Chapter 465

He feared someone might notice the cracks in his and Zion’s act, or worse, deliberately delay Zion to buy time and force Addison to continue with her plan. There was also the unsettling possibility that the Golden Hue Pack’s territory was already under surveillance, every movement quietly monitored.

Yet they had no choice but to let Zion leave at this hour.

If Zion had departed too early, their enemy would have realized they had uncovered something and would have done everything possible to obstruct him. But now that the convoy had been safely escorted to the settlement, Zion’s return could be easily justified as nothing more than a mate longing to be by Addison’s side. Maxwell staying behind only reinforced the illusion, making it seem as though their attention remained firmly on the supplies and nothing else.

Not on the demonic insects.

Not on the impending infusion of demonic energy that would amplify their strength.

Anyone who truly understood the consequences would have panicked and acted at once, and that was precisely what Maxwell and Zion could not afford to do. So the longer they lingered outside, the calmer they forced themselves to appear, acting ignorant and unhurried, all to avoid alarming whoever might be watching from the shadows.

Zion sprinted at full speed, the world around him dissolving into a blur. All he could hear was the roar of the wind, the frantic rustle of leaves and grass tearing past him, and the thunderous pounding of his own heart as it slammed against his ribs, as if it might burst free at any moment.

Even so, he didn’t let himself relax. As he ran, he stretched his senses to their limit, remaining keenly aware of his surroundings, alert for any presence chasing him from behind. For now, there was no sign of pursuit, or perhaps anyone who tried simply couldn’t keep up with his speed.

Either way, there was only one thing he could do.

Run.

“Why bother playing mind games with our enemies?” Shura growled inside Zion’s head as it paced restlessly, its unease bleeding through their shared mind. ” Why not just kill them p>

“What would you know?” Zion snorted inwardly. ” All brawn and no brains p>

“Bastard!” Shura snarled back, its hackles rising, fury flaring as if it were already ready to leap into a fight. ” If I’m that kind of wolf, then so are you p>

“See?” Zion shot back inwardly. “I say one thing, and you’re already gearing up for a fight. Aren’t you just proving my point p>

He rolled his eyes, even as he kept running. He didn’t have the time or the energy to squabble with Shura right now. He knew his wolf was only trying to break the suffocating tension, to stir conversation in its own blunt way.

But Zion also needed Shura to think beyond brute force. After all, Shura was his wolf, an Alpha. If the only solution it could see was violence, then they’d be no different from mindless beasts.

He’d gone feral too many times already. Each time, it was the same pattern: Shura losing control, his own emotions spiraling, man and wolf dragging each other into madness. If they kept repeating that cycle, their enemies wouldn’t even need to defeat them. They’d simply wait and turn that weakness against them.

Should he really wait until their enemy used that very weakness against him? Of course not. That was exactly why he needed Shura to start thinking, to exercise restraint. And he needed it for himself as well. Control. Stability. Over both his emotions and his wolf.

But none of that would be possible if Shura refused to cooperate.

It was something Zion had realized just yesterday, during their endless patrols while they searched for signs of surveillance. Time and again, Shura had nearly lost its temper. With no clues, no results, and nothing but mounting frustration, the patrols began to feel pointless. The more futile it became, the more Shura resisted, and it started snapping, bristling, refusing to rein itself in.

And every time Shura wavered, it affected Zion in return. His emotions swung wildly, his temper frayed, and he became volatile, difficult to approach, and difficult to reason with. Man and wolf were dragging each other into instability, and Zion knew that if this continued, it wouldn’t take an enemy’s blade to bring them down.

They couldn’t rely on brute force alone, not anymore. As the situation grew more complicated and the currents around them turned increasingly murky, they needed to fight with their minds as much as with their strength. Above all, they had to ensure Addison’s safety. Recklessness and unchecked emotion were luxuries they could no longer afford.

That was why Zion deliberately provoked Shura now and then. The taunts were never meant to start a fight; they were a form of tempering, a way to train Shura to let words pass through one ear and out the other without reacting. If Shura could learn restraint, then their enemies wouldn’t be able to manipulate them so easily.

Because if even a few sharp words could set them off, then it would be far too easy for their enemies to toy with their emotions, steering them blindly, turning them into pawns in a game they didn’t even realize they were playing.

“Bastard! I knew you were messing with me again! How many times has it been tonight?!” Shura grumbled, clearly picking up on the thoughts running through Zion’s mind.

Even though Shura understood what Zion was trying to do, controlling emotions had never been easy, especially for it. Shura felt everything raw and unfiltered. When it was happy, its tail wagged without restraint; when it was angry, it bared its fangs and charged headfirst. Its thoughts were simple, instinctive, and brutally honest, unlike Zion’s careful layers of reasoning.

And that simplicity was both its strength… and its weakness.

“Fool. You don’t need to overthink everything,” Zion said sternly to Shura. “Leave the planning and mind games to me. All you need to do is keep your temper in check; your emotions affect me, too. Unless I call for your strength, don’t surface so easily p>

Even as he spoke, Zion sprinted through the forest, weaving effortlessly between trees. His heightened senses mapped the surroundings in real time, allowing him to detect wild beasts and monsters from afar and alter his route before they could notice him.

He couldn’t afford even a moment of delay; getting entangled in a fight, or worse, being stalled for seconds or minutes, was something he couldn’t let happen now. Time, right now, was everything.

Shura wanted to curse again, anger already rising in its chest, but it stopped short. It remembered, Zion wasn’t doing this to restrain it or assert control, but to protect Addison. With that thought, even Shura couldn’t bring itself to act willfully or oppose Zion out of sheer stubbornness, no matter how much it hated the feeling of being reined in.

After a long moment of resistance, Shura finally muttered, reluctant and subdued, “I’ll… try my best p>

It let out a small, aggrieved whine, like a scolded child, then turned away to sulk in silence. Seeing this, Zion merely shook his massive wolf head once as he continued running, choosing to ignore Shura and focus on the path ahead.