Chapter 183: Not the time...
[ Old world- Greater Woods ( Skarthheim base camp) ]
" We... We tried... but she tricked us... She just took off...We couldn’t even...The Hound helped her! Please, we are telling the truth! "
SWISH!
SLASH!
A whip cracked right in front of the two guards kneeling and trembling...
They had their heads bowed low...foreheads nearly brushing the dirt, as though sheer proximity to the earth could save them.
" Of course she would trick you... She is the princess... she has more brain cells than you... But it was your job to track her... stop her from disappearing! What the fuck were the two of doing with these fat ass bodies of yours? "
Another crack and the two shifted as they shuddered.
Their hearts pounded against their ribs, erratic and unsteady.
But it wasn’t their hearts that shook the ground.
Thump.
The earth quivered beneath them.
Thump.
The sound echoed in their bones.
Thump.
Not footsteps.Footfalls. Heavy, slow, deliberate. Each one rumbling like distant thunder through the very marrow of their bodies.
Alpha Thorgar had arrived... he did not utter a single word. Simply took the whip from the enforcer’s hand and walked slowly around the two of them... circling them like a Death Reaper...
His gaze was pinned on their heads...just walking.
Their ears caught the sound of claws flexing...something metallic against bone, flesh tightening with fury.
A low, guttural snarl slid from Thorgar’s throat. Closer. Closer. The younger one of the guards squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to wet himself.
But just then they heard more footsteps. Rushing towards them...
Five more guards, panting, heads bowed even before they reached the clearing. They dropped to their knees as well, sweat trailing down their necks, avoiding Thorgar’s eyes like they were the sun itself.
The leader of the scout team spoke up in a choked whisper.
"We searched the entire eastern ridge, my Alpha... no sign. Not a trail. Not a single print. It is like she is ’gone’ gone... like vanished."
Silence.
Then another piped up, more desperate. "But... we found some more sightings, Alpha. The Beast. Same as before. Moving fast...out of reach."
That was the match.
Thorgar’s snarl cracked the air like lightning.
His fist shot out...a blur...and slammed into the first kneeling guard’s ear. A sickening pop and a spray of blood followed.
The man crumpled forward only to be hauled up by his bleeding ear.
"Tell me once more," Thorgar growled, nostrils flaring like a bull in heat, voice quaking with fury. "Where the fuck did you lose my daughter? Did the earth swallow her whole? Did the goddess pluck her from the trees? Did you fall asleep on your arses and dream when she vanished?!"
The guard could barely speak. Blood poured from his ear, smeared across his chin. His voice was wet, gasping.
"She... she tricked us thrice, Alpha... And then when we turned our backs and ran towards that Hound...thinking she ran in its direction...she was gone. I swear by the Moon, she..."
Thorgar let out another roar and flung him like a ragdoll. The guard hit the ground with a grunt, sliding a few feet, twitching.
Thorgar turned away, fists trembling at his sides, massive chest heaving. His breath was fire, all huffs and low growls and raw, frayed edges.
Orion stepped into the clearing...calm, but tense too.
Thorgar’s red haired right hand man moved like he was walking through a minefield. He placed a steadying hand on Thorgar’s shoulder.
"Any sign of the freaks?" Thorgar spat without looking at him.
Orion shook his head once. "No. Not a whisper. They have gone dark too."
Thorgar grunted low ,but feral.
But then he nodded. "That’s fine," he said, voice almost soft...but that made it worse. Quieter fury was the kind that split mountains.
"That’s better," he muttered. "I hope she is with him."
Orion’s jaw tensed.
"You hope?" His voice was incredulous. "You still let him near her...after what he did to her?"
Thorgar’s head turned slowly. His face twisted into something grief worn...almost old...not just anger, but pain carved into the cracks of his expression.
"Because that’s what my sweet pea wants."
He looked away again, eyes like storm clouds.
"I would have torn that bastard limb from limb the moment he stepped back onto my lands... ripped out his spine and made him watch me break it.Those bastards thought they could trick us with their cheap masking scents and shabby parlour tricks,huh? Fools..."
His fists clenched so hard blood welled at his knuckles. His claws dug crescents into his palms.
"But my sweet pea...my innocent little one..." he swallowed, voice thick now, a raw truth threatening to burst."She still feels him. Still dreams of him. The Mate Bond... it runs deeper than betrayal."
Orion’s voice dropped. "So you will just let her suffer near him? Why let them do what they want? Why not show them your wrath for what he did to the princess.."
Thorgar’s head lifted. His eyes flared with light. "Oh, I will...I have special plans for the two of them...but first I will let my baby heal. I will let her use him...wring him dry of whatever twisted comfort he gives her."
And then he smiled, but it was not kind.It was deadlier than a viper’s bite.
"And when the time is right...When she no longer needs that bastard..."
He slammed his fists together with a crack that literally echoed through the forest.
"I will make that Blackmoon beg for death. I will feed his Bloodfang accomplish his own heart...before I take over their world for good this time. I don’t like leaving my jobs half done. And with my sweet pea by my side this time, victory and glory will be all ours...we will finally see a United world...the prophecy will finally come true.... But the time is not ripe yet,Orion.The time isn’t ripe..."
He turned towards the horizon, where storm clouds gathered and the wind carried the scent of old magic and ancient wolf blood.
"Not yet...but soon," he growled again.