I am running towards Shadowguard village. I know Hugo is following me, but I ignore him. I want to bite his head off for kidnapping Maia. If he didn’t take Maia in the first place, she would be safe by my side.
We arrive at the village. I need rest to regain my strength. King Fenris and his army would have left here this morning. He is possibly near Wellmore now.
Eric mind-links me. He informs me of all the new pups that have been born, and the she-wolves are well but are all concerned about not seeing their mates again.
Tell them there is hope that we will win this war and reunite them with their loved ones soon. We have humans from West Wallow on our side who are also willing to fight this battle, declare Princess Maia queen, and dethrone King Fenris. I mind-link.
I may be able to assist Maia in claiming the throne, Alpha. After conducting some studies on elemental sprites, I discovered something intriguing this morning in a library. The royal sprite family once ruled the castle where King Fenris currently resides. Therefore, princess Maia is the rightful queen of West Wallow because her parents originally resided in and reigned from this same castle. Eric mind-links.
My jaw drops open at the new information. If the populace learns that King Fenris has no legitimate claim to West Wallow and that it rightfully belongs to Princess Maia, this may even help to end the war. I reply, then mind-link Troy with the newfound information.
***
Not wanting to stay at the inn, I decided to shift into my wolf form and sleep in the wilderness for the night. Twilight arrives, and I manage to sleep a few hours. I can hear the crackling of a fire next to me. I open my eyes and sit up to see Hugo sitting on the other side of the fire. I growl at Hugo.
‘Be a good boy now, Alpha and Sit like a good doggie,’ he says in a playful tone.
I bare my teeth and growl, then run to the nearby village and return in human form carrying food.
‘What are you doing here?’ I ask.
‘It’s going to be a very cold night, Alpha. Maia wouldn’t be happy with me if I let you freeze to death, now, would she?’ He smiles.
I growl.
‘Why are you really here, Hugo?’ I ask again.
‘Okay, you won, Alpha… I simply want to observe how you intend to rescue Maia by yourself while surrounded by thirty-five thousand soldiers. He responds with a shrug, ‘I believe it would be interesting entertainment to watch.’
Crossing my arms, I glare at him again. He is right, though, I’m going to need help, and unfortunately, he is the only one left around to help me. I sit down in front of the fire and eat my food.
‘How did you know I was hungry, Alpha?’ Hugo grins.
I continue my feast of village-gathered food despite his presence.
‘Fine, then don’t give me any food,’ he snorts.
‘We will leave before sunrise. Hopefully, we can catch up to Maia tomorrow,’
Hugo nods.
‘Well, I’m going to get some sleep then,’ he says as he lays down and rolls onto his side.
A minute later, he is already asleep, snoring his face off.
You have got to be kidding me. I’m not going to listen to that all night.
Picking up a loaf of bread, I aim it at Hugo’s head and throw it. He looks around in confusion, then down at the bread next to him. He raises an eyebrow at me.
‘You said you were hungry?’ I say, shrugging my shoulders.
Hugo laughs, picks the bread up and chows it down.
‘Suppose you don’t have any wine on you, Alpha?’ He asks.
Looking to my left, I pick the water pouch up and toss it in his direction. He catches it with one hand and takes a swig.
‘Hey, this is water,’ he says with disappointment.
‘Be lucky you even get that.’ I say.
While Hugo eats and drinks, a terrible thought comes to mind.
‘Hugo?’ I ask.
‘Yes, Alpha?’
‘What will King Fenris do if we don’t win this war? I mean, I know he will kill any werewolves left in the land and claim Moon Crest Valley as his land. So I guess what I’m asking is what will happen to Maia? Will he kill her?’ I ask hesitantly. If anyone knows of his plans, it would be Hugo.
Hugo sighs.
‘If you really must know Alpha, he will do much worse than kill her,’
‘What could be worse than being killed?’
‘He will keep her in the iron cuffs for the rest of her life. She will be forced to have his heirs.’ He says.
My fists tighten. I’m shaking with rage and sadness at the prospect of what could happen to my beloved mate. Seeing my clenched hands, Hugo gives me the side-eye.
‘But that mate of yours is one tough kitten. You know she had beaten me in a fight? She even kicked me square in the balls,’ Hugo embarrassedly admits trying to cheer me up.
‘Really?’ I say with surprise.
‘Yup, she sure did,’ he grins and ponders the memory for a moment.
We burst into laughter.
‘You must tell me the story,’ I say.
Hugo tells me how she fought with strength and bravery. She had the chance to kill him, but she instead showed him kindness and forgave him, and the army grew the utmost respect for her.
‘You are one lucky man Alpha,’ he says.
‘I sure am, but we need to get some sleep, Hugo. We have a princess to save,’
Hugo nods and rolls on his side to sleep.
‘And Hugo,’ I say.
‘Yes, Alpha?’ He says.
‘I don’t want to hear you snoring all night long,’
Oh, okay, I thought you were going to thank me, but I’ll try not to snore, he says as he rolls back onto his back and resumes his slumber.
I gaze at the moon and pray to the Moon Goddess to have my Luna back safe by my side.
‘I love you, Maia. I am going to save you and give you the life you deserve,’ I say as I roll over to sleep.
Before I manage to drift off to sleep, Hugo begins to
snore. I sigh and close my eyes.
