Chapter 440: Shadows Racing Through the Snow

Chapter 439: Shadows Racing Through the Snow

He adjusted the lens. His whistling had stopped.

"Thank the Goddess," one of the guards said with a laugh. "That was a horrible song."

Quentin didn’t pay them any mind. His gaze was on the two figures now cutting through the trees.

Quentin couldn’t believe his eyes. His shift was supposed to be peaceful. Not something that would send him panicking every few hours.

Two wolves were heading straight to the pack. They ran without pause, like someone had lit their tails on fire.

Quentin was having déjà vu. He didn’t want to believe that what he was seeing was real—but it was.

His heart slammed painfully against his ribs.

"No," he whispered.

Not again.

He shifted the farseer slightly to steady his view.

Two wolves.

He could see them clearly now.

The first was smaller and black-furred. She was lean too, but her body moved with terrifying efficiency, her strides tight and precise, snow spraying violently behind her paws.

Something hung across her back.

It was a body, and he was limp, collapsed forward against her neck.

The second wolf ran several lengths behind her. He was a pale colour and was larger than the black wolf. But the black one was faster.

Quentin swore under his breath.

His hand tightened on the railing.

"They’re coming straight for us..."

He spun and leaned over the edge of the tower.

"Open the gates!" he shouted down.

His voice cracked through the stillness.

Both guards snapped upright immediately.

One of them looked up.

His eyes were already sharp.

"Quentin, please tell me it’s a joke," he told him.

"Do I look like I’m joking? Open the gates," Quentin told them.

"How many?" the other demanded.

"Two!" Quentin barked. "And they are fucking fast."

The guards moved at once without any more hesitation.

The iron bar screeched as it was dragged free.

The sound echoed harshly across the wall.

Snow slid down from the top of the gates in thick clumps as the massive wooden slabs began to part.

Quentin leaned farther over the rail, heart hammering so hard it made his ears ring.

He lifted the farseer again for only a second.

Just to be certain.

Just to be sure his eyes were not betraying him. Maybe sleep had taken over his senses.

They were closer now.

Much closer.

The black wolf’s strides were beginning to shorten.

Not from slowing, but from strain. Her shoulders trembled with effort.

The man on her back did not move at all, but Quentin knew he was breathing.

The second wolf had closed the distance between them.

He ran close enough now that Quentin could see the pale sweep of his fur even without the farseer.

"They’re almost here!" Quentin shouted.

The gates were barely wide enough—

The sound reached them first.

Paws. Heavy and fast. Violent against snow-filled ground.

The guards jumped back instinctively as the first blur burst through the opening.

The black wolf shot past them without slowing down. She did not even flick an ear in their direction.

The man on her back sagged forward, his arms dangling uselessly at her side.

Blood darkened the fur along her legs as she ran straight into the compound. Straight toward the medical facility.

Quentin’s breath ripped from his lungs.

Behind her—

Seconds later—

The second wolf tore through the gates. His paws thundered against the ground, his breath steaming violently in the cold as he followed the same path without hesitation.

The guards barely had time to react before both wolves vanished into the sleeping compound.

"Close it!" one of the guards shouted.

They swung the gates shut with all their weight.

The wood slammed together.

The iron bar was shoved back into place with a heavy, final clank.

The echo rolled along the wall. And then there was silence, except for the distant fading sound of running paws.

Quentin stayed frozen at the tower rail.

His hands were numb.

His pulse was still racing uncontrollably.

Below him, the guards stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the sealed gates, staring at the path the wolves had taken.

The air felt different now. It was charged and uneasy.

The kind of quiet that waited for something else to break.

One of the guards slowly exhaled.

"That’s Sam," he said quietly.

There was no doubt in his voice.

Quentin nodded faintly.

"Yes."

The way she ran, even with the weight on her back.

It was unmistakable.

"And Helios," the other guard murmured.

Quentin did not need to confirm that either.

The pale wolf’s size and stride had been burned into his memory. He and Helios had been trainees together.

Neither of them spoke for a moment.

The snow continued to fall gently around the wall.

Soft.

Deceptively calm.

"What in the Goddess’ name is happening tonight?" one of the guards whispered.

Quentin swallowed.

He leaned back from the railing slowly.

His legs felt weak.

Below, one of the guards tilted his head up toward him.

"Can you see anything else?"

Quentin hesitated.

Then lifted the farseer again.

The brass tube felt heavier now.

He brought it to his eye.

He swept the tree line.

Slowly.

Left.

Nothing.

Right. Nothing too.

Snow drifted lazily through the air.

The branches stirred faintly beneath their burden.

The forest held its breath.

Quentin adjusted the lens.

Checked deeper between the trunks just in case he missed anything. But there was nothing.

He lowered the farseer slightly. He waited for a while, then raised it again.

He scanned farther back. But there was still nothing.

Below him, the guards waited in silence.

One of them had a hand resting lightly against the hilt of his blade.

The other kept glancing toward the paths leading toward the medical facility.

As though expecting something to happen at any moment.

Quentin slowly exhaled, and then he lowered the farseer.

"Please," he said a short prayer, "let it be that no one is going to come through again." He said softly, praying to the Goddess.

One of the guards lifted his chin toward the tower.

"Quentin..."

He hesitated as he spoke.

"Please check again... just to be a hundred percent sure if there’s anyone coming so we can leave the gate open."