Sapphire, held by Magnus as they descended the mountain, leaned into his arms, feeling a bit down. She whispered, "I keep causing trouble for you. I'm sorry."
Magnus's tone was calm as he said, "I don't consider rescuing you to be trouble."
In fact, everything that had happened tonight was making him re-evaluate a few things.
He hadn't realized how intense his anxiety, fear, and pain would be when he couldn't find Sapphire.
He had rescued many werewolves over time. He could save them temporarily but not forever, so some he had saved eventually died for other reasons.
But when he learned of their deaths...
He would just furrow his brow, acknowledging that each wolf had its fate, and that was it.
But Sapphire was different.
She was special.
She was still alive.
Magnus still felt a lingering fear, and he unconsciously held the female wolf in his arms a bit tighter. This female werewolf liked him, clung to him, often crying to keep him around, always asking him to come to Luna Palace to see her.
He had made it clear to Sapphire that he wasn't looking for a mate yet, which meant... he probably didn't like her.
But tonight had forced him to reconsider this question.
Carrying her down the mountain, seeing her wounds treated, hearing her say she wanted to rest...
Afterward, Magnus left without a word.
The werewolves who followed him got into the car, disappearing from Luna Palace, and headed to the Bureau.
The captured fallen werewolves still needed to be dealt with, but Roderick smitten with love had offloaded all the work onto him.
In the Bureau Jail.
The ugly, foul-smelling, terrifying fallen werewolves howled resentfully, glaring at Magnus with a fierce desire to tear him apart.
Magnus's expression was calm, but somehow, he found himself thinking about that female werewolf. Would she... be able to sleep tonight? Or would fear keep her awake?
It was the first time he had ever been so distracted.
——
Back at Luna Palace, the werewolves cleaned up all the blood through the night, worried about scaring Catriona and the cub.
In the spacious lawn, the werewolves who had gone out for the past ten days to capture the fallen were lined up, as Draven handed each of them a stack of bank cards.
Each card contained three million.
At the front of the line, Roderick stood with his hands behind his back, his dark, profound gaze sweeping over each werewolf. Some had their heads wrapped in white gauze, others had broken arms in slings.
"These past ten days, you've all worked hard," Roderick said. "Tonight, go home and get some rest."
The werewolves answered in unison, their voices loud and clear. "Yes!"
"Awoooo!!"
"Owooo awooo awoo!!"
Over by the iron gate, Black was mopping the floor while talking quietly to Bruce. "Hey, hey, let me tell you, remember at the end, I was chasing after the werewolf who took Catriona?"
"I was blocked by a fallen werewolf on the way, but I went head-on and bit him until he was howling. I didn't want to waste time—Catriona was the priority. But when I caught up, guess what?"
Black blinked, intentionally leaving a cliffhanger.
Bruce mopped the floor heavily, exasperated. "Just say it already. Look at you."
"Alpha Roderick has rescued Catriona!! They're by the lake..." Black lowered his voice, his eyes sparkling, his cheeks flushed. "Alpha Roderick was!"
Intrigued, Bruce paused his movements and glanced behind him, ensuring no other wolves were present, before asking, "Was what?"
"It's, you know!!" Black gestured with the mop. "Like... you've seen Alpha Roderick's pure wolf form, right? He's really huge..."
Bruce, also only twenty, leaned in excitedly with his fellow twenty-year-old male werewolf, "So... so what was Catriona saying?"
Black looked embarrassed and said, "I... I can't even say it!"
Bruce:!!
He leaned closer, full of curiosity, "What did Catriona actually say?!"
Black, blushing, took a deep breath and said, "She... she said..."
Bruce's face also turned red. He muttered, "Oh," took a few steps back, and continued mopping.
The next second, Bruce looked up, "You actually spied on them!"
"No, I didn't!" Black said loudly. "I was about to sneak away, but guess what I saw? A fallen werewolf was about to ambush Alpha Roderick right across from me! In a split second, I quietly moved forward, tackled it to the ground, and bit through its throat!"
"From start to finish, Alpha Roderick and Catriona weren't disturbed at all!"
Bruce said, "Well, I guess that's impressive."
Black paused. "But, do you know who I saw when I was leaving?"
"Can you just say it already!!" Bruce couldn't take it anymore.
"I saw Grey."
Bruce froze, "What?"
"These past ten days, he must've been capturing fallen werewolves too," Black said, pressing his lips together and lowering his gaze. "He was covered in dirt and blood, probably injured."
Bruce replied, "He... came too, huh? Well, of course, he wouldn't just stay away."
Two hours ago.
In the pitch-black forest, after Black bit through the neck of the fallen werewolf, he suddenly looked up and spotted a gray-black wolf perched on a branch, hunched low in a hunting stance, poised and ready.
In that moment, he understood that even if he hadn't been there, that fallen werewolf wouldn't have succeeded.
He had just taken action a moment earlier.
By the lake, Alpha Roderick carried Catriona away.
Black looked at the wolf on the tree and let out a howl.
"Grey."
Grey jumped down from the tree, staring at him, "Black."
Before Black could say anything, he saw Grey shake the blood droplets off his body and start to leave.
Black quickly asked, "How are you doing these days?"
The gray-black werewolf paused, didn't look back, let out a low howl, and then ran off.
"What did he say?" Bruce asked.
"He said, 'I'm fine,'" Black replied, his voice suddenly rising. "Since he's been hunting too, he should have a bank card, right? We kind of need money in the pure human world."
On the lawn, Draven looked at the last card and asked, "Who hasn't received theirs yet?"
The werewolves replied, "We all got ours!!"
Draven suddenly thought of something, "Alright, got it."
At Eulalia's home.
Eulalia finished updating her comic, yawned, and poured herself a glass of water in the living room.
Her gaze drifted to the window, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.
It had been ten days.
Grey still hadn't returned.
