Chapter 437: The Night That Refused to Stay Quiet

Chapter 436: When the Night Broke Open

Midnight had settled over the pack compound like a held breath.

Snow lay thick and untouched across the compound, smoothing every path and rooftop into soft silver lines. The houses were dark. Fires burned low behind shuttered windows. Even the restless wind had gone quiet, as though the forest itself had decided to sleep.

Only the gate remained awake.

The great Nightshade gates stood sealed beneath the wall, their ancient wooden slabs reinforced with iron bands that gleamed faintly beneath the moonlight. Frost clung to the hinges and the heavy crossbar, turning the metal pale and brittle with cold.

Above the gates, built directly into the outer wall, rose the pack’s timber lookout structure—an old wooden sentry tower, narrow and weather-beaten, anchored into the stone like an afterthought that had somehow endured centuries of storms.

Quentin stood at the top of it, boots planted wide for balance against the cold.

His breath fogged in front of his face.

He had been on night watch for hours, and it was already midnight.

Nothing moved. Things were mostly peaceful at the pack by this time... mostly.

The forest stretched endlessly beyond the boundary stones, pale and black and silent, its skeletal trees bending under the weight of snow. Even the nocturnal creatures had retreated deep into hiding.

Below him, two other guards lingered near the base of the gates, stamping their boots softly against the cold and murmuring to one another in low voices.

It was a quiet shift.

A blessedly quiet one.

Quentin lifted the farseer to his eye more out of habit than caution.

The old brass tube was cold against his glove, the runes along its length faintly glowing beneath the moonlight.

He swept the farseer slowly across the tree line.

Left.

Still.

Right.

Snow-laden branches.

Shadows.

Nothing.

He exhaled quietly and lowered it, but then he paused.

Something flickered at the edge of his vision.

Quentin froze.

He raised the farseer again and adjusted his grip. He tilted the lens also and... there.

There was movement, and not from the wind or drifting snow.

It was something large and fast, cutting through the forest in a straight, relentless line.

His breath caught. It was a wolf, and he would recognize it anywhere.

He was running hard and fast, straight towards the pack.

Quentin’s heart slammed violently against his ribs.

Snow exploded beneath the paws of the wolf, and he was carrying someone on his back too.

"Oh—Moon..."

He spun around on the narrow platform.

"Open the gates!" he shouted down from the sentry tower.

His voice tore through the stillness.

The guards below jerked in shock.

"What?" one of them snapped, looking up sharply. "Quentin, what are you—"

"Open them!" Quentin yelled again, already gripping the railing.

The wolf was close.

The two guards exchanged a fast, confused look.

"Why?" one demanded. "There’s no horn—"

"Just open the damn gates!"

The urgency in his voice cut through the cold like a blade.

The guards didn’t argue again.

They turned and ran.

The crossbar was dragged free with a loud, scraping groan.

Iron protested.

Wood shuddered.

Snow fell from the top of the gates in heavy clumps as the massive doors began to part.

Before they were even fully open—

The sound hit them.

Heavy.

Violent.

A thunderous rush of paws tearing through snow.

The guards barely had time to step back when a blur exploded through the opening.

Noctis.

The wolf shot past them like a storm unleashed. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Sophia was strapped tightly against his back, her body limp, her head slumped forward against his neck, her dark hair tangled and frozen at the ends.

The guards staggered back in pure shock.

The air rippled from the force of his passing.

Noctis didn’t slow.

Didn’t hesitate.

Didn’t look at anyone.

He ran straight into the heart of the compound.

Straight for the medical facility.

"By the Goddess..." one of the guards whispered.

They spun instinctively toward the gates.

Already reaching for the doors.

Quentin’s voice cut down again from above.

"Leave it open!"

The guards froze.

Quentin was leaning dangerously over the rail of the tower.

His face was pale.

"There’s another one coming," he said.

The forest beyond the open gate stretched into silence again.

The guards waited.

Seconds passed.

Their hands hovered over the iron handles.

Their breath fogged thickly in the air.

One of them shifted uneasily.

"You sure?" he muttered.

Quentin lifted the farseer again.

Swept.

And then—

"Yes," he breathed.

Another wolf burst from the treeline.

Smaller than the first.

Brown-furred and lean.

Running like its lungs were on fire.

The guards pulled the gates wider.

The second wolf tore through the opening and skidded slightly on the frozen ground before correcting its stride and continuing forward into the compound.

Only then—

Only after its tail vanished into the darkness—

did the guards slam the gates shut.

The iron bar was shoved back into place.

The echo rang through the wall.

All three of them stood there in stunned silence.

Eyes wide.

Hearts pounding.

"What just happened?" one asked.

"More like what’s happening, but I have no idea, brother," the other replied.

---

Noctis skidded to a halt just outside the medical facility.

He barely slowed before healers rushed out in alarm, lanterns raised, faces draining of colour the moment they saw Sophia.

"Clear the way!"

"Bring a stretcher—now!"

Hands reached for her.

Careful.

Urgent.

They lifted Sophia from Noctis’s back and carried her inside.

Her head rolled weakly to the side.

Her lips were pale.

Her chest rose shallowly.

Noctis followed for exactly three steps.

Then his legs buckled.

Bone cracked.

Fur dissolved, and Orion stood in his place.

Behind him, the second wolf staggered into the open space outside the medical facility.

It collapsed forward.

The shift took it mid-fall.

Jeffrey hit the snow hard on his knees and hands.

His breath ripped violently from his chest.

He tried to stand but failed to do so. His legs were weak. A journey they would have made in days, they made in hours.

A healer rushed forward from the facility instinctively.

She placed a cup of water into Jeffrey’s trembling hands.

He couldn’t even lift it properly.

His arms shook too badly.

He tipped it toward his mouth and choked instead, coughing violently as the water spilled down his chin and onto the snow.

"I—"

Nothing came out.

His throat closed around the word.

He dropped back onto his side, chest heaving, eyes squeezed shut, body completely spent.

The healer knelt beside him, steadying the cup.

"It’s alright," she murmured. "Just breathe."

Jeffrey could barely nod.

"Is Lysander in?" Orion asked the nurse.

"No, he..." She didn’t finish her words before Orion turned and broke into a run towards Lysander and Brynhild’s home.

His boots slammed against the frozen ground.

He reached the door and was about to knock when it opened.

Brynhild stood there, Raina in her arms.

The baby fussed softly, face red, tiny fists clenched.

"Orion, you’re back. I—" Orion didn’t let her finish, though.

"We’ll talk later," he said quickly, already stepping closer. "I need Lysander. Now."

Her hand tightened instinctively around Raina.

"Is it Sophia?" she asked softly.

Orion nodded once.

Lysander appeared behind her a second later.

His hair was a mess.

Dark circles carved shadows beneath his eyes.

His tunic hung crookedly over his shoulders, clearly thrown on in haste.

"What is it?" he asked hoarsely.

"I need you to come with me to the facility," Orion told him calmly.