Chapter 78: Red eyes

"Lucien..." Liliana called.

Lucien immediately transformed into his wolf form and lowered himself in front of her.

"Get on my back," he ordered firmly.

Vincent turned toward the forest behind them before looking at all his pack members.

"Follow Lucien. There are more of them this time than before."

The pack members nodded quickly and immediately transformed into their wolf forms.

Xavier then looked at his own pack members and nodded.

"Follow them."

Vincent and Xavier ran at the very back of the group to protect their respective pack members, while Lucien led the way with Liliana on his back.

"Lucien... where are we going?" Liliana asked in a panic.

Lucien let out a low growl. "Use your mate mark, Liliana. Try to locate the Crown Prince. We need to find him before confronting them."

"Their numbers will never decrease. They’ll keep multiplying even if we kill them. Only the Crown Prince knows how to stop them completely," Lucien added.

Liliana nodded. She closed her eyes while holding tightly onto Lucien’s fur. Her other hand moved to her chest, resting directly over her heart, where her mate mark was located.

A few moments later, Liliana opened her eyes and shook her head.

"I can’t detect the Crown Prince’s presence. He’s beyond my wolf’s range."

"Damn it," Lucien cursed. He let out a loud howl before increasing his speed once again.

Since childhood, Lucien had been trained to serve as Leonhardt’s right-hand man. He knew exactly how capable Leonhardt was when dealing with his enemies. Although he and Vincent were considered equally skilled, Lucien always had better access to various kinds of information because he had received direct authorization from Leonhardt.

The dark forest surrounding them grew increasingly ominous. More than sixty wolves raced through the forest, heading deeper and deeper into its depths.

Meanwhile, behind them, hundreds of Nightfangs continued chasing them relentlessly. Among the crowd, the red-eyed Nightfang they had encountered earlier was now running at the very front, as if deliberately leading the others in their pursuit.

Vincent let out a weak growl. He had never imagined that he would nearly die again for such ridiculous reasons.

First, he had almost died because of the river currents. Second, because of the Nightfangs. And now, for the third time, he found himself in almost the same situation again.

He turned his head and glanced at Xavier, who continued running beside him with a calm expression.

Vincent shook his head, still unable to believe their current situation.

How had he ended up working together with a future Alpha from another pack? To make matters worse, that future Alpha was even much weaker than him.

He snorted and turned his attention back to the dark path ahead.

They continued running aimlessly for nearly twenty minutes until Liliana suddenly gripped Lucien’s fur more tightly.

"Ten o’clock. I can sense the mate mark between the Crown Prince and me. He’s over there."

Lucien immediately changed direction and increased his speed toward the place Liliana had indicated.

As soon as they arrived, Liliana, Lucien, Vincent, Xavier, and all their pack members were stunned by the horrifying sight before them.

Liliana’s eyes widened. Without thinking twice, she immediately transformed into her silver wolf and leaped high toward Leonhardt.

Thud!

Leonhardt’s wolf body was knocked to the side.

Leonhardt immediately raised his head, staring at the wolf that had dared to attack him.

However, Liliana had already transformed back into her human form. She quickly turned around and helped Cassian, whose body was covered in wounds, sit up.

"Brother..." she called softly.

Cassian looked at Liliana beside him for a few moments before nodding. He could see the many questions in her brown eyes.

"What did you do to him?" Liliana asked as she stood in front of Cassian, shielding his body from Leonhardt’s gaze.

Leonhardt glared at Liliana. He then transformed into his human form in an instant.

The bloodline aura of his imperial family immediately activated once more.

An overwhelming pressure spread throughout the area, forcing everyone to lower their heads and kneel.

"We greet the Crown Prince of the Morovela Empire."

Cassian frowned when Leonhardt’s pressure also forced him to his knees. He gritted his teeth before finally lowering his body.

Liliana frowned as well, but she didn’t immediately bow her head. Leonhardt’s aura pressure had little effect on her ever since he marked her as his mate. It felt as though that power had now become part of her own body.

Leonhardt raised his head and stared at Liliana. His feet stepped over the corpses of the Nightfangs that had just died beneath him.

"Liliana... how dare you attack this Crown Prince? Even after I saved you from the Emperor, my father?" he asked.

Liliana stared at Leonhardt for a few moments, her expression filled with guilt.

"I... I’m sorry. But didn’t you promise to release Pack Draven for me sometime soon?"

Leonhardt looked at Liliana scornfully.

"You attacked me without asking a single question, and now you’re accusing me of doing something to Cassian?" he asked.

The atmosphere immediately fell silent. Nothing could be heard except the wind blowing through the trees.

Cassian finally stepped forward and grabbed Liliana’s arm after managing to calm himself. He was still slightly bent under Leonhardt’s pressure, but he tried to stand in front of Liliana.

"Your Highness... please forgive Liliana. She was simply too worried about me, which caused her to push your precious body."

Leonhardt sneered. "Just because you’re my Luna, you dare to act this way?"

He stepped forward and quickly lifted Liliana’s chin.

The forest where they stood seemed even quieter than before. Vincent’s and Xavier’s pack members were even wide-eyed upon hearing Leonhardt’s words.

"Do you think I won’t do anything to you because of this?"

Liliana took a deep breath. She then knelt before Leonhardt.

"Please forgive my recklessness and audacity, Your Highness. You may punish me. I will accept it."

Cassian immediately followed and knelt before Leonhardt.

"This is all because of me. So please punish me instead, Your Highness."

"Heh..." A mocking laugh escaped Leonhardt’s lips. "If I didn’t know the relationship between the two of you, I would truly think that—"

"Your Highness..." Lucien interrupted.

Leonhardt’s gaze immediately shifted toward him.

"They’re coming."

Leonhardt’s forehead creased. He then turned toward the darkness of the forest behind them. His golden eyes gleamed.

"Fall back!"

His command immediately sent the entire pack of wolves moving behind him.

Cassian helped Liliana stand and instinctively guided her behind his body. Lucien, Vincent, and Xavier then took their positions beside Cassian, forming a line in front of Liliana and behind Leonhardt.

All eyes were now fixed on the same direction.

From the darkness of the forest, the Nightfangs that had been chasing them finally emerged. Their numbers were far greater than before, filling the gaps between the trees until the entire forest seemed to be covered with their eyes and bodies.

However, Liliana’s attention was focused on only one figure.

At the very front stood the largest Nightfang.

And the same pair of red eyes they had seen earlier was staring at her once again.

Liliana unconsciously stepped backward.

Her eyes met those red eyes once more.