Abandoned by the Alpha, I Became the Lycan King's Mate-Chapter 229: Difficult decisions

[Donald’s POV]

The Misty Forest wasn’t any less dead just because it was daytime, the light and visibility slightly improved; it still exuded an oppressive dullness that inevitably agitated the mind.

Anthony looked up at the canopy above us and after pondering for a moment, said to me, "Your Majesty, simply chasing after her like this isn’t going to work. We definitely aren’t as familiar with the terrain here as Angel is, and she and those Lycans might just be lying in wait to ambush us; we can’t keep blundering deeper!"

"What are you suggesting? That we just let Angel get away? Do you have any idea how difficult it is to catch her? Her counter-tracking record at school was the best in the entire institute. If we miss this chance, we won’t be able to find her again!"

Mark’s impatience was evident in his eyes. Christian turned his head towards him, signaling him not to vent the fury of Angel slipping through our fingers again at his own people!

Indeed, yesterday’s operation to encircle Angel had ultimately failed, and she had once again escaped from my grasp.

We hadn’t expected Chris and another Lycan to be resolved to die last night in their attempt to save Angel!

Taking advantage of their familiarity with the layout of our stronghold and a disregard for their own lives, they had managed to create a diversion for Angel in their desperate fight and subsequent self-destruction, buying her a chance and the time to escape.

Angel had successfully fled, and two Lycans from my assault team had been injured during the enemy’s self-destruction. We had chased Angel deep into the Misty Forest, intent on completely taking down this ruthless, unrepentant traitor.

But as time rapidly slipped away, I started to accept the fact that Angel had managed to escape from us once more.

Anthony had been incredibly rational all along, what he said made a lot of sense; persisting in this fruitless chase was pointless. We didn’t have the time or the forces to play ’hide and seek’ with Angel in the forest—Margaret and Elliot were waiting for me to return!

For some reason, our contact with the outside world had been completely blocked without us knowing when it had started.

Margaret must be extremely worried not being able to reach me, I couldn’t continue this struggle with Angel. And the gravely injured Elliot didn’t have much time to spare for me.

"Call off the pursuit of Angel, turn around immediately, and signal the team in the stronghold. We’re heading back to the Silver Moon Pack," I said, squinting my eyes as I issued the military order.

"Your Majesty? Are we really giving up on this rare opportunity? Angel, she..."

"Choose between keeping Elliot alive or having Angel die; right now, you can only pick one of them," I said harshly, cutting off Mark’s anxious rebuttal and leaving him with two options, while I looked at him with cold calm eyes and furrowed brow.

Mark seemed to be frozen in place by the two difficult choices, staring blankly at me, speechless for a long time, his breathing heavy behind the gas mask.

I looked up at the silent people around me and silently sighed, "Once you’ve decided, let’s go, while we still have time."

Turning around, I walked at the front of the team, not worried that these Lycans, who valued loyalty, wouldn’t follow; they were surely well aware that Elliot was far more important than Angel.

No matter how difficult Angel was to capture, there would still be another chance to act; but if Elliot were to die from his injuries, there would truly be no possibility of his return. The weight of the two issues was clear to anyone who was lucid.

The rustling of footsteps sounded behind me—Christian and Mark had followed, along with the other Lycans who had been part of the pursuit of Angel.

When we arrived back at MASTER’s stronghold in the forest, it was already 7 o’clock in the morning. I realized we had to move quickly, or we might not make it back to the Silver Moon Pack before noon!

I didn’t want such a scenario to unfold; oftentimes during these moments of urgency and crisis, unexpected events are more likely to occur, and I worried that my beloved mate might not be able to handle such a situation.

When we left the Misty Forest with our prisoners, the sky outside was already bright. Today’s weather was poor, with clouds hanging in the sky, looking like it could rain at any moment.

My unease grew more pronounced; I had this nagging feeling that something bad had happened!

Following me, we moved swiftly through diverse woods and fields, the members of the assault team nearly struggling to keep up as I constantly urged and reminded them to follow, without any spare time for rest.

The rain ultimately fell, drenching us all like drowned wolves, bodies splattered with rainwater and mud, each one of us disheveled.

But at that moment, nobody cared about such things; we all knew that time was of the essence for Elliot’s life.

Anthony and Christian stuck close behind me.