Chapter 124 - 126

Chapter 124: Chapter 126

Alpha Alaric’s Point of View

The freezing wind of the outer courtyard still clung to my unwashed fur mantle as I knelt by my wife. I looked entirely dishevelled—now different from the alpha who usually commanded with an iron fist.

Luna Helena reached out, her trembling fingers tracing my bloodshot eyes, her expression shifting into a wave of sympathy.

"Look at you, Alaric," she whispered, her voice cracking with emotional warmth as she brushed a tangled strand of hair from my brow. "You look as though you have hunted through the very depths of the underworld."

"I am sorry, my love," I rumbled hoarsely, deep down, I was burning with guilt as I leaned my jaw against her palm. "The iron box containing our ancestor’s combination device has still not been found. We tracked the residual tracks across the cold ravines, but the scent vanished into thin air at the boundary line."

"Then why did you leave the soldiers behind? Why didn’t they return with you?" Helena asked, her brow furrowing with an immediate panic.

"Because I gave you my word that I would personally stand beside you for our daughter’s full moon banquet," I explained, my chest heaving with an immense exhaustion. "I could not let the pack elders see an empty throne on her sacred day. I had to hand over the command of the tracking task to Bastian and our warriors, riding my vanguard stallion half to death to rush back to your side myself."

Helena did not scold my impulsiveness. Instead, she turned to the maids and waved her hand firmly.

"Clear the room immediately," Helena commanded, turning toward the maids.

The servants bowed quickly and scurried out, clicking the doors shut to secure our privacy. Helena then turned to where I stood near the twin cradle, her gaze softening as she looked at our daughter, Sita, who was sleeping soundly. Ivy stood right beside the mattress, her fingers adjusting the baby’s swaddles.

“I’ll go get Father some herbs to soothe his muscles,” Ivy said before leaving.

A few minutes later, she returned with a plastic bag and handed it to Helena.

“Put them in the bathwater while he bathes.”

“Thank you, Ivy,” Helena and I said in unison.

"Ivy," Helena spoke softly, walking over to pat her hand. "Please take care of Sita for a while in your own quarters. Alpha has just returned from a messy search, and I must tend to him."

"Of course, Mother," Ivy replied, her voice calm as she carefully gathered little Sita into her arms. Thankfully, Selena and Ethan had already been taken out by the maids earlier. "I will ensure the nursery remains in peace. Do not worry about Sita for tonight."

Ivy offered a respectful bow and quietly walked out, carrying the princess back to her room.

Once the doors clicked shut, leaving only the two of us, Helena immediately came to my side. She reached out, her fingers gently unbuckling the straps of my clothes, letting the fabric fall.

"Let us go to our bedroom, Alaric," she murmured, guiding my stiff limbs out of the nursery and down to our room.

The moment we stepped inside, the heat from the hearth washed over my robes. She poured the herbs into the tub, and it began steaming.

"It is time for your bath, Alaric," Helena whispered hoarsely, helping me strip away the rest of the dirty clothes.

As I stepped into the boiling pool, the thick scent of pine and crushed lily roots instantly filled my senses. Ivy is indeed a blessed shaman. Helena sat gracefully on a stool right beside the tub, dipping a soft cotton cloth into the water.

"I missed you terribly, my love," she said, her fingers lightly brushing my tangled hair back as she leaned forward to press a soft kiss against my temple. "The place was entirely too cold without your alpha aura."

"I missed you more, Helena," I rumbled back, as I sank completely into the suffocating warmth, the crushing weight of my four-week hunt finally breaking through my stubborn warrior defenses. I was so utterly tired that my eyes locked shut right against the rim, and I fell into a deep, dead sleep right inside the bathtub.

Helena remained by my side for over an hour in silence. She didn’t disturb my exhaustion; instead, her gentle hands continuously used the wet cloth to quietly wipe the grime and dried mud from my body. Every fifteen minutes, she silently turned the brass valve, refilling the hot water with fresh steam whenever the biting winter chill threatened to freeze the pool, her protective presence anchoring my sleeping spirit.

