CHAPTER 418: THE GUARDIANS

The smile was still on Alaric’s lips when the forest changed. He hastily stood. The soldiers who were resting in their tents stumbled out, swords drawn from their sheaths.

For a moment, there was only silence. Even the cicadas’ song stilled, and the owls stopped hooting.

Then another growl.

It was subtle at first—a break in the rhythm of the night. The wind drew in, and somewhere beyond the fire’s reach, branches bent under a weight that moved carefully, too carefully.

Lara’s head lifted.

From the far side of camp came a low, rolling growl.

It was followed by another, deeper and more resonant, vibrating through the ground beneath their feet. The sound belonged to them.

"Gray. Snow." Lara’s voice was calm, but her eyes had sharpened.

The two wolves stepped into the firelight from the same direction, their gray and white coats rippling like water. Gray’s teeth were bared, a glint of ivory between the flames and shadows. Snow’s amber eyes never blinked, fixed on the dark figure in front of them.

Between the two wolves, half-dragged and half-driven forward, a man dressed in mottled greens and browns stumbled. His face was smeared with mud, his hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. The wolves flanked him, giving him no room to bolt.

The stranger’s gaze flicked to Alaric—measured, assessing—and Lara caught the glint of a slim blade hidden along his sleeve.

"Drop it," she said.

He froze, eyes narrowing in defiance, before they turned pitiful.

Gray stepped closer, his muzzle brushing the man’s wrist, and with a quick snap of his jaws, the hidden knife clattered to the ground.

Soldiers surrounded the man in no time.

Alaric approached slowly. "You made a grave mistake stepping into my camp."

The man’s breathing was ragged, but his voice came steady. "I am just a hunter, Sir. This is where I normally spend the night when I cannot make it out during the day. I did not see anything. I hear nothing. Please let me go." He begged.

Lara circled behind him, her boots silent on the earth. "But you don’t look like a hunter at all. You looked like someone who intended to listen and to sell what you learned."

The man’s shoulders tensed at her voice. Snow’s lips peeled back from her teeth.

Alaric’s eyes narrowed, catching the faint gleam of a crest stitched into the spy’s tunic—barely visible where the mud had smeared away. "Zuran," he said. Not a question.

Lara stepped into his line of sight, the fire dancing in her eyes. "We could kill you now."

The spy’s throat bobbed, but his mouth curled faintly upward. "Or... you could hear my offer."

Gray growled again, low and long, and Snow pressed closer until the man’s knees buckled. Lara raised her hand, stilling them—but her gaze stayed cold.

"You have one breath," Alaric said, "to make me believe keeping you alive is worth the risk."

The man licked dry lips. "I know Turik’s next moves."

The silence that followed was sharper than any blade.

The firelight trembled across the spy’s face as Gray and Snow herded him into the circle of camp. Their teeth flashed each time he shifted too quickly, the wolves moving in perfect, silent coordination—predators trained to close every escape.

"Who are you with?" Lara asked, her voice low and calm.

"I am alone," the spy replied.

Lara stood motionless, but her eyes tracked every flicker of his movements. "Name," she said.

He hesitated. Snow stepped closer, the thick rumble in her chest vibrating through the ground.

"Diego," the man finally said. "Of the—"

"Zura," Alaric finished for him, his tone flat. "The crest stitched beneath your mud isn’t as hidden as you think."

Diego’s eyes darted to Lara. "Then you already know I serve General Turik," His voice was calm, too calm for a man surrounded by steel and teeth. "Which means you also know why I’m here."

"To die?" Lara suggested.

A faint smirk tugged at his mouth. "To warn you."

Gray’s ears pricked forward. Alaric didn’t move. "Warn me of what?"

Diego’s gaze shifted deliberately between them, lingering a heartbeat longer on Lara. "Your trusted Angus is not what you think. He has been meeting with the Turik’s envoys in secret—preparing a bargain you will not like."

Lara’s face remained expressionless.

Alaric stepped forward until only the wolves stood between him and the spy. "And why would I believe a man who crept into my camp like a thief?"

Diego shifted his gaze to Lara.

"Because," Diego said, lowering his voice, "you already doubt him, Kane Mendel. You’ve seen the signs, even if you don’t want to admit it."

The words seemed to hang in the air, heavy and poisonous. Lara felt the weight of Alaric’s gaze, searching her for any flicker of agreement.

Lara’s brows arched. The man was well-informed.

Diego’s smirk widened, sensing the fracture he was trying to create. "I can prove it... but you’ll need me alive to do that."

The wolves growled in unison, low and hungry. The fire cracked. The forest waited.

Diego’s smirk lingered like a stain. "I can give you names, dates, Turik’s exact offer to your Angus. I can tell you where he’s been slipping away at night."

Alaric’s eyes narrowed, but his voice stayed cool. "If you’re lying, I waste breath. If you’re telling the truth, I invite poison into my camp."

Diego shrugged. "Or you remove Angus before he removes you." His gaze slid toward Lara again. "You see it too, don’t you? You doubt his loyalty because the blood of Estalis runs through his veins."

"Enough." Lara’s voice cracked like a whip. The wolves stilled, eyes locked on her.

But Diego pressed on, almost giddy now. "You’ve both put your trust in him. What happens when he finally closes his fingers? As I speak, he is in command of the Estalis soldiers camped at the outskirts of Fereya."

Gray’s fangs glistened in the firelight, his growl vibrating through the air. Snow moved to the spy’s side, close enough that Diego flinched for the first time.

Alaric stepped forward, shadows swallowing half his face. "You came here to fracture my trust. But the only thing you’ve done is sign your own death."

Diego’s bravado faltered, a ripple of fear breaking the surface. "You’ll never know the truth without me—"

Alaric didn’t raise his voice. "I already know the truth. Angus is worth ten of you."

Lara’s hand made a subtle gesture. Gray lunged, jaws clamping hard around the spy’s throat. There was a muffled cry, then only the wet sound of breath cut short.

The body crumpled to the dirt, eyes wide in the final shock of disbelief.

Neither Lara nor Alaric looked away. The wolves released him and stepped back, silent but watchful. They had unleashed their true nature.

The forest seemed to exhale again, the night’s sounds creeping cautiously back in.

Alaric turned toward the fire without another word, his shadow stretching long across the ground. Lara followed him. Her thoughts was as clear as Alaric.

Turik was playing mind games but they were a few steps ahead.