The blazing noon sun beat down mercilessly from behind the gray red sky, burning the cracked red earth along the western border route.
There were no white clouds to give any shade, only thin streaks of black smoke drifting from far away whenever the hot dry desert wind caught them.
The footsteps of the three of them left behind faint puffs of dust that vanished almost at once, swept away by the wind, making the silence between the towering cliffs feel heavy and oppressive.
Valerie drew in a deep breath and felt her throat already starting to sting and dry out because the air in this world had so little moisture compared to Earth.
She adjusted the hood of the old gray cloak she had packed from the cave to shield her face from the heat, while her eyes kept scanning the area with unbroken alertness.
Beside her, Caleb walked with firm steps, though the prince’s expression grew harder the closer they got to the outer settlement area.
“Is your water still enough, Valerie?” Caleb asked as he handed her a small water bottle of his own without slowing down.
“It’s still enough for a few hours, Caleb,” Valerie said with a small shake of her head.
“Keep your own supply.
We still have a long way to go.” “The air here can trick an ordinary human.
You could suddenly pass out without even realizing your body is out of fluid,” Caleb insisted, pushing the bottle right toward her chest.
“I know my own body limits, stubborn wolf,” Valerie muttered, which made Caleb let out a small laugh at the new nickname she had given him.
“So stop treating me like some fragile kid.” “You two should lower your voices,” Vane cut in from the front.
He stayed close to the high cliff wall to avoid open sight lines.
“We are entering the outer perimeter of the western tower’s watch zone.” Caleb immediately grabbed Valerie’s arm with a quick motion, pulling her body into the wide shadow of the cliff so their presence would stay hidden.
They held their breath for a few seconds when, from above the cliff, a sharp cry rang out from a trained watch eagle meant to detect intruders.
Caleb’s golden eyes flashed sharply in the dark, tracking the bird until it flew away toward the main fortress.
“That watch bird belongs to the tyrant’s troops.
They increased aerial patrols after the coup a few months ago,” Vane explained once he was sure the path was clear again.
“Do they really check every inch of this barren ground, Captain Vane?” Valerie asked, looking at him with a deeply furrowed brow.
“Only around the main logistics route, Miss Valerie,” Vane answered, brushing the red dust off the leather shield strapped to his arm.
“They are terrified that the loyal remnants of the kingdom might try to rebuild their strength.” “My brother is a coward hiding behind strong stone walls,” Caleb snorted in irritation.
He clenched his hand so tightly that the claws of his wolf form almost pushed through the skin.
“He knows his place on that throne will never feel safe.” “And a dictator’s fear is our greatest advantage in guerrilla warfare, Caleb,” Valerie said softly, making some of the tension on Caleb’s face ease a little under her encouraging words.
They continued along the base of the cliffs, using every curve of the giant rocks to hide their movement from the distant watch towers.
After nearly an hour of moving through the rough stone gaps, the view ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a small valley where one of the civilian villages stood.
Valerie stopped in place at once, her eyes widening when she clearly saw what lay below.
The village, surrounded by drying wheat fields, looked like a silent and horrifying open grave.
Most of the villagers’ stone houses had collapsed, leaving behind black burned ruins that had not yet been cleared away.
There were no signs of the cheerful life a village should have.
Instead, there were only a few small children in ragged clothing, their thin bodies resting weakly on the dusty ground.
Several adults moved very slowly, carrying empty baskets with their heads bowed as if every last piece of hope had been stripped away from them.
“This place looks like a slaughter field someone just abandoned,” Valerie said, her voice trembling from how deeply shocked she was.
“This is what every village looks like when it refuses to hand over its harvest to the tyrant’s troops,” Caleb replied.
His tone was cold, but underneath it was a storm of rage too large to ignore.
“They steal food from their own people just to feed the three hundred soldiers inside Oakhaven Fortress,” Valerie said, connecting the horrific sight to the logistics data they had discussed the night before.
“They do not see these common people as their own, Valerie,” Vane said with a heavy sigh, and Valerie could feel anger starting to burn in her own chest.
“To the new regime, the people are nothing more than milk cows that can be replaced at any time.” “We need to go down there.
I have to see their condition directly so I can make sure the timing for our false rumor move is accurate,” Valerie said firmly.
She was already preparing to step down the narrow slope path.
“Too dangerous, Valerie,” Caleb said, catching her shoulder quickly and stopping her movement.
