Adrein.

We finally got down from the horses to take a much-needed rest.

The journey had been exhausting, and every muscle in my body ached from the long hours of riding. The moment my boots touched the ground, I released a slow breath I hadn’t even realized I had been holding.

Almost immediately, my eyes drifted toward Noah. The movement was subconscious and instinctive.

No matter how many times I told myself to hate him, no matter how hard I tried to remind myself of all the reasons I should resent him, I just couldn’t help feeling concerned whenever I looked at him.

It was frustrating and annoying, yet impossible to ignore.

Noah still hadn’t woken up, and his face remained pale, and his body was unnaturally still.

Although Damein had managed to stop the bleeding earlier, Noah’s condition still worried me more than I cared to admit.

The sight of him lying there motionless made something uncomfortable settle in my chest.

I quickly looked away.

We had only stopped because we had stumbled upon another abandoned building along the route.

The structure looked old and forgotten, standing alone like a relic from a different time.

Its walls were worn down by age and weather, and several parts of the roof looked like they could collapse at any moment.

Still, it offered shelter and right now, that was enough.

Without wasting time, Damein and Aidan carefully lifted Noah between them and carried him inside.

The rest of us followed, and the moment we entered, a thick layer of dust greeted us. The air felt stale and untouched.

Cobwebs hung from nearly every corner, stretching across broken furniture and cracked walls.

It was obvious no one had stepped foot inside the place for years.

Davian immediately began inspecting the rooms until he found one that seemed relatively usable.

Then he got to work.

Despite the condition of the building, he somehow managed to make the space look less miserable.

But honestly, I barely paid attention, as my thoughts were elsewhere. It was far away from the dusty room and far away from the abandoned building.

All that occupied my mind was Maria.

More specifically, her scent.

The memory appeared so suddenly that I nearly froze.

My cheeks immediately grew warm.

I quickly looked around, praying none of my brothers had noticed.

The object I had secretly carried with me suddenly came to mind, and the urge to take it out became almost overwhelming.

Just one look—that was all I wanted. I just needed one moment but my brothers were everywhere.

There wasn’t a single opportunity to do it unnoticed. So I forced myself to suppress the urge.

I stood there awkwardly, trying to distract myself from the thought. Unfortunately, it seemed I wasn’t doing a very good job.

"Adrein, are you going to keep standing there and blushing like a man who had just seen his lover?" Aidan suddenly asked.

A smug grin spread across his face as he looked at me.

My eyes widened instantly, and heat rushed straight to my face.

I had been caught.

Or at least, it certainly felt like I had.

I immediately snapped out of my daze.

"What?" I blurted out far too quickly.

Aidan’s grin only widened.

And that somehow made the embarrassment worse.

I felt so uncomfortable under his amused stare that I quickly moved to sit down before anyone else could start asking questions.

Only after lowering myself onto the chair did I finally take in my surroundings properly.

Davian had somehow finished arranging the room.

The dust had been cleared from the usable areas, blankets had been spread out, and the place looked significantly more comfortable than it had when we first entered.

I blinked.

Realizing I had been so distracted that I hadn’t even noticed any of it happening. My mind had been completely elsewhere the entire time.

"We are closer to the Lycan Prince territory now." Damien’s voice suddenly cut through the silence that had settled inside the abandoned building.

The statement came completely out of nowhere.

Immediately, all of us turned to look at him.

For a moment, nobody spoke, as the weight of those words hung heavily in the room.

We were finally getting close.

Closer to Maria.

Closer to whatever awaited us at the end of this exhausting journey.

"I can’t believe Maria’s scent led us here," Aidan said after a brief pause.

The smug expression he had been wearing earlier had completely disappeared. In its place was genuine curiosity mixed with concern.

"Coupled with the previous attacks, do you think he would let us in?" he asked.

His question lingered in the air.

It was a valid concern.

The attacks we had encountered so far were impossible to ignore. Someone clearly didn’t want us moving forward.

And now our destination happened to be the territory of the Lycan Prince. Nothing about the situation felt simple.

Davian released a heavy sigh before running a hand through his hair. "I don’t care if he lets us in," he said, his tone calm, but there was an unmistakable firmness underneath it. "All I care about is getting Maria out of there."

The determination in his voice was impossible to miss.

He wasn’t interested in politics.

Or permissions.

Or whether we would be welcomed.

His focus remained fixed on one thing and one thing alone.

Maria.

And honestly, I supported him completely.

My jaw tightened slightly.

Because the truth was that I felt exactly the same way. Whatever stood between us and Maria didn’t matter, whether it was the Lycan Prince, his guards or an entire army, I would still find a way to get her out.

The thought settled heavily inside my chest and I released a slow breath.

"Let’s just rest," I finally said, my voice breaking through the growing tension inside the room. "We are close anyway... we will soon get to know the outcome."

There was no point exhausting ourselves with endless speculation. Soon enough, we would have our answers.

Whether they were good or bad.

Silence followed my words and the room became quiet again.

Until suddenly...the sound of a weak yet rough cough echoed loudly across the room, drawing everyone’s attention.

Every head turned toward Noah.

My gaze immediately settled on him.

For a brief second, hope flickered inside me.

I expected him to move, to sit up, to open his eyes and at the very least, to say something.

But nothing happened.

After the cough, he became still once again and completely motionless.

The room fell silent.

And inwardly, I cursed.

Noah was such a pain in the neck.

Even unconscious, he somehow managed to create tension.

I folded my arms tightly across my chest but beneath my irritation was a truth I couldn’t deny.

He needed immediate medical attention, as his condition wasn’t improving. If anything, it looked worse, because his breathing remained uneven and his face remained pale.

And despite Damien’s efforts to stop the bleeding earlier, Noah was still in terrible shape.

The honest truth was simple...he might not last much longer.

The realization sat heavily in my stomach. None of us said it aloud, but I knew my brothers were thinking the same thing.

Our gazes remained fixed on Noah for several more seconds.

And then suddenly we heard a faint yet subtle sound coming from somewhere outside the building.

My entire body immediately tensed.

The noise wasn’t loud, but it was enough—enough to send every instinct into overdrive.

My eyes instantly locked with those of my brothers.

The room seemed to freeze.

Every muscle in my body tightened as I listened carefully.

Another sound echoed from outside, and this time it was clearer.

I could see the same realization forming in my brothers’ eyes.

Could it be another set of assassins?

The thought flashed through my mind as my heartbeat quickened.

And suddenly, the abandoned building no longer felt like a place to rest. It felt like a trap waiting to spring shut around us.