Abandoned by the Alpha, I Became the Lycan King's Mate-Chapter 361 Setup

[Eric’s Perspective]

’Boom!’

The enormous sound of a vehicle explosion erupted behind us, momentarily lighting up half the sky above the highway bend with a blazing inferno! 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

As I was placed onto the stretcher, I looked back and said huskily to Gino who was standing to the side, "It’s a good thing you arrived just in time, otherwise Mark and I would have been done for! Thank you, Mr. Gino."

Gino, upon hearing me, took a light breath, looked down at me, and said, "All Lycans from the Royal City have one terribly bad habit, and that’s always being overly polite and reserved."

"It’s not just because you’re one of Donald’s men. Even if you were just a random werewolf passing by, I couldn’t stand by and watch you have an accident without helping. I, Gino, can’t stomach doing nothing in the face of death! My only regret is that I arrived a bit too late. If I had arrived just 10 minutes earlier, Margaret might not have been abducted by those people!"

Gino turned his head, his gaze drifting off into the deep woods that seemed capable of swallowing a man whole.

No one can predict the unforeseen. The enemies were dead set on abducting the Lycan Queen, and no matter how meticulously we planned our defenses, we couldn’t deter them from their goal. Thus, these ’accidents’ were ultimately unavoidable, and no one among us can be blamed!

Of course, that excludes the traitor who was secretly sending messages to the enemy. He truly deserves to die.

I thought about these things silently, slowly turning my head to look at Mark who was still unconscious, as well as the driver. Although the car crash was extremely dangerous, thankfully, no one in our midst had died; only the driver had sustained more serious injuries!

As for me, it’s just adding new injuries to old ones. My mind is the only thing that’s relatively clear. Lying there on the stretcher, I can’t move at all, let alone do anything about the situation.

Another half hour passed, and one by one, the Lycans who had gone out to pursue returned, heads bowed in defeat. The disarray of their appearances was proof of their effort; they truly gave it their all, but to no avail.

I took a sharp breath and said hoarsely, "Let’s retreat in formation. We’ll go meet with His Majesty first. As for everything else, we’ll discuss it after we see His Majesty."

After finishing, I looked at Gino again and continued, "Please have your people lead the way."

Gino nodded upon hearing this, giving a hand signal to his subordinate driver, indicating that we could leave this place.

I hung my head, my expression forlorn, as the carriage slowly sank into silence.

[Donald’s Perspective]

Nearing 2 o’clock in the middle of the night, as I led the assault team of Lycans back from a mission at sea, I received some unpleasant news from Christian’s mouth!

Oh no, not just one piece of bad news.

"How long have you been out of contact with the Lycans guarding the manor? Did Margaret leave me any message? What about Mark? And Eric? And the others?" I suppressed the rage in my chest, my eyes interrogating and perplexed as I looked at Christian.

With his head bowed and one knee on the ground, Christian’s face was filled with guilt, his clenched fists taut with tension, "I’m sorry, Your Majesty! It’s indeed my negligence today, it’s me who failed to arrange the manor’s defenses properly, disturbing Her Highness!"

I narrowed my eyes slightly at Christian, fell silent for 2 seconds, then continued, "You not only mishandled this task, you seem a bit unclear about the seriousness and urgency of certain matters!"

"The Brand siblings mysteriously disappeared on their way home in the evening, Margaret got the message and went to investigate, then White Rose Manor suddenly came under attack, even Eric who was healing joined the fight to command. You’re telling me you just failed to arrange the manor’s defenses?"

My gaze darkened, fixating dangerously on Christian’s head as I spoke.

Christian stiffened upon hearing this, and when he lifted his gaze to mine, his face was full of confusion and obliviousness, "Who reported this news to you? No... no, Your Majesty, nobody informed me about these matters! I only knew that the manor was attacked by a group of men in black, nothing else!"

Christian’s surprise and confusion didn’t seem feigned. I watched him for a long while before finally looking away and exhaling, "It’s normal that you’re unaware; the message wasn’t passed on to you."

I said as I settled into the car, tapping the steering wheel, and continued, "First, let’s meet up with Gino. Eric and Mark are with him; they’ll explain everything that happened to me!"

Christian seemed not to understand the implication of my previous statement, but he didn’t ask or argue. To him, absolute obedience to my orders is more critical than his own life!

My questions were not meant as blame or interrogation. I was merely angry and disappointed that even the captain of my personal guard could have such a lapse in his duties, to be played for a fool.

And it seems I, Donald, have been played the fool as well.