Chapter 5 You Still Alive?

The next morning, Luisa woke up. She writhed. Her body felt crushed, and her head felt dizzy. She clutched her head, trying to remember what had happened the night before, as she felt herself teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness. However, she was shocked to realize she had woken up naked, wrapped only in a blanket, with Elyndor also sleeping naked beside her.

Luisa reflexively pulled herself away from Elyndor.

"It's impossible!" she cried out in shock. "I ... I couldn't have done that," she denied. Amidst her confusion, a loud noise outside startled her, alerting her.

Luisa felt a sense of danger lurking. She hastily picked up her scattered clothes and put them back on with trembling hands. She crept to the window and pulled the curtain slightly aside to peer through the gap in the wood. Instantly, her eyes widened.

At the end of the path, a pack of wolves from the pack was approaching, surrounding her hut.

"Damn, how did they find this place?!"

Panic gripped Luisa's chest. She looked back and found Elyndor still fast asleep. In the eyes of the pack, Luisa was nothing but a pariah, a piece of trash with no right to live. If they found her here, especially with a stranger whose origins she didn't even know, her life was in danger. Her presence here would only be seen as an insult or a threat to them. The fear of being captured and tortured drove Luisa's survival instincts to get out of there.

Without wasting time waking Elyndor or gathering her essentials, Luisa made a swift decision. She turned, ran to the back door, and dashed away into the morning mist, leaving the hut and Elyndor behind her.

Luisa had to get as far away as possible. She didn't know why her hut, which had been safe from prying eyes for years, was suddenly surrounded.

The pack wasn't rogues. It was the Bloodline Pack. The Beta, Eliam, gave his troops a stern order, "Search this area! I smell the Alpha's scent getting stronger!"

"Beta, we're already at the border of human territory. It's unlikely that... if the Alpha is still alive," one of his soldiers said, his face exhausted and resigned.

"How dare you think our Alpha is dead?!" Eliam was instantly enraged. He swung his sharp claws, ripping through the impudent soldier's chest, leaving the victim writhing in pain on the ground.

"How dare you! I know the Alpha's condition better than you!" Eliam shouted indignantly, his breath ragged. The Beta's anger made the other soldiers tremble with fear. "Search this entire area now!"

Moments later, a tracking wolf interrupted, "Beta Eliam, there's a hut over there."

Eliam turned sharply in the direction indicated. "Search that place now!"

“Yes, Beta.”

Eliam and his men approached the hut warily. They suspected the secluded place was a witch or rogue's lair, so they had already taken their fighting stances.

At Eliam's signal, two soldiers kicked the hut door open and shattered it. The loud bang jolted Elyndor from his sleep. His vision still blurry and blurry, he immediately stood up.

The soldiers were shocked to see who was inside.

“Alpha?” they gasped. “We found him. The Alpha is here.”

Eliam, hearing the cries of his pack, rushed in and saw for himself. He was shocked to see the Alpha still alive.

“Who's there?!” he snapped, his voice booming with menace. He too had already taken his stance, ready to attack.

“Alpha Elyndor?”

A familiar, startled voice filled Elyndor's ears.

“Eliam? Is that you?”

“Yes, Alpha. It is indeed me. We have searched everywhere for you, and my suspicions have never been wrong. You are still alive,” Eliam replied, immediately kneeling in salute, followed by his troops.

“Do you think I’m dead?!” Elyndor exclaimed. His deep voice echoed throughout the room. His still-blind eyes stared in the opposite direction from his pack.

Beta Eliam bowed his head deeply, showing absolute respect before replying, “Yes, word of your death has spread throughout the pack, Alpha. But I believe you are still alive. And my suspicions are never wrong. Our powerful Alpha will never be defeated so easily!”

Elyndor’s jaw clenched, the veins in his neck tensing. Silence gripped him, leaving only his ragged breaths, which began to quicken with rage.

“Tell me. Who dared spread such rubbish?!”

“Lord Blackley.”

The name hung in the air.

“Blackley?” Elyndor repeated the name coldly, as if it were dirtying his tongue.

“Yes, Alpha,” Beta Eliam replied quickly. "The situation in the palace is in chaos. Even the Grand Alpha and his concubine... they plan to use this moment to declare Lord Blackley your successor within days. That's why we've been searching for you, hoping you're still alive, and that our search hasn't been in vain."

Elyndor's hands, resting on the edge of the wooden table, clenched tightly, the sound of his nails clawing at the wood audible.

"How dare that concubine use her illegitimate son as my successor?" Elyndor growled lowly, a sound capable of making any low-ranking wolf kneel in fear.

His temporary blindness, making it difficult for him to return to his pack in his weakened state, suddenly fell into place. The pieces of the puzzle of the night of the attack suddenly fell into place. The heat from the silver bullet that had pierced his flesh seemed to burn his skin again. Now, everything became clear. He could already guess who the traitor was within his pack.