Chapter 166: A Suspicious Pair

The sharp force yanked me backwards, and I yelped in surprise. It took me a few moments before I could stabilize myself. During that time, a tall figure had maneuvered in front of me, wedging himself in between Magnus and me.

"You’re such a killjoy," Magnus said, puffing a breath of air at his fringe. "Don’t you have better things to do with your life?" Magnus’s lips twitched, the corners tilting upwards. He added humorously, with a teasing glint in his eyes. "Like finding a mate or something? It must get lonely for you―"

I looked up to see a familiar mop of light brown hair. Ralph’s bright green eyes met mine for a split second before turning back to eye Magnus, the look in his eyes changing from concerned to lethal.

"Speak for yourself," Ralph said, growling with venom. "I don’t see you preoccupied with the she-wolves either."

"Touche," Magnus said, folding his arms across his chest. His eyes flickered over to me, and the wicked grin on his face grew even brighter than before. "Actually, I’ll have to correct you on that. I was preoccupied with a she-wolf." He paused, lifting a hand to point at me. "Specifically, that she-wolf. Now, if you would be so kind to hand her over―"

"Over my dead body," Ralph said with a growl. "Fuck off."

"Language," Magnus said with a tut. "As the rogue king’s right-hand, one would think that you would have more manners and decorum―"

Magnus was rudely cut off with a snarl. Ralph lunged forward, whipping out a silver knife from his pocket before aiming straight for Magnus’s face.

I gasped, taking a step backward as the two men began to brawl.

The cocky grin on Magnus’s face disappeared quickly. He sidestepped right at the last second, dodging the glinting blade before throwing a punch at Ralph’s hand in an attempt to disarm him.

"Come now," Magnus said. "No weapons in front of the lady. I assume we share the same goals." His words still sounded cheeky, but he didn’t sound as light and joyful as before.

"As if anyone will share the same goal as you," Ralph growled. "You only care about yourself."

"We’re rogues, man," Magnus said. "What did you expect? Caring about ourselves is literally the job description!"

"Don’t classify me with the likes of you," Ralph snarled. "You disgust me."

Magnus hissed in pain when Ralph managed to trick him into a dodge, only to perfectly and correctly anticipate where he might dodge. The silver blade nicked Magnus across the cheek, drawing a sharp, thin line of blood. It wasn’t a deep cut, but it added yet another scar to his growing collection. If Ralph had the foresight to lace his blade with poison, Magnus would be in deep trouble.

Then again, it wasn’t really my business. While I was happier to see Ralph than I was to see Magnus, that was a low bar to clear― especially when I still haven’t gotten an explanation for why Ralph was hanging around Willow’s unconscious body like a creep.

Just a reminder of that incident caused me to twist my lips. The further I was from the two of them, the better.

I slowly stepped back and away from the two men. They were so caught up in their fight that they wouldn’t even notice if I slipped away. I gave them one last glance to make sure they weren’t looking, before finding the opportune moment to jump out of the window.

It was the ground floor, and as such, thankfully allowed me a perfect chance to escape. Once I was out of the broken window, I sprinted madly.

Where was I headed? I didn’t know. However, I had no intention of staying in the pack house with Magnus and Ralph― one who tried to kill me, and one who I suspected was trying to kill me. Either way, neither of them would be good company right now, and I didn’t trust either of them.

What I needed to do was to find Samuel. Hell, at this stage, I wouldn’t even mind if I somehow ran into one of the Alphas, or even my brother Cedar. However, none of them could be found. In the sea of bodies, I could only spot warriors I didn’t know the name of, or rogues who looked like they should’ve met their end long ago. There were no familiar faces to be found.

I didn’t manage to make it too far before I was sharply tugged backwards. I turned around with a gasp, throwing a punch in panic. When my fist collided with the attacker, the person merely groaned and stepped back.

My eyes widened with surprise.

"It’s just me," Ralph said, rubbing his nose. It looked slightly crooked, and there was a bit of blood trickling down from his nostril. "You’ve gotten a lot stronger and more trigger-happy since I last saw you."

"You," I said, blinking rapidly in surprise. If he was here, that meant that he had won the fight against Magnus. "Is Magnus still alive?"

"Should be," Ralph shrugged, not sounding particularly bothered by Magnus’s situation. "If someone decides to kill him afterwards, I’m not responsible, though. But enough about him, we need to go!"

"We? There is no we!" I exclaimed, peering my head around the corner that Ralph had tugged me into.

The sound of claws and snarls was starting to dim. One glance around and I could see that the Shadowclaw warriors were winning. The rogues were already starting to back off. I bit my lip, feeling worried about the casualties. While I had no love for this pack, I didn’t want them to die.

Was Willow alright? I couldn’t help but worry. I bit my lip, anxious. With her bedridden condition, someone could easily sneak into her room and slip a knife under her ribs. Cedar wouldn’t be guarding her, not when his duties as a Beta came before his duties as a brother.

I had to see her to make sure. But just as I stepped out of the corner, Ralph grabbed my arm and pulled me back, a panicked expression on his face.

"No, you’re not going out now. It’s so unsafe!" Ralph said, snapping me out of my reverie. "Follow me―" He tugged at my arm, but I refused to move.

"I am not going anywhere with you," I snapped, stepping back as I twisted my arm from his grasp. "You’re just as suspicious as Magnus is. You haven’t explained to me just yet what you’re doing here!"

"Alpha Lucien sent me to get you," Ralph said, keeping his voice as hushed as possible. I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually hear him through the remaining hoots, cheers, and battle cries, however.

"Oh, don’t you lie to me," I said, scowling. "You were quick to run away the last time I caught you in Willow’s room. And Lucien would never send you when he could come get me himself."

That I knew for certain. In Lucien’s mind, there would be nothing more important than finding me, and he would have definitely made sure to look for me in person, rather than send someone else to bring me to him, like I was a parcel that needed delivering.

Ralph may have succeeded once before, but that also meant that his identity could’ve been compromised.

"He’s trying," Ralph insisted. "The situation is very chaotic now, so it’ll just be a lot easier if you come with me, and I’ll bring you to him!"

"And what about you being in Willow’s room? You ran away mid-conversation, and you haven’t explained that yet."

"That’s because there were people coming!" Ralph said. "I can’t get caught in there! If I did, I would be dead meat!"

"Because you’re not even supposed to be in there," I said with narrowed eyes. "Tell me the truth. What are you there for?"

"I was looking for you, I swear!" Ralph insisted. "But I got a little distracted..."

"By my unconscious sister? Are you serious?" I asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Did your eyesight suddenly worsen?"

"I can explain," Ralph began, spluttering, and I was about to give him a piece of my mind when suddenly, my whole body stiffened.

Mixed with the smell of blood and ash, there was a particular scent that caught my attention. It smelt so familiar, I almost wondered if I was dreaming. But Ralph also straightened at attention.

Which meant...

I felt someone come up from behind me, but this time, I didn’t feel a sharp fight-or-flight response. My body was relaxed, and it remained relaxed even as the person approaching placed their hand around my waist, spinning me around.

I gasped, my breath caught in my throat when I met a familiar face. This same face came in the form of four men with whom I was fated. But at the same time, all four of them wore the same set of features so differently.

The gentle look in his eyes and the small cheeky smile on his lips could not be replicated by any of the other three brothers. I raised a hand shakily, combing back a strand of ebony black hair. This was the only thing that looked so out of place.

"Lucien?" I asked, a little unsure, yet so full of hope.

The man’s eyes sparkled. "What’s with that look? Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten all about me, love?"