Daniel.

There was one crucial lesson I had learned during the painful span of those past two years—never trust anything and never trust anyone.

It was a lesson that hadn’t come easily. It had been carved into my heart through betrayal, loss, and countless sleepless nights, until it became an unshakable part of who I was.

The innocent part of me that had once believed in promises and sincerity had long since disappeared, replaced by someone who questioned every word and doubted every intention.

That was the only way I had managed to survive.

Right now, standing upon the dusty ground with armed soldiers surrounding us and the very people I had spent the last two years wanting to kill standing directly before me, I simply couldn’t bring myself to believe a single word that left the quadruplets’ mouths.

Every instinct inside me screamed to reject everything they were saying.

To me, their explanations sounded no different from excuses.

Yet...as I looked into their eyes, something inside me faltered.

There was an unwavering confidence reflected in their gazes as they claimed they had been locked away in deep seclusion when the massacre unfolded within my Pack. They didn’t hesitate. They didn’t avoid my eyes. They didn’t appear to be searching for convincing lies and their certainty was absolute.

Against my own will, a tiny seed of uncertainty quietly took root inside my chest. It was small and almost insignificant.

Yet it was enough to make me question the foundation of everything I had accepted as absolute truth over the last two years. The certainty I had clung to so desperately suddenly didn’t feel quite as immovable as it once had.

Prove it...?

The words echoed silently through my mind.

Could they truly prove something like that...after all this time?

I tightened my grip on the leather reins of my horse until my knuckles turned stark white. Deep down, I desperately wanted to find out the undeniable truth of what had actually happened that bloody night, but the memory was seared into my mind—those two murderous guards had unmistakably been wearing the official Moonbridge army uniforms.

I chuckled slightly, letting out a low, bitter sound as I glared directly at Damien. "How do you intend to prove it?" I asked sarcastically, my voice dripping with venom. "Is it with your own death?" I questioned, a dark, dangerous smirk spreading across my face as I visualised tearing them down.

Adrien laughed softly, shaking his head in a display of maddening composure. "Who would have thought that someone as mighty and fierce as you could be so easily deceived by a cheap trick?" he said, his tone carrying a light trace of genuine pity that made my blood boil.

My eyes darkened immediately, the fire of raw fury reigniting in my chest. "I promise the four of you right here and now," I paused, leaning forward over my saddle as my voice dropped into a deadly, unyielding whisper, "if you ultimately cannot prove yourselves innocent..." I took a breath and yelled at the top of my lungs, "...I will rip every single one of you apart with my bare hands!!"

"Well, for now, you had better reserve all that misplaced strength and energy for the real culprit!" Davian said, an infuriatingly calm smugness settling over his features. He gestured casually toward the road ahead of us. "To prove our innocence, you are going to have to turn your army around and accompany us straight back to the Moonbridge pack!"

I immediately burst out laughing uncontrollably, the loud, hysterical sound ringing sharply through the heavy silence of the night air.

What on earth did they actually take me for?

A brainless kid who didn’t know the first thing about survival?

I was certainly no fool to blindly accompany four lethal Alpha brothers straight into the heart of their own territory—a place where they would hold every single advantage, completely free to either toss me into a dungeon or execute me at their own leisure.

"Tell me, what is your grand plan here?" I asked Davian, my voice laced with sharp annoyance as I fixed him with an unblinking stare. "I am not an idiot, you know!"

"Nobody said you are!" Aidan interjected smoothly, his expression remaining maddeningly serene beneath the moonlight. "Though it certainly seems as if, for the past two years, you might have been utterly fooled."

"You—" I roared immediately, my temper flaring as I struggled to regain control over my soaring rage.

These four arrogant brothers were testing every last nerve in my body. They thought they were the smartest men in the forest, but I was going to play along and beat them at their own game this time.

I took a long, deep breath, forcing my tense posture to relax as I plastered a calm, unsettling smile across my face.

"Fine!" I paused, letting the word hang heavily between us. "We will be heading to the Moonbridge pack." My smile broadened into something dangerous. "You four had better pray to whatever gods you worship that you are truly innocent... or else—"

My voice trailed off into a deadly whisper, my eyes darkening into pitch-black voids as the silent threat hung in the space between us.

"Enough of your endless threats, Daniel!" Adrien snapped impatiently, rolling his shoulders as he raised his brows in mild exasperation. "Can we all finally move now?"

I stared intensely at each of the four brothers, searching their faces for a single crack, a flicker of deceit, or a trace of panic.

But they were entirely unbothered, their unwavering calm only fueling my growing curiosity about what they could possibly have hidden up their sleeves.

Reaching up, I raised my hand high above my head and signaled for my army to fall into formation behind them. The heavily armed soldiers shifted seamlessly, taking their positions to surround the path as we prepared to march toward Moonbridge.

"Forward!" I commanded, my voice booming across the entire clearing.

And immediately, the massive troupe of soldiers began to move, the thundering sound of heavy hooves shaking the earth beneath us as our journey toward the truth officially began.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!

Report chapter

Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter