WebNovels

Chapter 17 - Chapter 17 - A Wolf Slave

"You look really good, maybe due to being a princess," Vera observed with genuine appreciation, her gray eyes taking in Luna's transformed appearance as they prepared to descend into the bustling border town below.

The clothes Lila had stolen fit Luna perfectly—dark leather boots that laced to mid-calf, thick woolen leggings in deep brown, and a well-tailored vest of rich burgundy over a cream-colored tunic.

The fabric was substantial, clearly expensive despite its practical cut, and the vest's silver buckles caught the afternoon light.

Luna's hand smoothed over the vest self-consciously.

"I'm not the princess," she said quietly, her crimson eyes distant.

She'd been about to explain how marrying into the branch family had stripped her of royal status, how her uncle had orchestrated the whole thing to consolidate power.

But the words felt heavy, pointless.

That life was behind her now.

Those politics, that pain—what did any of it matter anymore?

A life she didn't want to talk about not because it was painful, but because to her, it was meaningless.

Instead, she turned toward Lila, who was adjusting her own stolen cloak. "Thank you for bringing such good cloth. The quality is remarkable."

Lila paused, her pale eyes meeting Luna's with surprise. She hadn't expected gratitude, especially not delivered with such genuine warmth.

'I made sure to get the thickest fabric I could find,' Lila thought, watching as Javrian finished tying his own dark cloak around his shoulders.

The sturdy weave wouldn't tear easily—important when someone as... clingy as their alpha was constantly adjusting and repositioning the woman in his arms.

Her jaw tightened as she watched him check Luna's clothing with the focused attention of a man ensuring his most precious possession was properly protected.

'He's treating her like she's made of spun glass,' Lila noted with growing irritation. 'Does he even realize how obvious he's being?'

"The market will be crowded," Javrian said, his silver eye scanning the town below. "We stay together, move quickly, and avoid unnecessary attention."

Kael snorted. "Right. Because a red-haired woman walking between four men in black cloaks won't attract any attention at all."

He had a point.

As they made their way down the winding path toward the town's edge, Luna could already feel curious gazes turning their way.

Her vibrant hair caught the sunlight like flames, making her impossible to miss even with the hood of her borrowed cloak pulled up.

The border town sprawled before them—a maze of cobblestone streets lined with timber-framed buildings that leaned precariously over narrow alleys.

Smoke rose from countless chimneys, and the air filled with the mingled scents of roasting meat, fresh bread, and less pleasant odors from the tanneries and stables.

Market stalls crowded the main thoroughfare, their colorful awnings creating a patchwork canopy overhead.

Merchants hawked their wares in loud voices—fabric vendors displaying bolts of cloth, blacksmiths showing off gleaming tools, and food sellers offering everything from fresh apples to roasted chestnuts.

"Stay close," Javrian murmured to Luna, his hand settling protectively on her lower back as they joined the flow of people moving through the market square.

Luna found herself fascinated despite their precarious situation.

She'd read about border towns but had never seen one—the mixture of Empire citizens and foreign traders, the babel of different languages, the exotic goods that would never make it to the capital markets.

A fruit vendor caught her attention, his stall displaying pyramids of red apples that gleamed like jewels in the afternoon sun.

The sweet, crisp scent made her mouth water—she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten.

"Just one," she said softly to Javrian, nodding toward the stall as she was hungry.

He hesitated, clearly not wanting to linger, but her hollow expression from earlier had been replaced by the first hint of genuine curiosity he'd seen.

"Quickly," he agreed, guiding her toward the vendor.

The apple seller, a portly man with graying hair, smiled broadly at their approach. "Fresh from the northern orchards, my lady! Sweet as honey and crisp as winter air!"

Luna selected a particularly perfect specimen, its skin unblemished and bright.

Javrian dropped a silver coin on the counter—far more than the apple was worth—as Luna bit into the fruit while glancing at the coin, doubting where he had taken it from.

Naturally, this Alpha wolf was in short, torn trousers all this time.

But she focused on the apple as something finally went into her mouth; the explosion of flavor made her eyes widen with pleasure.

Sweet juice ran down her chin, and for a moment, she looked almost childlike in her delight.

'...Did that bastard not even give her apples!?' Javrian thought. Though his face appeared unmoving, with the side glance, he clearly felt a slight, strong kind of rage inside, slightly regretting how he should have killed Victor more brutally.

"One more." And seeing how she seemed to have gotten good food for the first time, he purchased another.

"Hehe, yes, it will be another silver coin." And the shopkeeper, who was rubbing his hands clearly, judging both of them from the first time giving the silver coin that this man was clearly going to pay more for this woman, let his greed surface on his face.

"I see." Javrian nodded, given he wasn't fully aware of the value of currency in the Empire.

"Huh, what?" Luna just halted mid-bite, looking toward the shopkeeper and Javrian, who had stretched his hand to give another silver coin.

She was about to tell him how the shopkeeper was fooling him, but naturally, it appeared her intervention was unnecessary given how the moment the shopkeeper placed his hand to take that coin from Javrian's hand, he clenched his fist.

Turning his hand back before opening it, revealing small shards of silver from that coin falling, clearly showing his brute strength had just broken that metal into tiny shards, instantly making the shopkeeper's blood go cold.

His body trembled as his greed for silver met with the sharp silver glare, causing his head to turn down while with trembling hands he took a bucket of apples and instantly offered.

"Please have this, dear c-customers.."

'Haah,' Luna seemed to have for a moment thought that she would need to intervene, but it appeared she might have underestimated his senses.

Indeed, she could see that he might be unaware of the value of the coin, or maybe as a gesture would have given that silver coin earlier.

But it was also true that he was born for war, a battle-torn wolf who can instantly sense what intentions the other has. To sow greed or even fear in front of someone like him was an absolute disaster.

A predator just needs a moment of hesitation, and the end.

But their moment of peace shattered with the sharp crack of a whip and an angry bellow that cut through the market noise like a blade.

"You barbaric wolf slave, how dare you spit on my face!"

The voice carried enough rage and disgust to make nearby shoppers stop and turn. Luna's apple fell from her suddenly numb fingers, rolling across the cobblestones as her blood turned to ice.

That voice. That tone of absolute authority mixed with revulsion made her doubt that maybe one of them had been caught, swiftly turning, finding all of them standing while looking in a certain direction.

Following their line of sight, she saw a merchant holding a whip that he had just used to strike a wolf woman in tattered cloth, who was lying on the ground.

'N-no... you fool... this place will become bloodbath.'

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