Carris’s POV

    I’ve been trapped in this gods–forsaken ce for three months.

    31

    Finished

    To survive, I killed their original shaman and used some chemical tricks I brought from the outside world–things they couldn’t even begin to understand–to pose as their new divine messenger.

    I thought I’d be stuck here forever, at least until that friend of mine who went exploring in Antarctica remembered toe back and pick me up.

    Then I saw her.

    When I caught that faintest thread of pheromone–coded with the unmistakable signature of an Alpha’s distress signal–I was floored.

    Her? Leslie? She’d be the sacrifice for these primitive beastkin?

    I nced at the minotaur chieftain beside me, growing more and more agitated with every second I dyed the ritual. His head was all muscle and no brain. I knew I couldn’t wait any longer.

    She was my only hope of getting out of here.

    I suddenly pointed at the blood moon above and let out a high–pitched shriek filled with terror in their crudenguage.

    “Divine wrath! The blood moon… has brought divine wrath!”

    At the same time, I hurled a leather pouch–already packed with sh powder and high–yield alchemical explosives–into the bonfire at the center of the clearing.

    Boom-

    A deafening st erupted, flooding the entire altar in blinding light and thick, acrid green smoke.

    bLeslie’s /bPOV

    The entire vige erupted into chaos and panic like I’d never seen before.

    That shaman moved like a phantom through the smoke, appearing by my side in an instant. With a swift sh of his obsidian dagger, he cut through the tendons binding me.

    15:58 Wedb, /bSep 17

    Chapter 191 The Alpha and the Trickster

    “Run!”

    :

    His voice came low and sharp, in perfect Continental Common.

    b31 /b

    Finished

    The paralysis still clung to my body, but survival instinct and Alpha pride pushed me to leap off that stone altar with everything I had.

    The shaman grabbed my arm and dragged me into the jungle–away from the vige gates, into the deepest and darkest shadows of the forest.

    Behind us came the roars of beastkin, a tidal wave of rage and betrayal crashing into the night sky.

    We ran like hell through that primal jungle, the shaman’s grip tight on my arm.

    The beastkin’s roars thundered through the trees behind us,ced with the snarls of a dozen wild beasts–so loud, it felt like the earth itself trembled beneath their fury.

    The numbness in my body still lingered, but I forced myself to keep pace with him on sheer Alpha will alone.

    He moved through the jungle like a ghost, as though the forest itself bent to his will. He always found the most hidden paths, always avoided the deadliest traps.

    We crossed freezing streams to mask our scent. We squeezed through narrow stone crevices to lose our trail.

    From time to time, he’d toss pungent powders from his belt into the air, confusing even the most sensitive trackers.

    I had no idea how long we ran before the shouts behind us finally faded.

    He pulled me into a cave hidden behind a curtain of thick vines.

    It was pitch–ck inside–but for us werewolves, it was no different from daylight.

    He lit a small, smokeless fire with dry branches he must’ve prepared in advance. The flickering light danced across the bone mask that still concealed his face.

    He pulled out a hunk of hard–dried meat and a water pouch from his satchel and handed them

    to me.

    I didn’t hesitate. I took them and devoured both without shame.

    Days of hunger and terror had burned away everyst shred of pride.

    “He saved us… but why?” Asphodel’s voice growled in my mind, wary. “Don’t trust anyone,

    Chapter 191 The Alpha and the Trickster

    Leslie. Especially not here.”

    Of course I knew.

    :

    Once I’d finished eating and regained some strength, I turned a cold gaze on him.

    b31 /b

    Finished

    “Who are you? You’re a werewolf–so why were you living among beastkin?” I asked with the unwavering tone only Leslie couldmand. “You saved me. What do you want in return?”

    He chuckled softly from behind the mask.

    “So many questions, Leslie,” he said, voice raspy andced with mischief. “But before we get to that… don’t you think you should take care of those wounds first?”

    Send Gifts

    138

    (li)

    b15:58 /bWed, Sep 17

    But the Alpha Princess’s Wrath