Phoebe’s POV
I wandered around the house with Justin trailing behind , though he kept his distance since I wanted so space to think.
We’d just finished dinner together, and like always, Wade had made everything more lively with his endless chatter. Now I needed a walk before bed - my stomach was way too full.
"My queen, don’t go toward the forest. It’s dangerous."
Justin’s warning stopped just as I was about to head in that direction.
"Why?"
"It’s..." Justin seed nervous to tell . "The wild wolves live there."
My eyebrows shot up with interest. It had been forever since I’d last seen the wild wolves, and Justin must have caught the excitent in my eyes.
"I know you used to feed the wild wolves, but I can’t risk your safety. Please understand - this is for your protection."
I wanted to argue, but I didn’t want to make things harder for Justin. Besides, I had no idea if this place was close to the wolf pack territory. I might run into other dangerous animals in the forest, and the last thing I needed was to put myself at risk.
So I turned away from the forest, but sothing caught my attention. I heard it first since I was closer.
From behind the bushes ca a sound.
"My queen?" Justin noticed my interest, and when he ca closer, he heard it too. "I’ll check what it is. Please stay here."
Justin followed the sound and found a wolf pup behind the bushes. Blood stained its hind leg.
"This is..."
I saw it and moved closer. I scooped the pup into my palms while it struggled against Justin and , terrified we’d hurt it.
Gently, I stroked its head and tickled its belly. I could see the wound on its hind leg clearly.
"I’m taking it with ."
"But..." Justin didn’t think that was smart - he was worried the wolf pack would co to the house since we were taking their pup. "I think it’d be better to leave it here..."
I gave him a look that basically said how heartless could he be, which shut him up imdiately.
The pup kept making distressed sounds, but when I cradled it like a baby, the little creature cald down and snuggled against .
"I still don’t think this is smart," Justin muttered, but as usual, he couldn’t go against .
Inside the house, I tended to the wound on its hind leg and prepared so warm milk.
"How adorable," Wade said, coming over. He was fascinated by the wild wolf pup. "I’ve heard about the wild wolves the king takes care of, but since the forest area is off-limits, I can’t get close."
"Why would you want to get close? Want to beco wolf food?" Orion chid in, gently stroking the pup’s head.
It still amazed how gentle Orion was despite his massive fra. A giant with a kitten’s heart.
An hour later, the pup’s wound was properly bandaged, and it was purring on my lap, drowsy after finishing a whole bowl of milk.
anwhile, rain began pouring down, the sky darkened, and the night felt a bit ominous.
I didn’t want to go back to my bedroom, so I chose to stay with my three warriors as we played a board ga.
But in the distance, we heard distressed howling.
Wild wolves and shifters ca from the sa spirit, though they were different beings, which ant they could understand each other to so degree.
We could tell the wolf pack was in distress.
"I think they’ve co for this little guy," Wade said, looking at the wolf fondly and patting the pup on my lap.
I stood up with the sleeping pup in my arms. I liked the pup and wanted it to stay, but a wolf wasn’t a pet. It’d be better to return it to its family.
"My queen, let take it out." Justin was still stressed about the pup.
But I refused. I wanted to see the wild wolf pack again. I wondered if it would be the sa pack.
When I stepped outside, the pup in my arms woke up. Its ears perked up at the distant howling.
I set the little creature down. The rain wasn’t as heavy now. Tiny droplets fell from the sky, but I couldn’t care less when my dress got wet.
From the bushes, I saw the alpha of the wild wolves.
It was the sa alpha. The sa pack Perry had cared for all this ti.
Sohow, seeing the wolf made happy.
I missed Perry, so anything connected to him brought a smile to my face.
"You have a young pup in your pack again?" I mouthed the question, though I wouldn’t get an answer.
The pup walked toward the alpha and rubbed its muzzle against the bigger wolf’s front leg, while the alpha sniffed it, especially the bandaged hind leg.
They stayed like that for a mont before turning and leaving.
But the alpha looked back at one last ti before disappearing into the night.
I felt so sad...
---
"We’re here," Reginald said, shaking Fiona awake. "Get your jacket and we’ll head up."
Fiona opened her eyes groggily, looked around, and realized she was on the boat to the Valerium Kingdom.
She’d just been dreaming about her parents - a happy mont from her childhood. She missed that feeling of safety and peace.
Now that she was awake, she had to face reality. There was no peace or safety here - they had to fight to survive.
Reginald waited for Fiona, and when she was ready, they both went up to the deck.
This was Fiona’s first ti in the Valerium Kingdom, and her first impression was... not good.
The kingdom looked barren. The people seed poor, wearing shabby clothes. But she figured this might just be the harbor area.
She couldn’t judge an entire kingdom based on one spot.
However, when they got off the boat, a sll hit Fiona and she almost gagged from how awful it was.
It slled like rotten food, and the stench ca from the people approaching them.
Fiona looked around and saw all the warriors looked uncomfortable. They slled it too. Only Reginald and Allen seed unbothered.
Royal beta Allen imdiately approached the border warriors, who nodded respectfully. They recognized him, which was good, but Fiona couldn’t shake her bad feeling about all this.
Her skin crawled, and she wanted to go back to the boat. Return to the Mya Kingdom. Even if she had to die, at least she’d die on her own land, not on foreign soil.
"Reginald, there’s still ti to get out of here," Fiona said quietly, tugging his arm. "I don’t think this is smart."
Fiona was scared. Those shifters stared at her hungrily, like they wanted to devour her alive.
"And then what? What would you do if you went back?" Reginald asked matter-of-factly, and Fiona had no answer.
"What are they talking about?" Fiona frowned because they spoke in hushed tones while glancing toward her and the other warriors from her pack.
"Sothing’s wrong," Alpha Sterling said. He could feel it. "Why is this taking so long?"
They were still on the beach, waiting for permission to enter Valerium territory, but Allen had been talking with the border warriors for ten minutes.
"This shouldn’t take this long."
Ten minutes later, Allen returned with a smile. A sweet smile that made Fiona’s skin crawl.
"You may enter Valerium territory, but with one condition."
"What is it?"
"Put on the silver bracelets."
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