Chapter 191: The Freedom And The Disappearance.

Neve arrived at the center of the outcast territory where the massive crowd had already assembled. He was thankful to Maren for gathering everyone at once on a very short notice.

All eyes snapped toward him the moment he stepped forward. The size of the gathering was overwhelming—ranks of snake beastmen stood alongside exiles from dozens of shark tribes. Varek stood quietly off to the side, while Skarr leaned against a tree in the shadows, his eyes calmly scanning the crowd.

Neve took a deep, steadying breath, letting his voice cut cleanly through the murmuring noise.

"I have an announcement," Neve declared, his words echoing off the tree. They suddenly fell silent as they focused more on Neve. He scanned their expectant faces, wondering how they’d react to the news. "Vaelthorn, the Dragon King, has officially lifted your punishment. From this moment onwards, you are no longer outcasts. You are free."

For a moment, there was complete silence.

’Why are they silent? Don’t they believe me?’

Then the crowd erupted into confused chatter. People were talking over each other, asking questions, expressing disbelief.

"How do we know this is true?" someone yelled.

"What proof do you have?" another voice called out.

Without a word, Neve reached up and pulled back his shirt collar, exposing the intricate dragon mark resting against his neck. The mark pulsed with a faint, regal light.

"Many of you should be able to recognise this. I’m Vaelthorn’s mate," Neve said simply. "And he gave me this."

From his inventory, Neve produced a massive, gleaming dragon claw. It was heavy, beautifully lethal, and unmistakably saturated with the ancient aura of the Dragon King.

The entire crowd gasped.

Some fell to their knees on the cold stone. Others buried their faces in their hands, weeping openly. After decades of living in shame, trapped inside this desolate, unforgiving territory, the heavy weight of exile was finally gone.

They suddenly cheered so loud that Neve thought the ground would collapse.

Warriors were weeping, hugging total strangers, dancing, and singing. The absolute wave of joy crashing through the space was almost suffocating.

Neve raised both hands, signaling for silence once more.

"I also have a second announcement," he called out. "We are going to hold a massive Spring Festival right here in the outcast territory. We will invite the outer tribes. We will all gather together as one."

The roaring cheers died instantly.

Uncertain glances rippled through the sea of faces.

"The outer tribes?" a snake beastman asked, his brows furrowed in suspicion. "You want us to mix with the outer tribes?"

"We don’t know if we can get along with them," an old outcast grumbled. "There’s too much history between us. Too much bad blood."

"That is exactly why we need to change it," Neve countered firmly. "This is our chance to show the rest of the world that we aren’t the monsters they think we are."

Disagreement flared instantly. The crowd began arguing again, talking over Neve as fear, resentment, and old wounds surfaced.

Neve opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was completely swallowed by the rising noise.

Suddenly—CRACK!

Skarr slammed his massive, scaly snake tail onto the stone floor with terrifying force. The shockwave rattled the teeth in Neve’s jaw, sending spiderweb fractures rippling across the solid rock.

The crowd went dead silent in a fraction of a second. Everyone stared in utter shock at the shattered stone beneath Skarr’s tail.

"Thank you Skarr," Neve smiled at Skarr. He just nodded with his hand still folded. Neve turned back to the crowd, his expression completely transformed.

His expression had changed completely. The soft, kind Neve they knew was gone. In his place was someone dangerous. Someone powerful. Someone who would not tolerate disobedience.

"Listen to me," Neve said, his voice low and heavy. "Vaelthorn freed you out of kindness. Out of mercy. If any of you hurt someone at the festival. If any of you do anything that makes you worthy of being outcasts again, you will be punished."

He paused, letting the threat sink in.

"And I won’t forgive you," he continued coldly. "You will be taking Vaelthorn’s sympathy and throwing it back in his face. You will be disrespecting my mate. And I will not allow that."

A heavy, terrified hush settled over the crowd. Nobody dared to breathe.

Then, just as quickly as the chill had set in, Neve’s expression melted. A sweet, radiant smile broke across his face.

