"Then just cover your ears—" Darius genuinely suggested, flashing his boyish smile as he jogged beside them, completely oblivious to the tension crackling in the air.
GLARE
Lila's pale eyes turned murderous, shooting him a look so sharp it could have skinned a bear alive.
"Ahem." Darius's smile died instantly. He coughed awkwardly and deliberately slowed his pace, creating distance between himself and what felt like an impending bloodbath. 'Note to self: never offer helpful suggestions when Lila looks ready to commit murder.'
The morning air grew thick with unspoken rage as Lila whirled to face Luna directly. Her muscular frame trembled—not from exertion, but from barely contained fury that seemed to radiate off her in waves.
"You want to play the victim? Fine!" Lila's voice rose to a shout that echoed off the mountain rocks, startling a few birds from nearby trees. "But don't you dare drag him down with you! Don't you dare make him choose between his safety and yours!"
Her voice cracked slightly on the last words, revealing the desperation beneath her anger.
"I know he'll get hurt because of a weak human like you!"
Luna felt Javrian's entire body go rigid beneath her, his muscles coiling like a spring ready to snap. But she couldn't look away from Lila's burning gaze—those pale eyes that held years of pain and fear.
"He always gets hurt trying to protect his comrades, and now you..." Lila's voice dropped to a whisper, but somehow it carried more weight than her shouting. Memories flashed across her face like ghosts—bloody battles, desperate escapes, Javrian throwing himself into danger time and again to save them all.
"Every single time, he puts others first. Gets torn apart, bleeds out, nearly dies—all for us." Her fists clenched so tight her knuckles went white. "You will just become his weakness, that's all!"
The confession hung in the morning air like a blade suspended over their heads.
But before Lila could continue her tirade, Luna's calm voice cut through the emotion.
"You love him too much." Luna's crimson eyes studied Lila's stricken face with an almost clinical detachment, reading her like an open book. "Don't you?"
!?!
"Whaaa—whaa!?—BAM!"
The direct hit was devastating. Lila, who'd been sprinting with the grace of a predator, suddenly stumbled like her legs had turned to jelly. Her face went scarlet as she crashed face-first into a thick pine tree.
THUD
She bounced off and hit the ground with a groan that was equal parts pain and mortification.
"Urgh—my nose..." Blood trickled from her nostrils as she lay flat on her back, staring up at the canopy in complete shock.
"...."
Dead silence filled the forest clearing. Even the birds seemed to hold their breath.
Everyone had frozen mid-step, glancing between Lila (who looked like she'd been hit by a truck) and Luna (who was blinking innocently in Javrian's arms like she hadn't just delivered a knockout blow with mere words).
Kael's jaw hung open. Vera looked like she'd witnessed a miracle. Darius's eyes were practically bulging out of his head.
Even Javrian stared down at Luna with something between amazement and amusement dancing in his silver eye.
Then, as if finding her genuinely confused expression absolutely irresistible, he decided to add fuel to the fire.
"Now it might be clear to all of you," Javrian announced with wicked satisfaction, "how Luna can, without lifting a single finger, defeat a strong wolf like Lila."
His words rang with such obvious pride that it made Luna's heart skip—which only confused her more.
"Eh? What?" Luna tilted her head, genuinely bewildered by the chaos she'd apparently caused. 'All I did was state the obvious...'
Javrian's smirk widened, clearly enjoying her confusion way too much.
'...why is he looking at me like that?' The realization hit Luna like lightning to the brain. Her eyes slowly widened as understanding dawned, and she turned her head toward Lila with dawning horror.
Lila had managed to sit up, wiping blood from her nose with the back of her hand. Her pale eyes blazed with renewed fury as she glared daggers at Luna.
"A win is a win, even if you used your shrewd and cunning mind," she declared through gritted teeth, pointing an accusatory finger. "But don't think I'll fall for your psychological warfare again! Pthoo~!"
She actually spat to the side for emphasis, which would have been intimidating if not for the leaves stuck in her silver hair and the red mark on her forehead from the tree.
'Eh?' Luna blinked rapidly, still processing how asking a simple question had somehow turned into a "victory."
---
The rocky terrain gradually gave way to smoother paths as they descended through the mountain passes.
Hours had passed since Lila's spectacular tree collision, and though she'd stubbornly refused any help getting back on her feet, she now walked with a slight limp—and a perpetual scowl aimed directly at Luna.
"We're almost there," Kael announced, his massive frame casting long shadows in the afternoon light as he pointed ahead. "The border should be just beyond that ridge."
Javrian's grip on Luna tightened reflexively. She'd been awake for most of the journey, though she kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady.
Every so often, he'd catch her peeking through her lashes, studying their surroundings with that sharp intelligence that had already proven dangerous to everyone's peace of mind—nor did anyone know she was innocent and just told the truth.
'Is she in some doubt?' he thought, noting how her fingers occasionally twitched against his cloak.
As they crested the final hill, the view that opened before them made everyone pause.
Below them stretched a massive border town, its cobblestone streets bustling with merchants, travelers, and Imperial soldiers.
Beyond that, rising like a stone giant against the horizon, stood the Great Wall—the massive fortification that marked the edge of the Wenhan Empire's territory.
Towers jutted up at regular intervals, their red banners snapping in the wind. Even from this distance, they could see the glint of armor as guards patrolled the ramparts.
"The last Imperial outpost," Vera breathed, her gray eyes reflecting a mixture of fear and fascination. "Once we cross that wall..."
"We're in true werewolf territory," Darius finished, his young voice carrying both excitement and terror.
Javrian studied the scene below, his silver eye calculating distances, guard rotations, and potential escape routes.
The town would be crawling with bounty hunters and Imperial spies—exactly the kind of place they normally avoided at all costs.
But they needed to pass through it without getting noticed. And Luna...
He looked down at the woman in his arms, noting how her crimson eyes had opened to take in the view.
Her expression was unreadable, but something in her posture had shifted.
And he felt strangeness while he was closing in on the borders, as if he was noticing her body language even more regarding if she might change her decision to accompany him.
"Let's go," he said finally, already planning their route through the town's back alleys.
"No."
The simple word stopped him cold.
Luna's voice carried that same matter-of-fact tone that had become both familiar and dangerous.
Not pleading, not fearful—just a flat refusal that somehow carried more weight than any dramatic protest.
'!'
Javrian's steps faltered, his silver eye searching her face. "What?"
The pack members exchanged worried glances. They were exposed on this ridge, visible to anyone with a spyglass in those guard towers.
But Javrian's attention was entirely on Luna, on the way her expression had shifted to something almost... resigned.
'She doesn't want to leave the Empire.'