Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Still Ellaine (Now Edith) Point of view:
SHITI
It wasn’t Frans.
My heart stuttered as a low growl rumbled through the forest. It was deep and feral, echoing through the trees like a warning from the shadows.
Growll…
That sound didn’t belong to the man who had occupied my thoughts these past days. It wasn’t warm or reassuring. It was hungry.
“Shit!” I cursed aloud, stumbling to my feet.
Why had I wandered off again?
Why did I always follow that strange pull in my chest?
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Damon and the others had warned me about rogues. Wild werewolves without a pack, driven mad by isolation or pain–monsters in the shape of men. And I had wandered away from the firelight, lost in thoughts of him.
And my wolf…
Still silent. Still gone.
I was alone.
Crack!!
A heavy branch snapped, and I froze.
From between the trees, a massive rogue wolf emerged. Its silver coat was matted with old blood, and its fangs glistened red in the moonlight. Its eyes locked on me, glowing with hatred.
I couldn’t move.
I just stood there, breath frozen, as the thing began stalking toward me. Each step was deliberate. I was prey. And it knew.
My mind screamed at me to run–to scream for help.
But my legs barely obeyed.
Climb the tree. Just run. Anything!
I turned on instinct, bolting toward the nearest tree–but the rogue roared, and I knew it was coming.
I didn’t make it more than three steps before it lunged.
“AAAHHH!”
I screamed, flinging my arms up uselessly.
But something strange happened.
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A burst of light-
Brilliant, Blinding. It exploded from my palms in a rush of heat and wind. The Togue was blasted backward, yelping as it crashed through the underbrush with a heavy thud.
I stood there, panting, trembling, and stared at my glowing hands in shock.
“What… the hell…?”
Before I could think, before I could even move
The rogue growled again, enraged, and charged.
I backed up in terror, heart pounding-
And then he was there.
་་་་་་་བསྐོར་བ་རེམ་ཤིའི་ས་ཡིན་ནས་ཞེན་ན
A blur of motion. A man. No–a knight.
He collided with the rogue mid–sprint, knocking the beast off course with brutal force. They hit the ground in a tangle of limbs, and I watched, frozen, as the man rose first, blood on his hands, breathing hard.
I knew that stance. That profile. The way he moved, so controlled, so precise.
Frans…??
But this wasn’t the gentle man I met in town. This wasn’t the quiet smile or the kind eyes.
This was a warrior.
And he was fighting without shifting.
Why he didn’t shift?
The rogue snapped and lunged again, but Frans ducked low, grabbing a thick branch and swinging it like a blade. He struck hard–once in the jaw, again in the ribs. The beast howled.
Frans was fast–too fast for a normal human. Every motion was exact. Efficient. Lethal.
The rogue lunged for his throat, and Frans spun, catching it under the jaw with his elbow. The beast reeled back, dazed.
With a roar, he drove the branch into its chest with both hands.
The rogue let out a strangled yelp–then collapsed, unmoving.
Silence…
I dropped to my knees, breath ragged, heart thundering.
Seconds later, Damon and the others burst through the trees, weapons drawn, panic on their faces.
“Edith!” Damon dropped to my side. “Are you-”
His voice caught when he saw the body.
And the man standing above it.
The others stared. Stunned. Wordless.
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Blood pooled on the ground. A rogue. Dead.
And Frans… calm, steady, as if this were just another duty.
“The King ordered us–knights of the crown to eliminate all rogue threats near the outer towns,” he said, breaking the silence. “I was on patrol and didn’t realize your camp was nearby.”
His voice was composed. Controlled.
Bút his eyes were on me.
Only me.
Damon frowned as he wiped a scrape on my knee. “You’re lucky he was
He didn’t finish.
ore,”
muttered. “A second slower and…”
Frans stepped forward, and I felt the tension shift.
I met his gaze. “Thank you… Frans.”
He tilted his head slightly, lips curling into a soft, knowing smile. “Always, El… Edith.”
“You know each other?” Damon asked, narrowing his eyes.
I nodded. “We met yesterday in the market.”
Damon glanced between us again, clearly suspicious.
And just when I thought Frans might vanish back into the night-
Another man arrived on horseback, armored and stern–faced. He dismounted quickly and bowed briefly toward us before turning toward Frans.
“Sir Francesco,” the man said firmly. “The rogue reports match the ones from the southern trail. This one was on the run.”
Francesco? I frown…
Frans gave a short nod. “He nearly reached the girl.”
The man looked at me, brows furrowing, then turned back to Frans. “The Captain requests you remain with the group until further notice. Escort them to their next post. Orders from Marlow himself.”
Frans nodded slightly. “I understand-”
“Until the roads are cleared of all rogue activity, your protection is required.”
Frans didn’t argue. He just looked at me again.
My breath caught.
He wasn’t leaving.
Why I feel happy to know him here?
That Night we traveled no further.
The campfire crackled low. Damon sat across from me, sharpening his blade, occasionally glancing toward the edge of camp–where Frans now stood on
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quiet watch, aims crossed, eyes scanning the trees.
I pulled my blanket tighter, the events of the day still a blur.
The light. The rogue. The way Frans had moved. Fought.
The way he looked at me.
“You good?” Damon asked suddenly, his voice quieter than usual.
I nodded slowly. “A little shaken. But I’m okay.”
He leaned in, whispering, “That guy… he’s not just a knight, is he?”
I said nothing and just shrugs.
Because I also don’t know who he is.
Later on, I can’t fall asleep, so I stepped away from the camping air. The trees whispered above me, and the stars blinked through gaps in the
canopy.
Frans was still at his post, back straight, watching.
He turned when I approached.
“I never said thank you,” I murmured.
“You did,” he said, voice soft. “But I didn’t answer properly.”
He turned fully toward me then.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, his voice low and steady. “You shouldn’t have been alone. I should’ve gone with you.”
I gave a faint smile. “It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have wandered off. Damon warned me.”
His jaw clenched, and his eyes darkened with something sharp–frustration, guilt, maybe both. “Even so… you’re safe.”
it’s my responsibility now. I’ll make sure
A pause stretched between us.
I looked up at him. His presence–solid, grounding–made my chest feel strange and weightless at the same time.
“Why is it your responsibility?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
His gaze held mine for a long moment. For a second, I thought he wouldn’t answer.
But then he let out a breath and turned slightly toward the trees, as if searching for the right words in the shadows.
“As a knight,” he said at last, “it’s our duty to protect everyone.”
I nodded slowly. It made sense. It was the kind of answer I should’ve expected.
But why did I feel disappointed?
Why did part of me want him to say something different?
Something more…
Ugh. What’s wrong with me?
Chapter 113
He glanced at me again, eyes flickering with quiet curiosity. “They said you lost your memory?”
I nodded. “Mara and Ellas found me near the river–half–conscious, freezing. They brought me in and took care of me. Since then. I’ve been trying to piece myself together.”
He studied me closely, expression unreadable. “So, you don’t remember anything at all?”
I gave a small, sad smile. “No. Nothing. Not even my wolf. I haven’t heard her voice since I woke up.”
Something shifted in his gaze. A flicker of something deep and unreadable passed through him, and for a moment, the silence between us grew heavier
But not uncomfortable.
Not at all.
In fact… for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel lost.
Not when I was near him.
I didn’t understand why–couldn’t explain it—but his presence calmed the storm inside me. something real.
Why?
Why did being with him feel like safety?
Why did it feel like…
Home?
As if just by standing there, he was anchoring me to