"See you all during spring," he said simply. "Make yourselves ready."

He turned on his heel and walked away before anyone could recover enough to speak.

.

.

Everyone followed Neve back to the cave.

Cael stood waiting by the entrance, alongside Aldric and Sable... who kept a quiet distance, though his dark eyes remained firmly fixed on Neve. Popi was practically vibrating with excitement, her travel packs neatly stacked beside Varek. Maren stood nearby as well, ready to move.

They had all gathered everything they needed for the journey back to the leopard territory.

"Are we ready?" Neve asked, looking around at everyone.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Popi’s eyes were bright with excitement. They were finally going home.

Neve cast one last glance around the stone walls of the outcast cave. A strange knot tied in his stomach. It was funny how a place he had dreaded coming to now felt a little bit like home.

"Let’s go," Skarr said.

Raising his hand, Skarr channeled Zyreth’s spatial magic. The air around them warped and tore open.

The whole environment changed instantly. From the dark cave of the outcast territory to the white snow of the leopard territory.

The temperature dropped immediately. Neve could feel the cold seeping into his bones. The snow was piled high everywhere. The sky was grey and heavy with more snow to come.

He looked around at the heavy snow piles and rushed inside the cave toward the leopard territory.

"Neve, slow down! Watch your footing in the snow!" Cael called out behind him, his protective instincts flaring.

But Neve didn’t listen, quickening his pace. He was too desperate to get out of the wind, too eager to see his people, to taste the familiar comfort of home.

He ducked through the cavern mouth, shaking snow from his hair as his eyes searched the dim interior for welcoming faces, cooking fires, or chatting kids.

Instead, he was met with total, echoing silence. The only person he saw was Sif.

Just Sif.

No one else.

"Sif," Neve called her name, confusion filling his voice.

Sif’s head snapped up. The moment her eyes locked onto Neve, she let out a broken sob, scrambling to her feet and throwing her arms wildly around his waist, clutching him tightly.

Neve patted her head, confused by her intensity.

Neve stumbled back slightly, patting her hair in total bewilderment. "Aww... did you really miss me that badly?"

"Please save them! Save everyone!" Sif wept uncontrollably, her entire body shaking against his.

Neve’s lighthearted expression instantly evaporated. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Save who?" Aldric demanded, stepping past Neve, his bear instincts instantly flaring as he surveyed the empty room.

"They were all taken away," Sif said, tears streaming down her face.

"By who?" Cael asked, already fuming. His leopard eyes were glowing with anger.

"The Chief..." Sif shivered violently. "It’s been three days since he marched in and took everyone. I don’t even know if they’re still alive! I tried to stand in his way, but I was too weak... he just dragged them off!"

Neve froze where he stood, his breath catching in his throat.

Three days.

That meant while he had been recovering, bonding with his mates, and celebrating freedom in the outcast territory, Soren had made his move.

The bastard chief. The asshole who wanted Cael to fight for his position. The jerk who had been planning to use it as a chance to get rid of his own brother.

Soren had finally made his move.

"Where did he take them?" Neve asked. His voice wasn’t hysterical—it was eerily, deadlily calm.

"I don’t know..." Sif sobbed, shaking her head helplessly. "He took them in the middle of the night. Nobody could stop him."

Neve’s hands closed into tight fists at his sides, his knuckles turning stark white from the force of his grip.

Everyone was staring at him. Waiting to see what he would do.

Cael stepped closer, ready to support whatever decision Neve made.

Aldric was also ready, his bear form barely contained under his skin.

Even Maren stepped forward, ready to help despite being from a different tribe.

Neve took a deep breath and looked at Sif.

"Don’t worry, Sif," Neve said softly. "We’re going to bring every single one of them back."

Then, a slow, dark smile carved its way across Neve’s face... a vicious grin that didn’t reach his deadly eyes.

"Fuck," Neve chuckled under his breath, his fist tightening until his arms shook. "What a hell of a welcome back, Soren."