The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power Chapter 101: The Aftermath

Cindy's POV:

The smoke over Bloodmoor Castle had not cleared yet. The air still reeked of burned flesh and gunpowder. The sharp sulfur sting hung in my nose.

I sat astride a massive silver wolf mount. Behind me stood the Gamma Guards, lined up in perfect order.

Our armor was stained with enemy blood, but the wolf spirit's power kept our soldiers sharp. No one looked tired.

"Your Grace," Miguel said quietly at my side. His sense of smell was far keener than most. "The vampire main force has pulled back. Their formation ... it's strange."

I nodded. My silver eyes narrowed as I watched the black columns moving slowly north across the wasteland.

Normally, a defeated army falls apart. They loot, burn, and vent their anger along the way.

Franklin's army did not.

They withdrew without a sound, like a black tide sliding back into the sea. They did not even crush the fields along the road."

This did not feel like a rout. It felt like a calm retreat, like a force that had finished a task and was simply leaving.

"Pass the order," I said. My voice carried through the army with wolf power. "Keep a safe distance. Follow and observe. As long as they do not harm civilians or attack villages, we do not engage. Our job is to see them out of our borders, not to corner them like trapped beasts."

"Yes!"

The army moved again.

But there was no joy in my chest.

I knew Evelyn was missing.

During cleanup, soldiers found a large number of bodies in Echo Alley.

They were the 300 loyal soldiers Evelyn had taken inside.

I went to see it myself.

Even for someone who had lived through countless battles, the sight made my skin crawl.

That was not combat. It was slaughter.

300 elite werewolves had been torn apart in a narrow alley—cut down, tortured, and destroyed.

Evelyn was the only one not there.

"Cindy..."

Prince Adam's voice came through the comms crystal. "How are things on your end?"

"All stable, Your Highness," I replied. "The enemy is withdrawing in good order. I don't see the hyena troops; they likely scattered early. The vampire army is terrifyingly quiet."

"Be careful," Prince Adam said after a pause. "James is looking for you. He's losing his mind."

I let out a cold laugh. "Let him look. Some things, once lost, are gone forever."

James's POV:

"Evelyn! Evelyn! Where are you?!"

I rode my warhorse at full speed through the tangled alleys of Bloodmoor Castle.

My voice was hoarse, but I couldn't stop.

Fear wrapped around my heart like an icy hand.

Just half an hour ago, I had mocked her for being reckless. I had been furious about her foolish charge up the ladders.

But the moment I realized she might have fallen into enemy hands, that anger turned into pure panic.

She was the woman I chose.

For her, I turned my back on Cindy. For her, I broke my oath.

If she was dead, then what did this past year mean? All that loyalty I lost. All those people I betrayed—what was it for?

"General! Over here!"

A scout ran up, his face pale. He pointed toward a dead-end alley. "We found General Rusell's loyal guards there."

I yanked the reins, jumped off my horse, and rushed into the alley.

A wave of blood stench hit me. I nearly threw up.