on through.
As soon as I stepped forward, one guard saw me immediately. He motioned for another to follow him as he approached me, the other one angling to the side to cut off my retreat.
“You are on Moonbrook territory. Identify yourself,” the first guard said.
I said nothing as I sized them up to see which one I would take first.
“Identify yourself,” he repeated. “You do not pass without…”
I moved before he finished the sentence. My hand closed on his throat. I slammed him into the stone frame of the gap. His neck snapped from the impact.
The second guard lunged at me with his dagger. I stepped into him before he could extend his arm fully and drove my elbow hard into his face. He yelped in pain and instinctively reached for his face, dropping his dagger.
“Pathetic,” I growled as I used his dagger to slice open his neck.
More guards came from the right. Four of them, moving fast and spreading out as they came so I could not take them one by
one. This was not good as I was already.
+25 Bonus
The first guard reached me, and I deflected him but not cleanly. His dagger split open my arm. The second caught me across the ribs with his fist and the pain from my side flared white and sharp, I kicked him back and away from me. The third guard swung hard for my head. I ducked under it and drove my elbow into his jaw, and he staggered into the wall.
The first guard punched me on the side of my head causing my mask to fly off. I felt the cold air on my face before I could catch it. The guard directly in front of me stopped moving.
“You! It’s Alpha Jas…”
The moment his mouth formed my name I drove the heel of my palm hard into his throat. He gripped his throat, choking, as he collapsed to the ground.
The remaining guards scattered immediately. I heard one of them shouting my name into the interior of the territory, but I was already running.
I went through the nearest gap and dodged the guards. I could feel my wolf adding to my strength. ‘Keep running. Do not stop,’ he urged. He didn’t have to tell me that. I refused to be caught when I was so close to getting to the Rogue King.
I did not slow until Moonbrook’s border was well behind me and it felt as if my heart was going to come out of my chest. I took a moment to rest before I continued to move northwest. ‘I will never listen to your suggestions again,’ I said.
‘If you had listened to my suggestions in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this situation,’ my wolf grumbled.
‘Get over it. You’re stuck with me until death. We will get back to our former glory. I promise you,’ I told him. My wolf huffed
and went silent.
I knew I was getting close as it was becoming harder to navigate as the trees were not closer together. There was a musty mildew scent in the air. I stopped in a hollow between two large roots and pressed my back against the trunk. It was a good enough spot to rest for the night.
‘Get ready,’ my wolf growled. ‘Rogues. Very close.’
Not a moment later, I smelled them. Faint but unmistakable, the putrid stench that would make any pack wolf rigid. They were downwind of me, which meant they had not caught my scent yet. That would not last.
2/2
+25 Bonus
