Chapter 38
Ulrik’s POV
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I was about to leave with Velda when a light cough from Lycan Erasmus sounded behind us.
We turned, and Erasmus’s gaze locked onto Velda’s forehead.
“You’ve pledged to reach the southern border before the Western Tribes. I trust it’s not an empty promise. Should you turn the tide,” his claw traced the wolf–tooth carving on his throne, “I’ll reward you handsomely.”
Velda knelt on one knee, her ice–spiked pauldrons glinting. “I swear by the Bloodmoon Pack’s
totem.”
As Velda and I left, Erasmus was still deep in discussion about supplies.
This battle was decisive. None would accept failure now.
My boots clicked urgently on the marble floor.
Outside the palace, a snowstorm lashed at us with icy pellets. I frowned and said, “This mission’s impossible!”
I dragged Velda into the shadow of a wolf statue. Cedar and mint pheromones clashed. “They’ve been gone for over ten days. We haven’t even set off. How can we possibly outrun them?”
“I said we can, then we will,” Velda interrupted, brushing my damp hair aside.
Her eyes blazed with ambition. “There’s nothing that can’t be done with determination.”
I sighed in frustration. “It took two months to lead the capital guard to the Bloodscar Border. Now, with only twenty days, how can we make it?”
Velda waved away my concerns. “Let’s head back to the pack and prepare. We leave immediately.”
After a pause, she sneered, “I know you’ve been resentful lately, and Rosemary dislikes me too. But I’ll prove Adelaide’s tricks are useless. Only by earning merits on the battlefield can the Bloodmoon Pack regain its former glory.”
Hearing Adelaide’s name, I frowned.
“Don’t mention her,” I snapped, my claws piercing my gloves. “When we dissolved the bond, she didn’t even leave me the wolf–head flag.”
Velda’s gaze turned cold. “Does she still prick your conscience? Are you still entangled with her? I think she’s playing hard to get, which is why you went to the Frostfang Pack looking for her.”
“Stop it,” I said, suppressing my anger. “I told you, I went to Frostfang to consult Shaman Digby. My mother’s illness requires more than medicine. Shaman Digby’s wolf magic is essential. And I
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“Conveniently unavailable, isn’t she? Who knows what schemes you two are brewing?” Velda retorted.
I looked at her cold face, feeling annoyed. “We’re heading into battle. Let’s not argue over someone we’ve already severed mate bond with.”
My voice carried a wolf’s howl.
My wolf tail brushed my spine, growling discontentedly. “Why does she frustrate me so much?”
I muttered, trying to soothe my wolf.
Velda realized the tension between us.
Softening her tone, she said, “You’re the one who won’t let me mention her. Your defensiveness only fuels suspicion.”
“There’s only you in my heart,” I said, taking her hand, though my gaze wandered to the gloomy sky.
“I don’t believe Alphas are loyal warriors,” Velda sighed, her resolve hardening. “But I’ll make you see that taking me as your mate is the Bloodmoon Pack’s greatest fortune. Adelaide can only help with your mother’s care–Tamara can do the same. I, however, can restore the Bloodmoon Pack to its former glory.”
This was indeed my dearest wish.
I nodded slightly, my wolf ears twitching unconsciously. “It’s strange that the Western Tribes would ally with the Dragon Ash to attack our southern border. They’ve sworn blood oaths, with wolf–head bone seals buried at the boundary markers.”
Velda stroked the wolf–head dagger at her waist, its totem gleaming coldly. “The pact only binds the Bloodscar Border. The southern border remains unconquered, with Frostbite and Darkclaw Towns still in Dragon Ash control. The Western Tribes‘ assistance doesn’t technically break the treaty.”
“Even so…” I tightened my grip on the wolf–head military token, my finger tracing the battle scars my father had engraved.
“The Dragon Ash Kingdom and Western Tribes seldom interact. Shouldn’t we fear their intentions?”
The wolf hair under my pauldrons bristled with alertness, though I wasn’t fully transformed, and the mating mark on the back of my neck still burned.
Though not a battle–seasoned veteran, I could sense the oddity of their sudden alliance.
Velda shrugged. “Who cares? It’s an opportunity for us. I’m hoping they come.”
Unlike Velda, I couldn’t share her optimism.
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Chapter 38
reinforcements under two hundred thousand, the situation was dire.
Finished
Alpha Lance’s troops were short on supplies and filled with wounded soldiers, unable to capture Frostbite Town and could only wait for support on the spot.
It was winter, and the southern border was bitterly cold, extremely unfavorable to us.
Velda had easily promised to arrive on the battlefield before the Western Tribes, which seemed almost impossible to me.
She lacked experience, and if we failed, we would be the first to be held accountable.
“By the way, do you know why Lycan Erasmus posted royal guard wolves at the entrance of Frostfang?” Velda suddenly asked.
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