Chapter 339: Another group.
Damien.
Noah remained unconscious across the back of my horse, his body swaying slightly with every powerful stride the animal took.
I had long caught up with my brothers after carrying him, and now all five of us raced through the rough terrain without slowing down.
The wind whipped violently against my face as our horses thundered forward. Dust rose behind us with every hoofbeat, and despite my exhaustion, I forced myself to remain alert.
We had already lost enough time.
Maria was still out there somewhere, waiting and maybe suffering.
Maybe hoping we would come for her.
The thought alone was enough to keep me moving.
After what felt like an eternity of riding, a structure finally appeared in the distance.
It looked like an abandoned house.
The walls were weathered and cracked, while parts of the roof appeared close to collapsing. It stood alone, surrounded by overgrown vegetation that made the place seem even more deserted.
For a brief moment, I thought we might finally have a chance to rest.
Unfortunately, fate clearly had other plans.
Before we could get any closer, figures emerged from the shadows.
Several armed men stepped into our path.
More assassins.
I immediately recognized the look in their eyes.
And judging from the collective groan that almost escaped my brothers, they recognized it too.
I sighed deeply.
The timing could not have been worse.
Slowly, I turned toward my brothers.
Big mistake.
The deadly glares they threw my way nearly made me regret looking at them in the first place.
Davian’s expression was especially murderous.
"Well, Mr. Too-Good," he said loudly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "How about we leave them to you?"
I blinked, then I swallowed hard.
Surely he was joking.
Right?
Were they seriously considering leaving this entire group for me to handle alone?
Not that I couldn’t.
I definitely could.
But there was a huge difference between being capable and actually wanting to do it.
I was exhausted.
We had been traveling for hours.
I had already fought one group of assassins earlier.
And now they wanted me to fight another one?
"Exactly," Adrien declared before I could defend myself. "We still have an important agenda." His expression darkened immediately. "She needs us."
The playful irritation vanished from his face the moment he mentioned Maria.
For a second, silence fell among us.
Because despite our arguments and complaints, she remained our priority.
"And we are running out of time," Aidan added seriously, his voice carrying the weight of leadership, making it impossible to ignore.
As my brothers continued speaking, the assassins exchanged increasingly irritated looks.
They had clearly expected fear or panic, maybe even negotiations, Instead, they were being completely ignored.
Several of them shifted impatiently, their hands tightening around their weapons.
One even took a threatening step forward.
Still, none of us paid them much attention.
At least not yet.
"But..." I tried to speak.
Unfortunately, I never got the chance to finish.
"Enough with the chatter!"
The sharp roar cut through the air.
Every head turned toward the assassin standing at the front of the group.
Judging by his posture and the way the others immediately fell silent, he was clearly their leader.
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Hand over the man on the horse," he demanded, pointing directly at Noah’s unconscious form. "And we will spare you."
The threat lingered heavily in the air.
For a second, absolute silence followed.
Then my brothers chuckled.
The assassin’s face darkened instantly.
"That’s our line," Adrien said coldly, fixing the man with a deadly glare.
The amusement vanished from his expression completely.
A dangerous aura settled around him.
"We are the ones who decide whether we want to spare you."
The assassin’s jaw tightened, as he let out a low, guttural growl, his eyes dark with irritation as he stared at us down.
"It seems you are not ready to leave," he said coldly.
With a sharp wave of his hand, he signaled to the rest of his men to assemble around him. The movement was calm, almost practiced, like he had done this many times before.
"You can die with him," he added confidently, as though our fate had already been sealed.
His arrogance alone was enough to irritate me instantly.
I tightened my grip slightly, my gaze narrowing as I studied him. The confidence in his voice was unbearable, especially considering the situation.
Still, something about it felt slightly off.
It seemed the other man from the previous group who had fled earlier had not arrived here.
That realization clicked in my mind almost immediately.
It made sense.
He had been injured during the earlier clash. There was no way he would have been able to keep up at full speed. He must have stopped somewhere along the way to recover, or perhaps he had chosen to retreat completely.
Either way, it explained the absence.
I exhaled slowly through my nose, returning my focus to the men in front of us.
My eyes remained fixed on the assassins, waiting for them to make the first move.
The air around us was tense, heavy with anticipation. Even the horses beneath us shifted uneasily, sensing the danger before anything even began.
But just as the moment was about to escalate...something unexpected happened.
A pigeon suddenly appeared from above.
It fluttered down through the air and landed directly on the shoulder of the assassin who had been speaking earlier.
For a brief moment, everyone froze.
The bird sat calmly as though it belonged there, completely unfazed by the tension surrounding us.
The assassin frowned slightly, clearly confused, before reaching for the small letter tied to its leg.
Slowly, he unfolded it.
His eyes scanned the contents carefully.
And then, almost instantly, everything changed. His expression shifted and the confidence that had been on his face only seconds ago drained completely, replaced by something far more unsettling.
Shock and then fear.
His face turned pale as he read further, his grip tightening around the paper.
Without warning, he lowered the letter slightly and shouted sharply, "Retreat!"
The command echoed through the clearing.
For a second, none of his men moved, as if they were trying to confirm they had heard correctly.
But then, just as quickly as they had appeared, the assassins began to withdraw.
One by one, they turned and fled into the surrounding trees, disappearing as though they had never been there at all.
Silence fell immediately after.
Only the sound of rustling leaves and distant hoofbeats remained.
I let out a slow breath I did not realize I had been holding.
Relief washed over me almost instantly.
I had already begun calculating how I would fight while keeping an ungrateful, unconscious Noah safe. The thought alone had been exhausting.
Because despite everything that has happened, I had already accepted him as one of my brother.
Still, that did not change anything important.
Maria remained mine and no matter what happened, no matter who stood in the way—I will not give in.
She was my mate.
Not his!
But even as the tension eased from my shoulders, my eyes narrowed slightly as I stared in the direction the assassins had fled.
Because now, only one thought remained in my mind.
What exactly was written in that letter?
