Chapter 88: Chapter 88

"That's mountain ash, my Lord. Even the sniff is enough to make a wolf fall unconscious. You were able to ward off the effects so quickly because of your resistance and power as an Alpha," the messenger explained.

"If this is used on an ordinary wolf, the result can already be known. They'll be out of their senses, like a total blackout," the messenger added.

"They'll be unconscious, which gives the enemy the upper hand against them, making them vulnerable," Alex said, gathering his disoriented thoughts.

The messenger fell to the ground with a loud thud, bringing Alex back to reality.

"The effects of the mountain ash are powerful," he said to himself.

"Guards," he called out, "take him to a physician and make sure he's well treated."

"Send another message to the woods and tell them I command to end the mission; this is enough to prevent another ten deaths," Alex said before turning to walk away to the bedroom.

The doors were flung open as he walked to Mia, who was seated in bed with a book in her hands.

"Why do you smell like that, Alex?" Mia asked as he walked closer.

He did not answer her words and instead called out her name, walking closer to her.

"What's the matter, Alex? Why did you have to rush into the room like that?" she said, standing up to meet him.

"The cause of the wolf weakening has been found," he stood in front of her, holding the speckles of mountain ash in his hands.

"What have you found?" Mia exclaimed happily.

"It's mountain ash, Mia. This is what is used to weaken the wolves and make them vulnerable," Alex added.

"I knew it! This was the same smell I perceived on Hendrix when he came here. I've smelled this from the mountains when I snuck out of the pack house with Rain," she added.

"But it can't possibly be true, right? Hendrix cannot be the one responsible for the deaths of those wolves, can he?" she asked, both of them refusing to believe that Hendrix was the culprit.

"It's hard to accept, but Hendrix is the one all the evidence is pointing to. There isn't any concrete evidence, but everything so far is from him," Mia said.

"I'll be back in a while, Mia. The smell of this ash is sickening," Alex said and walked to the bathroom to bathe.

Mia walked to the bathroom window in a daze of the happenings. Their enemy was much closer than they imagined, however, rules were rules, and if at the end of the day, Hendrix was found guilty, there was no way he could escape death, she thought to herself, heaving a sigh.

Alex walked out of the bathroom to meet Mia, who stood by the window bay.

"Why are you in so much thought?" he said, wrapping his hands around her waist.

"I just feel like it's scary, Alex. If Hendrix is truly the one responsible, don't you think that no one should be trusted? Which one of us would have imagined that Hendrix would do such a thing?" she said in his arms.

"I know that, Mia, but not everyone is like Hendrix. There are some people who are worth dying for," he said to her.

Alex disengaged from the hug, pacing around the room in the realization of the truth.

The dots were connected, and everything was pointing to Hendrix as the killer.

He walked into the bathroom to wash off the smell of the mountain ash on his hands when he brought it to his face.

The thought of it was infuriating the more he thought about it.

However, he still had some doubts. There was no solid evidence, and Hendrix could have gotten in contact with mountain ash when he was on a search for the killers.

And he might have come back to the scene after searching for the killers.

His thoughts were in disarray, finding it hard to believe Hendrix, his most trusted soldier, could be behind the deaths of those wolves.

"I'll be back, Mia," Alex said and dashed out of the room.

Alex headed on his way out of the pack to meet Hendrix when he was ambushed by a group of dark-cloaked men.

"Clear my way, and I will spare your lives. I really have not much strength to fight with some minions," he said to them.

They looked at each other before dashing towards Alex, who was unarmed.

He kicked the first attacker's chest, taking the sword from him, and with that, he was able to defend himself.

The cloaked men seemed to increase in number despite the bodies of about a hundred men on the ground.

Alex was getting tired, and his strength was dwindling. The guards who went with him were all lying in their pool of blood.

Alex fought forward, roaring a loud growl, snarling his teeth at the attackers, sending them feet behind before they moved to attack him again.

Alex's eyes caught a glimpse of Hendrix walking into the fight.

"Hendrix!" he shouted, forgetting about his suspicious behavior.

"Help me, call the pack soldiers and help me fight off these men," he said in a stunted breath.

Hendrix nodded and sent a message to the pack house while he ran over to fight.

The cloaked men stopped for a split second when they saw Hendrix's arrival before making a move to fight again, this time more fiercely.

Hendrix fought closer to Alex as if to help him, and Alex was taken in shock by his next actions.

Hendrix had stealthily taken out his knife, walking closer to Alex, and the sound of flesh being cut could be heard.

Alex gasped in shock and stuttered as blood gushed out of his stomach. Pain seeped into his pores, and his vision blurred.

Hendrix kicked Alex in the chest, throwing him backward to a tree, creating a loud thud.