Chapter 6 6

Denary’s POV

A woman had done this to me?

My blood boiled, but I kept my expression composed.

“Very well. Are there skilled artists among you?”

Two men raised their hands.

“Good. You three.” I said, pointing to the three men that stepped forward earlier. “Describe her features to these two. And when she’s drawn, I want one copy for myself and one for Jasper. Mine will hang on my wall until I have her head, while Jasper’s will go to our spies who will bring her name to me.”

They bowed in unison.

Silence followed, broken only when one man asked timidly. “Alpha… will we still be advancing toward Moon Veil Pack?”

I hesitated. The weight of my pride pressed heavily against the truth.

“No.” I said finally. “We’ll retreat to the southern grounds. There, we’ll be treated and fed before returning to BloodMoon Pack.”

Murmurs rang out and I caught their eyes that were filled with disbelief and my jaw clenched.

“Enough!” I snapped. “Pack up, we leave within the hour. Those who are fatally injured will be treated now and the rest will wait until we reach the southern grounds.”

The men dispersed at once while I picked up my sword then turned and walked back toward my tent, with Jasper beside me. As we passed, they made way, bowing slightly.

When we reached the tent, Jasper spoke quietly. “I think we have a spy in our midst.”

………….

Killian's POV

After learning of Denary’s plan to infiltrate the Moonveil Pack and where he and his men would be camping, I had thought the gods had handed me the perfect opportunity. I had watched, waited, and counted his men until the odds appeared to favor me. Then I struck thinking that it would be easy, swift, and decisive.

But I had underestimated him.

Denary’s soldiers fought like possessed creatures as if they’d been carved from the same unyielding iron as their Alpha. My men had fallen faster than I could command and victory slipped through my fingers before the battle had even truly begun.

They were forced to retreat, but still I wasn't able to finish Denary off. However, the thought of at least rendering Denary helpless brought a smile to my face.

A sharp sting pulled me from my thoughts, dragging me back into the present. I winced, glancing down at the healer working on the gash across my abdomen.

“Apologies, my Lord.” She said quickly, bowing her head.

I scowled, pushing her hands away. “Get out.”

She blinked, startled. “My Lord…”

“I said out.”

The fear in her eyes pleased me more than it should have. She gathered her instruments and fled the room, while I leaned back against the chair, dragging a hand through my hair, the strands falling loose over my forehead.

My mind kept circling back to the moment I saw a shadow cutting through the trees as my army rode toward Denary’s camp. Later, my men reported that a woman had infiltrated the camp before our attack, shooting Denary with an arrow that nearly killed him.

Beautiful, they said. And brave.

And that made me remember her eyes, though I had only caught a glimpse of them. I couldn’t shake her from my mind. So I’d sent my men to find her, to uncover her name, and where she was from.

I even ordered artists to be brought in because I wanted her drawn exactly as I remembered. All because I wanted to see her again, until I found her in the flesh.

The door suddenly burst open and I straightened as my Beta, Gideon, strode in.

“Gideon.” I said at once. “Any word? Have they found out who she is, or have the artists arrived?”

“No word yet, Alpha. And the artists are on their way.” He shook his head. “But, honestly, it would’ve been faster if you’d just used the good one we already have in the Packhouse.”

“I want skilled artists, Gideon. Not amateurs with pencils.” I frowned. “And I am more than ready to wait until the end of the day if it means perfection.”

He sighed, folding his arms. “You’re impossible.”

I smirked faintly. “You’ve known me long enough to be sure of that.”

He sighed. “You know, I still think it was a mistake not letting me fight beside you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I needed you here to watch over the pack, not bleed on the battlefield beside me.”

“And yet you bled anyway.” He muttered.

“Denary’s blade caught me off guard,” I admitted, my fingers brushing against the bandaged wound. “It still burns, even with the healer’s concoction.”

“Maybe it’s the sting of pride, not the wound.”

“Careful, Gideon.”

He smirked but said nothing, pacing slowly across the room before facing me again. “At what point are you and Denary going to let go of this little rivalry of yours? It’s turning into an arch-enemy psychosis.”

“It’s not a psychosis.” I snapped. “You know as well as I do that if I stay down, he’ll come for me next. Moonveil Pack lies just beyond our border and if Denary had succeeded in infiltrating it, the next to fall would’ve been us. I’m not fighting because I am obsessed, Gideon. I’m fighting because it's necessary.”

He tilted his head. “Necessity and obsession, sometimes they look the same.”

Before I could reply, a knock came at the door.

“Come in.” Gideon called.

The door opened and a man stepped inside, with dust clinging to his boots. I recognized him vaguely as one of our scouts, but couldn’t recall his name.

Gideon gestured toward him. “He’s one of the scouts I sent to track down the mystery woman.”

“Good ” I said sharply. “What have you found?”

The man bowed, still panting. “My Lord, I sent scouts to the northern grounds asking, searching, and questioning anyone who might’ve seen her and discovered who she is.”

“Well, did you find out or not?” I demanded.

He hesitated only a second before answering. “She’s Alpha Gerald’s daughter.”

I froze, my mind catching on the words. Then I leaned forward slightly. “The daughter of the Alpha of Moonveil Pack?”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Well, isn’t that something?” Gideon let out a chuckle, crossing his arms again. “What are the odds that the same woman you left standing at the altar turns out to be the mysterious lady you can’t stop thinking about?”

“Shut up.” I glared at him. “That was a mistake.”

“Clearly one that’s haunting you now.”

“Enough ” I snapped. Then, more quietly. “Mistake or not, she’s mine now.”

Gideon raised a brow. “Yours?”

I stood, ignoring the pull of pain along my ribs. “A woman brave enough to strike Denary, face him and live, deserves far more than the mediocrity of her father’s pack. She’ll make the perfect wife for me.”

“Perfect.” Gideon repeated with a smirk. “Or dangerous.”

“Perhaps both.” I murmured. “Either way, she’ll belong to me. Moonveil still lacks the resources it needs, so  I’ll use that weakness to rebuild what I lost today. I’ll reach out to Gerald, and propose another marriage alliance.”

I paused, a faint smile tugging at my lips. “And this time, I won’t let her go.”

Gideon shook his head. “You’re unbelievable.”

I might've made the mistake of letting her slip away once, but this time around, I won’t make the same mistake again.