ATASHA’S POV
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<b>78 </b>
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“So, you are saying that he is supposed to proceed to the northern outpost because of the curse but that arrow stopped it?” I asked.
Mendez nodded, his jaw tight. “The attack happened so suddenly that none of us even saw where the arrow came from. One moment he was issuing orders, the next it struck him square in the chest. By the time we turned, there was nothing there. The shaft dissolved before we could even grab it.”
I frowned. “No one saw the shooter?”
“Not a glimpse,” Mendez said. “And the worst part wasn’t the arrow itself. The ambush was different. The enemies we faced weren’t just beasts this time. They were weaker, but they moved… unnaturally. Almost like they had a mind of their own. They didn’t charge blindly like ordinary beasts. They avoided swords, shifted back the moment steel swung, as if they understood what could kill them.”
A cold feeling settled in my stomach. That wasn’t natural. “So they weren’t beasts.”
“They looked like it,” Mendez admitted. “But something was off. It looked like they were too organized. It was enough to throw the men off bnce. That’s why the arrownded. He was surrounded by his lieutenants, yet not one could react in time.”
My nails dug into my palms. Something about this didn’t sit right. Whoever nned this wasn’t relying on luck. They knew when and where to strike. This must be the reason why Mendez seemed hesitant when I first arrived.
I looked back at Cassian’s pale face. What aren’t you telling me?
“Tell me<i>,</i>” I said, turning back <i>to </i>Mendez. “Has he been going to the northern outpost every red moon?”
“Yes,” Mendez said firmly. “Every three years. Each time the red moon rises, he leaves for the northern outpost. Officially, he says it is to lead the defense during the beast tide. But in truth, it is to contain… this.” His gaze flicked toward Cassian. “To make sure no one sees him when the changees. He wanted to keep everyone safe.”
“Did no one ever try to find another way?” I asked, leaning back in my chair. “Somece that could hold him. Maybe an underground chamber, reinforced walls, anything that could stop him from breaking out during the red moon?” My eyes flicked toward Cassian’s still form on
the bed.
The beast tide came at exact intervals, every three years without fail. It was the perfect excuse
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for him to vanish, leading everyone to believe he was only at the front lines. But the question gnawed at me. Why not build something to contain him? Why risk throwing himself into battle when he was at his weakest?
“The Lord’s grandmother tried to do this in the past but… in fact, there is a chamber in the northern outpost. It was specifically made to stop them in their feral state but… ”
“But what?” I frowned.
“But Lord Cassian is too strong.”
“Too strong? What does that mean?”
Mendez drew a slow breath. “It means the chamber wasn’t built for him. Lord Cassian is the previous Alpha King’s son. He carries direct alpha blood, and not diluted. Add what he inherited from his grandmother, and his strength during the red moon spikes beyond anything the ward can contain.”
I stared at him. “The restraints failed?”
“We tried everything,” Mendez said. “Moonsteel shackles, alpha–binding sigils etched into bedrock, wolfsbane vapor bled through the vents in measured doses. The first time we tested the chamber on him, six lieutenants and two captains stood ready to hold the line. He broke the shackles in under a minute. The sigils couldn’t keep purchase. The wolfsbane dose we used would drop a warband, it barely slowed him.”
“He overpowered eight of you?”
“Not just overpowered,” Mendez answered. “He moved through them. They weren’t trying to kill him, only contain him. Even together, they couldn’t. We rotated squads, increased dosage and evenyered a second set of shackles. Same result.”
I felt the back of my neck tighten. “What about the King?”
Mendez’s mouth pulled tight. “His Majesty tried once. The day ended with three broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder–his. Lord Cassian stopped before any killing blow, but the message was clear. In raw force, the Lord outmatches every wolf in the kingdom, including the current Alpha King himself. Calling for the King again would only expose the truth to more eyes and put more people at risk.”
“So the chamber is useless.”
“As a permanent solution, yes,” Mendez said. “We can slow him for minutes, not hold him for hours. That’s why he uses the northern outpost when the red moon nears. If he loses control there, the damagends on beasts and empty ice, not inside a city. The lieutenants can steer
away from patrol lines and wait it out. It’s the only workable n we’ve had.”
him
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55 vouchers
I looked at Cassian’s face. “With all this information… I am wondering if that ambush and the arrow were something nned ahead.”
“I think so too,” Mendez nodded once. “Whoever arranged it knew his schedule and the reason for it. They took the shot to keep him here.”
“So, every three years, he disappears behind the excuse of the beast tide. Everyone assumes he’s leading the front. In truth, he’s isting himself because no one–not even the King–can stop him if the change breaks loose. Then they ambushed him, knowing the signs of the red moon were starting to show…” I mumbled.
Mendez nodded.
I pressed my palms together to steady them. “If he wakes like that again, your chamber buys us minutes but not enough to restrain himpletely.”
“We’ll stage for minutes,” Mendez replied.
“How many days before the red moon?”
“A week at most,” Mendez said.
I nodded. “And how many days would it take for us to transport him to the northern outpost?”
“It’s only about a day, but…”
“But what?” I asked.
“But this is far too risky,” he said. “The closer the red moon gets, the more beasts pour toward the borders. Their numbers increase, their attacks grow wilder, and every post is already stretched thin. Without the Lord’s strength, holding the lines will be close to impossible. Expecting the soldiers to fight both the tide and whatever else lurks out there without him is the same as sending them to their deaths.”