The Banquet:

The morning of the little Princess Sita’s highly anticipated full moon banquet arrived with a brilliant, roaring energy that flooded the main palace yards. The tables were packed to the brim with regional lords, allied commanders, and high clan elders. Helena’s best friend, Luna Gertrude, alongside the young Lady Bella, arrived at our private doors exceptionally early to share the joy, their arms loaded with rare tokens and swaddling cloths for the new baby girl.

To the shock and profound awe of the gathering assembly, the horns blasted a triumphant royal melody near the gates—the Alpha King himself had personally come down to our pack territory to congratulate our branch.

After the grand banquet finally concluded and the guests dispersed into the outer gardens, the atmosphere shifted into an intense, quiet gravity. The Alpha King secretly called me away to follow him back to the Evernight Kingdom. When we got to the kingdom, we entered Prince Riven’s private study to ensure privacy.

I knew this was about the missing device, and I knew I had to apologize immediately.

"Your Majesty," I spoke out, lowering my head in remorse as I stood before where he sat. "I must offer my deepest, most sincere apologies. The combination device went missing directly under my nose. I have failed to protect the kingdom’s most sacred war secret."

The Alpha King did not let out a furious roar as I had anticipated. Instead, his eyes flashed with understanding, and he walked forward to press a hand onto my shoulder.

"Rise, Alaric," the King commanded. "I do not blame your pack for this breach. Our mortal enemies have intensely coveted that patina device for over a hundred years. It has been targeted, plotted against, and successfully stolen multiple times throughout our ancestors’ histories because it holds the ultimate key to conquering an entire sovereign country."

"But the borders—" I started, my jaw clenching.

"We will adjust our strategy," the King interrupted. "I am immediately sending a reinforcement unit of my personal shadow executioners—warriors who are exceptionally good at tracking blood-scents across vast distances. We will drag the thief out of the dark."

*

*

*

The moment we returned from the Evernight Kingdom back to our pack, Dominic was already waiting inside the study. I explained the discussion I had with Alpha King Elian to Dominic.

"Father, the King’s sympathy gives us the perfect tactical window," Dominic proposed. "We cannot find this thief by simply throwing more warriors into the woods. We must search for the iron box utilizing a synchronized system of light and dark lines."

I arched a brow in confusion. "Explain your lines, Dominic."

"You must continue to lead the warriors’ search aggressively in the light, Father," Dominic explained. "Move your troops loudly along the primary trade routes and relax your internal palace defenses just moderately enough to make the thief believe we are growing desperate. This bait will naturally attract the enemy to confidently appear and make their next move. Meanwhile, the outer border lines will be strictly, ruthlessly guarded by shadow units in complete silence."

"And the dark line?" I pressed, leaning over the table.

"I will be the dark line," Dominic answered flatly, a dangerous, confident smirk touching his lips. "I will use the public name of leaving the capital to find a miracle doctor to treat my legs. This medical quest will allow me to travel freely across every province to investigate the thief in the dark, because they believe I am nothing but a cripple, looking for someone to cure my legs."

Dominic paused. "However, I am requesting to bring Ivy along on this journey. She can use the travel caravan to expand her pharmacy throughout the entire kingdom, giving us a flawless cover story to enter neutral packs. Therefore, I will entrust Ethan and Selena, entirely to my mother’s care."

I looked at my son, feeling a profound pride stir inside my chest. His strategy was flawless.

"Furthermore," Dominic added softly, his eyes locking onto mine with a silent understanding, "as explicitly requested by the King during your summit, if our search happens to cross paths with a genuine miracle doctor, we will use the pretext to bring them straight back to the capital palace to formally treat the eldest prince Riven’s legs—even though Ivy has already secretly healed Riven’s legs months ago and his strength is fully restored, a secret that no one else in this kingdom must ever uncover until our trap is fully ready to snap shut."