Chapter 29: The Depths of the Last Hole

On Mount Mroar, the sun-kissed ground still hadn’t had a chance to suck out the blood left by the ones who needed her embrace.

The dry pine needles on the trees were still clamoring with the wind left by those who left them disheveled and broken, but the earth had already blown away the last trace of the ones who begged to be held.

The Skerrow Brake forest behind the Vaelis Blood Pack woke up from the deep slumber it hadn’t seen for decades. Its flesh was gnawed by the rabid wolves and the iron boots by the time the sun tilted toward the western terrain.

Alpha Vaelis’s knuckles crackled in a fury as he stood on the cliff of death. He took the risk and came down following the marks of his sons, but there was no one.

The blood on the damp, dark moss of the stone wall was still fresh, and the residue of the medicinal scent was thick in the air.

They should be here.

But looking at the dark, deep hole inside the cave, he still hesitated to move forward.

There was no blood trace from here.

If they did not go inside, there was only one possibility.

That damn witch!

He should have been more cautious. Still, even the Grand Witch failed to identify the energy inside that boy’s blood; how could he even cut the spiritual power when he didn’t even know what it is?

He turned around and held the ladder he came down on.

Going up, nobody dared to utter any sound to him. Thuds and crackling sounds were coming from all around him, telling him how desperately his city watch was searching for those malefactors—yet there was no trace, no scent, no mark.

"Find them at any cost. I want that witch alive."

The Alpha hissed to his Beta, Owen. He had changed his mind. He wanted those predators alive to extract every inch of blood or power they held.

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In a spiral of darkness and wind, six battered figures fell onto the cold floor of the Last Hole.

As soon as their feet touched the floor, the ground dropped downward, creating a deep depression.

Moon almost fell to his knees if Nox had not held him still.

Before he could even process Vadira’s stiff mustache, they were inside a dark, hollowed hole.

Yes, it was a hole dug in Vadira’s small room behind the bar counter.

He had no time to ask why there was a hole here; Axe was already pushing through to another dog hole dug in this depression. Moon looked down the ominous little black hole, and his hair stood up in horror.

Ugo jumped down, followed by Nox. Axe pushed Moon down before he could say anything and followed suit.

Moon’s feet touched damp mud and water in the dark as he fell. A hand steadied him, though he did not need it. His spiritual power already wrapped his feet to land him steadily.

Moon heard another thud, and with that, the little bit of light coming down was closed entirely, plunging them into darkness.

Someone clicked the flint and lit a candle. As soon as the pale orange fire enlightened the place, Moon saw Vadira’s tense face. He went to a corner and pulled down a windlass bar.

Moon hurriedly set up a formation to block the mark again. At least for this place.

As soon as he finished and turned, he saw Axe had already taken out his machete.

"We have to find a way to remove this mark," Axe said, waving his machete.

Moon’s stomach dropped. His blood turned cold.

"Are you insane? You want to gouge out the mark left by the Shaman and the Alpha’s imprint?" Moon hissed at him.

He stood in front of Axe with glaring eyes.

This mark removal was not a thing a machete could do; that much he knew from his gathered knowledge.

Axe didn’t deny it; he only stared at Moon. His silence was tantamount to saying, ’Is there any other way?’

None.

And Moon himself knew it. His soul power was not enough to remove an Alpha’s imprint. Not for now.

He looked at Vadira leaning on the damp stone wall, then turned around to check on the little wolves, his vision already adjusted to the surrounding darkness.

There was a water tunnel behind them. The water was flowing continuously.

Raging and churning.

All dirty water.

Rotten and pungent.

They were standing in a very small, dirty, damp, and muddy space, a little up from the water level. A black wooden raft lay leisurely on the edge. A big trunk and some leather bundles were bound tight with dark vines.

Only then did Moon register that his mates had come prepared, knowing they would be landing on this hell.

He removed the gauze on his legs in a few tugs. The burn was gnawing on his flesh, but the gauze Nox wrapped in a hurry was more of a hindrance.

’Goddess, my satchel,’ he called out in his mind.

An exquisite crescent satchel suddenly manifested in his hand. Vadira’s eyes contracted, but the brothers remained as usual.

Moon glanced at them only to be disappointed. Seems like these brothers had some misunderstanding about his power. Nothing about his magic impressed them.

He took out a vial—the Grand Witch’s precious medicine he had siphoned before Nox could.

Nox’s eyes became wide open this time. "No wonder we did not find the best healing elixir," he said, looking like he was cheated.

Moon gulped down a pill. Bitter and smelly. Not like his world’s magical pills. But his burn was healing quickly. He tossed the vial to Axe and knelt on the floor where Ugo was sitting on a rock, holding two stiff wolf pups.

Moon felt a jolt in his heart as he looked at the two little pups.

He didn’t ask why they shrank, or why they could shift into a massive behemoth. He could already guess, and so his heart was turning colder with each passing moment.

"Can their spirits survive?" he whispered, almost inaudible.

"We will see," Ugo muttered.