A Rogue For The Quadruplet Alpha's.

Maria.

Panic soon consumed me as the thundering sound grew closer with every passing second, echoing ominously through the dark woods.

Noah remained completely silent, not uttering a single word as he tightened his grip on the reins. His knuckles had turned stark white from the force of his hold, betraying the tension he was keeping carefully contained beneath his calm exterior.

Beside us, the quadruplets fell into the same heavy silence. Whatever tense bickering had existed only moments earlier disappeared completely, swallowed whole by the unmistakable reality of the imminent danger surrounding us.

Without exchanging a single word, every one of them gripped the reins of their horses even tighter before urging the animals forward.

At once, the horses responded, surging into a much faster run along the winding dirt trail. The rhythmic pounding of their hooves echoed relentlessly through the forest as they carried us deeper into the gathering shadows.

My heart continued thudding harder and faster against my ribs with every passing moment. Each stride of the horse seemed to match the frantic rhythm in my chest as we pressed steadily onward into the darkness ahead.

But a sickening realization settled into my stomach—it seemed as though no matter how fast we moved ahead, the heavy sound of pounding hooves was coming directly from the front of us. We weren’t outrunning the threat; we were riding straight into it.

I frantically searched for a way out, thinking of telling Noah to suddenly change his direction and veer off to the right into the dense trees. But if he did that, we would be completely separated from the others, leaving us alone in the pitch-black forest, which could prove far more dangerous if we were ambushed.

At this point, I really did not know what to do. Desperation clawed at my chest because, above all else, I actually did not want to be captured and forced to go back to Vincent’s territory. He was a madman drunk on power, an unhinged ruler who could do anything foolish, cruel, or unprovoked at any given time. The thought of being dragged back to his altar made my blood run cold.

And soon, the thick cloud of dust rising from the trail directly in front of us became visibly denser, obscuring the path ahead as the approaching army marched aggressively forward toward our small group.

My heart skipped a violent beat.

Terrified, I turned in my seat and looked over at the quadruplets, expecting them to pull back or search for cover. But to my sheer horror, they seemed to be marching relentlessly forward on their horses straight toward the oncoming force without a single care in the world. Their faces were set in stone, completely unfazed by the sheer numbers riding against us.

Were they insane?

Were they actually planning to die out here in the middle of nowhere?

Did they truly think they were so almighty and indestructible that they couldn’t be killed by an entire army?

At the terrifying thought of a bloody clash, I instinctively reached out and held onto Noah’s hands, gripping them tightly as I leaned my back firmly against his broad chest in a desperate attempt for warmth and protection.

"Do not be scared, Maria..." Noah said, his voice a low, steady rumble the very moment my back rested against his chest. "I will protect you."

I knew he would try to—without a single second of hesitation. But I wasn’t just afraid of the enemy; I was terrified that I could lose him in the process of him trying to shield me.

The mere thought of watching him fall because of me sent my stomach plunging into a pit of icy dread. A cold, sickening feeling settled deep inside me, tightening with every passing second until it became almost unbearable. The image alone was enough to make my heart ache.

I actually don’t want that.

The realization came with startling clarity, leaving no room for denial.

Not after everything we suffered just to find each other again.

The weight of those words lingered heavily in my mind, making the thought of losing him feel even more impossible to bear.

"Look, Noah..." I whispered softly, slowly leaning closer until my lips were near his ear. I kept my voice deliberately low, careful to ensure the rushing wind swallowed my words before they could reach the quadruplets riding nearby. "Why don’t we take another route?" I murmured quietly, my voice barely louder than a breath.

I framed it as a gentle question, but in truth, it was a desperate suggestion. After all, it was simple common sense to flee when your enemies overwhelmingly outnumbered you on a battlefield.

Retreating didn’t mean you were running away out of cowardice; it meant you were surviving to save your neck so you could live to re-strategize and fight another day.

"Relax, Maria, nothing bad is going to happen," Noah said, his tone infuriatingly calm as he tightened his grip on the reins. "If the quadruplets can charge forward without a single moment of hesitation, then so can I!"

I rolled my eyes immediately, a sudden flash of exasperated fury cutting through my panic. I almost wished I wasn’t trapped on top of this moving horse, just so I could reach out, drag him hard by his ear, and give his hard head a good smack to bring him back to reality.

This wasn’t some silly male pride competition!

Couldn’t he tell that his life mattered so much more than some foolish bravado?

Who was he even trying to prove a point to—Adrien? Davian? Damein? Aidan? The Lycan Prince himself?

I was still completely lost in the storm of my own anxious thoughts, silently cursing his stubbornness, when the approaching army of soldiers charging toward us finally broke through the dense treeline and came full into the moonlight.

Before we could even react, the heavy line of warhorses ground to a sudden, violent halt directly in front of us, kicking up a thick wall of dirt and debris that choked the night air.

I froze, the breath trapped in my throat.

’We are done for!’

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