"I still don't think it was a good idea," Inanna spoke as she glanced down to see the King of Lycans pacing around the camp, breathing fire. The rest of the wolves and the Lycans were nowhere to be seen. They were hiding from him because of the way he was seething, no one could dare to talk to him without having their head removed.

Even Tryfon was staying quiet.

"You think too much, Inanna," Aphrodite frowned as she poured a new glass of wine for the pairer but the latter declined it politely. Her eyes were only trained on the Lycan King who seemed to be on the verge of erupting like a volcano.

"It's been three days since he has seen her. Look at him, he is on the verge of going mad and if he goes mad, he will knock down every single mountain here and raise hell until he finds her," Inanna tried to remind Aphrodite but the latter couldn't be bothered as she chugged down another glass of wine.

"He's not going to do anything like that," Aphrodite spoke.

"How can you be so sure about that?" Inanna asked with a combination of bewilderment and surprise.

In response, Aphrodite pointed at the river and told him, "Because if he did anything like that then he'd come out,"

A shiver ran down Inanna's spine when she was reminded about the river. What laid inside it was so cruel that even gods and goddesses like her feared it.

"That should be one more reason why we shouldn't be fvcking with them, especially here," Inanna argued.

"Oh, they'd fvck alright but not here," Aphrodite giggled as she chugged down the remaining wine in her bottle. Inanna rolled her eyes at the fellow goddess before she looked down at Lycan King again. The sight didn't please her at all.

Without uttering a single word, she disappeared into a puff of smoke. Aphrodite followed shortly after, leaving the Lycan King alone with his fury.

~

-HIM-

I paced in my camp as I tried to think of something. My brain seemed to have stopped functioning ever since I found out that she was lost in that avalanche. I had my lycans and the wolves search the whole area but she was nowhere to be found.

I'd never been so furious and anxious at the same time when this news was delivered to me. I instantly wanted to rip apart the whole valley until I found her but I couldn't do that. At the same time, there was this underlying doubt of her falling into the river.

The situation would turn worse if that had happened. I could still get her out of the underworld had she died in the avalanche but the river— it was just out of my hands. I couldn't touch the water. I'd promised not to even look in its direction.

If I break the promise then I'd have to lose everything and if I don't look in the river then I might lose Celeste. I'd never faced such tough choices before. This is all happening because of that damned mate bond!

I wanted to curse out loud at the gods for making this all happen. I knew that all of this was planned to keep me busy, to distract me but little did they know that they were messing with the wrong person. I would make them know this once I get out of here. I wouldn't spare anyone.

On top of my list was that charlatan pairer- Inanna. Once I get back, I'd make sure that she suffers but now, I must make a choice.

"TRYFON!" I roared and my second in command instantly presented himself.

"Your highness,"

"We will have to go to the river," I growled, not liking the decision but this had to be done. He was certainly surprised to hear me say that because for a moment, he fell absolutely silent. I turned around to find a look of shock on his face.

"What happened?" I questioned.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked. I roared, "I am! If she's there then I'd need to get her out of there,"

"And what if she's not there?" He questioned and this time, I fell silent. If she is not there in the first place then all of this would be done for nothing. It would all go to waste. I was in a much deeper dilemma now and with this, my grudge on Inanna was escalating even more.

"Your highness," A different voice called for me this time, snapping me out of my rage for a moment. This was a feminine voice. I instantly spotted the female warrior who was approaching me with a determined face.

She didn't say anything when she finally reached me but she handed me what looked like a letter. I took it from her and the first thing that I noticed was the Drakkon's seal on it. It made me cock an eyebrow at her.

She responded, "A messenger delivered this,"

Without wasting any time, I opened the letter. I was clumsy while doing so because I was almost out of patience. If I weren't paying attention then I'd have missed the long blond hair attached with the seal. This made me freeze for a moment before I tore the letter open.

It read:

Looking for someone? You might find them from where this letter came but I must warn you about the consequences should you look that way. They're sound.

- C

My heart threatened to dig its way out of my chest when I read this. I instantly knew that she was with the Drakkons and they might be doing all sorts of things to her until I saw the alphabet that was signed under the letter. It left me bewildered for a moment.

"What is it?" Tryfon enquired. I handed him the letter without saying anything. While he read it, I enquired to Lua, "How was this delivered?"

"Their messenger left it by our last post,"

"So they're aware that we are here," I gritted.

"I think not," She told me.

"How?"

"If they were aware of us then they'd have instantly attacked," she reasoned. She was right in a way because currently, the Drakkons outnumbered us and if they come to know that we were here as well then it wouldn't take them long to declare war here.

"Then how do you explain this?" I questioned her as I snatched the letter from Tryfon and handed it to Lua. She took it and read it. A smile crept up her lips when she was done reading it.

"Why?" She asked me, "Don't you get it?"

"That Drakkon forced her to write this," I growled.

"Or she stole the King's seal and used it to send this message without any suspicion," Lua suggested with a playful smile. I tensed. I certainly wasn't expecting this but I wasn't going to take any chances.

"We will go there to look for her," I ordered.

"And risk fighting a war in which we would be embarrassingly outnumbered?" She suggested but I couldn't have cared less for war. I was worried sick of her and my lycan was troubling me because she was not with me!

I needed to see her safe soon otherwise I wouldn't hesitate to go into a war. I wanted her back at any cost.

"I don't care if there's a war. I want her back," I gritted.

"Of course you do now," Lua snickered, pushing me further towards the edge, "But I suggest that a few of us move closer to their camp to see how Celeste is living there. I'd rather have her live with the Drakkons for a month than with you," She commented.

"What do you mean by that?" I demanded angrily, stepping closer.

"Have you heard of a wolf in sheep's clothing," She suggested with a sly smile.

~

"I swear if you do something funny I will kick you," Lua threatened me as we edged closer to the Drakkon's camp. We were dangerously close and we could be easily discovered if we were not being careful but I couldn't have cared less.

I wanted to see her at any cost.

We were currently hiking a mountain closer to the camp. It was dark and windy but I couldn't have cared less. As soon as we were at a sufficient height, I snatched the binoculars from Lua's hands and held them in front of my eyes.

The camp was well lit as if some sort of celebration was going on. I knew that the Drakkon king was an idiot but I didn't expect him to be this big of an idiot. The lights, the commotion, and noises coming from the camp were enough to attract anyone's attention to them they didn't seem to care because there were so many soldiers.

I desperately searched through the camp but didn't find her at first. I was getting impatient with every passing moment and I doubted that I'd be able to stay here for longer if she was not spotted sooner.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I finally spotted her. I almost missed her at first because she wasn't in her fighting gear. She was wearing a beautiful traditional dress that Drakkon ladies wore. The dress hug her body, defining her curves that were always hidden by the fighting gear.

My body tensed.

Her hair was done beautifully as well, making my hands itch to touch her. A smile lit her face as she looked at the man beside her. I looked at the man.

He was the Drakkon King.

The binocular shattered in the next moment.

_

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