**Ethan’s POV
My wolf ran over the uneven ground, dodging between the trees and ducking beneath branches lined with thorns longer than my thumb in pursuit of the last of the enemy’s warriors. Our forces had gotten them on their heels, and we were determined to keep them running until we pushed them back completely.
If they kept retreating so quickly, at this rate, the war would be over soon.
I had the taste of dirt and blood in my mouth, along with matted fur and torn muscle, but I didn’t care. I would run all night until I caught another one of these b*stards, and then, I would fill my mouth again, clamping down and ripping until my opponent no longer struggled.
If that was the only way to ensure the opposition withdrew and never returned, then so be it.
In my mind, I heard the voice of one of my commanders saying, ‘They’ve been routed, Alpha, we’ve got them pushed back. They’re in full retreat now!’
‘Keep running!’ I told him and all of my warriors. ‘Don’t give up now. We’ve got them on the retreat, and I’m not about to let up the crushing blow now!’
If we could pin them against the shoreline, they would have no place to go, and then, they’d either have to turn and fight us, or we’d be able to take them all prisoner.
Personally, I hoped they’d try to fight so that we could destroy every single last one of them. I was in the mood for more blood. The tallic taste coated my tongue, and as much as it soured my mouth, I hungered for another portion. I wanted to keep fighting until there wasn’t a single one of them left to fight.
But if they surrendered, we would accept them as prisoners. We might be wolves, but we weren’t animals, not in that sense of the word. If they lay down on the ground and refused to fight or transford into humans and raised their hands, we would take them prisoner and return them to the capital in chains to our prisons to be dealt with as criminals. Unlike many of the rogues out here, we weren’t savages.
I hoped that didn’t happen, that they stood and fought, as I wasn’t finished ripping them to pieces—not yet.
Up ahead of , I saw the tail of the warrior I’d been fighting with earlier. He’d gotten away from when one of his friends had co at from the side. This soldier had gotten away while his rescuer lay back on the ground behind us with his neck at an odd angle, his unblinking eyes staring at the moon.
He wouldn’t be coming to help a second ti.
Picking up my speed, I cut to the left and went around a bush, hoping to gain so ground on him. His heart was beating so loudly, I could hear it echoing in his chest even this far behind him.
When he ca around the bend, I leaped into the air and hit him in the shoulder, knocking him into a tree. His head hit first, and blood squirted out, spraying up the bark and hitting in the face. It didn’t bother at all. He groaned, clearly losing his bearings, and I went for his neck, sinking my teeth in as I went for his jugular. A mont later, I finished him, leaving his limp body lying at the trunk of the tree.
Stepping away, I sniffed the air, wondering if there were any other enemy wolves nearby for to dispatch.
Not slling any, I contacted my commander via mindlink. ‘What’s the status now?’
‘We’ve started rounding up prisoners,’ he told . ‘A few of the warriors managed to escape, but most of them surrendered.’
‘Good,’ I said. ‘Send so of our best trackers after those that got away.’ I wanted every single one of Soren’s warriors who had gone against the king to pay.
We had taken over the territory Kal’s army had controlled. It was under my power now. Soon, I’d be able to chase them out of our land.
Rosalie and my baby should still be back on the islands, and they should stay there. At least I knew they were not bothered by the unpleasant chaos caused by the war.
However, in the last day or so, I had felt a shift.
At first, sohow, I felt she was closer.
I had known for certain that it was my child who was pulling .
Did she co back to the East continent? She had to have figured out at this point that Soren was not who she thought he was, right? So did my Rosalie finally decide to return to ?
Then... I could follow the pull I was still feeling and attempt to find Rosalie and my baby again.
Once I had her in my grasp, I could go about proving to her that Soren had lied to her, that he had tricked her, that I truly did love her.
When she heard about what I had done with Madalynn, then she would know for certain how much I ant what I was saying.
I wanted to go to her so badly, like a magnet that had no choice but to find its other half.
But I couldn’t. I had to take care of the prisoners and secure the territory I’d just gained until so of Jas’s commanders could take over.
Also, if it was true that Rosalie was back on the mainland, I could comb every square inch of it in search of my family as soon as I chased the enemies out. I had ti.
However, just now, the pull faded again.
Sothing happened—that she had sohow managed to slip away from ... again.
I didn’t understand, though, why she was running from ! Did she still think that she couldn’t trust either?
Even thinking about the possibility that I had been close to her and let her slip away from again made sick to my stomach. Although it was still there, it wasn’t as strong as it had been when I was close to their location.
‘Sir...’ Richard said in the mindlink, interrupting my thoughts.
By now, we were in the process of moving the prisoners back and were all in our human forms, slightly cleaned up from the battle. At least, I didn’t have blood or mangled fur in my mouth anymore.
‘What is it, Richard?’ I asked him.
He cleared his throat, obviously apprehensive about whatever it was he needed to say. ‘I just got word of two won and a baby spotted traveling together. They were spotted the day before yesterday by a villager. The only reason he reported it at all was that he was worried she might be running into the enemy troops that just fled, the ones we are pursuing.’
My pulse quickened at the thought. ‘Send more of our troops to make sure that they are apprehended before anyone can hurt them,’ I told him.
‘Yes, sir,’ he said.
‘Does that an she’s traveling north?’ I surmised from his description.
Richard affird my suspicions. ‘That’s right. They were headed north, and he said they were acting a bit suspicious, like they were in a hurry and didn’t want anyone to notice them.’
North.
Was this a coincidence? Georgia found out about the secret of Rosalie’s bloodline from the North, and now Rosalie herself was going north? Did Rosalie sohow know about her own secret? Was she headed to the sa place where Georgia currently was staying?
If so, both Rosalie and my baby would be in even more danger than she currently was from the warriors. The rogues that were running rampant all over the place throughout the north were extrely dangerous, and Rosalie didn’t have her wolf to protect her.
The idea of her doing this on her own, or only with the help of so woman I didn’t know, made extrely unsettled. Regardless of how she felt about , I needed to find her as soon as possible and make her understand that what she was doing wasn’t safe.
Resolved that I knew exactly what we needed to do, I went to find Richard, who was with Samuel and a group of others.
“I am going to head north,” I told him.
Samuel hadn’t been told about Rosalie’s news yet. He arched an eyebrow. “We are, sir?”
“No, you are not. Richard, you gather five more guys to go with .”
I turned to Samuel, “You finish moving the prisoners back to the capital, but the rest of our n are going to continue to clear the enemy out of the territory.”
I could tell that Samuel was a bit confused, but he could only say, “Yes... Alpha.”
“Samuel, get the warriors ready. Make sure everyone sleeps well and gets sothing to eat. And if you don’t have enough food... break into Soren’s supply train. I’m sure there’s plenty there.”
That brought smiles to both Richard and Samuel’s faces. Samuel responded, “Yes, Alpha! We can most certainly do that. Commander Adler has also arrived. Don’t worry about us.”
I nodded to Samuel. Then I looked at Richard, and rushed over to a military truck without wasting any more ti. Richard appointed five more n, and they all jumped into the truck with imdiately. My n were used to executing all of my orders without question, without delay.
I only needed a couple of days; she wasn’t far.
I had no idea why Rosalie had decided to leave Soren or why she thought she could make this dangerous journey on her own, but I did know that I needed to find her. With the pull of my child as my guide, I knew she wasn’t far and I felt assured that I would find her.
As I cranked up the engine of the vehicle and shifted into gear, Gayla’s words echoed in my mind.
“Do not proceed down your chosen path, Alpha Ethan Gray. Do not go north.”
But it didn’t matter.
Whether I believed what the seer was telling or not, I wasn’t going to be altering my plans. I had a mission to fulfill. If that ant going north, then that’s where I would be headed.
I would do whatever it took to get to the woman that I loved and the baby I longed to et.
And nothing was going to stop .
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