“Your human scent could trigger panic or attract enemy spies hiding among the villagers.” “I already rubbed a strong smelling plant extract over my cloak before we came down,” Valerie answered, gently brushing away Caleb’s hand and pointing to the edge of her cloak, which now carried a thick herbal smell meant to hide her presence.
“And I have the two strongest wolves in the kingdom to protect me.” “So you really used last night’s herbal plant tactic straight on the field, smart human,” Caleb muttered, sounding resigned, even though his body still shifted into a ready position in front of Valerie like a natural shield.
“I hate wasting time on plans that only exist on paper, Caleb, so stop worrying so much,” Valerie said, which made Caleb fall silent, though his eyes still watched every movement around her protectively.
The three of them moved down very slowly, slipping between the remains of broken wooden fences to enter the back side of the village.
The smell of dry soil mixed with animal waste and a burnt stench hit their noses at once, making the extreme poverty here even more obvious.
As they passed a stone house whose roof had partially caved in, an old woman with drooping wolf ears was trying to gather the last scattered grains of wheat from the dirt.
She looked up for only a second, and the moment her eyes landed on Caleb’s large frame and strong commanding aura, her whole body began to tremble violently with fear.
“P-please…
don’t take the rest of our food again, guard sir,” the old woman begged in a hoarse voice.
She dropped to her knees on the dusty ground and hid her face.
“We have nothing left to give to the fortress.” Valerie felt her heart being squeezed hard at the sight of that deep fear, especially because the old woman clearly thought they were part of the oppressive force.
She quickly dropped to her knees in front of the woman, ignoring Caleb’s low worried growl, and reached out both hands to touch the old woman’s rough, shaking fingers.
“We are not from the fortress, ma’am,” Valerie said in a very soft voice, trying to spread calm from beneath the hood of her cloak.
“We are not here to take anything from this place.” “That voice…
you are not one of our kind,” the old woman whispered, her eyes going wide as she stared at Valerie in disbelief.
“You’re human.” “Yes, I am human,” Valerie said with a faint smile hidden beneath her hood.
“But the man behind me is the one who will make sure your suffering ends soon.” “That face…
no way,” the old woman gasped softly, her eyes landing on the faint disc shaped birthmark on Caleb’s wrist.
“Are you the First Prince who was said to have fallen on the night of the coup?” “I’m still alive, ma’am,” Caleb interrupted, dropping to one knee on the red dirt as well and tearing down every bit of noble distance just to touch the shoulder of his suffering people.
“And I have come back to reclaim what belongs to my people, what the traitors trampled underfoot.” “Praise the wolf ancestors…
so our hope is not fully dead in this darkness after all,” the old woman cried.
Tears of relief rolled down the lines of her poor tired face, making Captain Vane have to look away to hold himself together.
“Do the fortress troops often come to this village to commit violence, ma’am?” Valerie asked, trying to gather valuable information in the middle of the emotional moment.
“Every three days, Miss,” the old woman answered, wiping her tears with the edge of her worn cloth.
“They come with a big iron wagon to take all the crops and livestock we have.” “When is their next supply collection scheduled?” Valerie asked, her eyes flashing as she began calculating the interception timing.
“Tomorrow afternoon.
They will take the last grain left in the village storage house down the road there,” the old woman explained, pointing toward a large wooden building that could barely be seen in the distance.
“My wolf ears are catching the heartbeat of two guards near that warehouse, Valerie,” Caleb said quietly after focusing his hearing toward the building the villager had pointed out.
“There are only two soldiers standing watch there.” “Only two guards for such a crucial village warehouse?” Valerie frowned.
Her mind immediately turned over the new information and began calculating the enemy force ratio.
“That is a huge tactical mistake on their commander’s part.” “We could take them both out in seconds without triggering the fortress alarm, Valerie,” Caleb suggested, which made Valerie shake her head firmly at once to reject any frontal attack.
“Do not touch them now, Caleb,” Valerie explained in a low voice full of tactical emphasis.
“If those two guards disappear today, their headquarters in Oakhaven will instantly know there is an intruder and they will tighten tomorrow’s logistics caravan escort.” “Miss Valerie is right, Lord Caleb,” Vane said, backing her up tactically.
He stood guard around them so no other villagers would come too close in a suspicious way.
“We need to let tomorrow’s shipment continue as planned so our trap in the western tunnel can work perfectly.” Caleb nodded, understanding now that Valerie’s tactical mind had once again saved them from a fatal mistake triggered by a moment of anger.
The wolf prince stood back up and reached into a small leather pouch at his waist, taking out a few silver royal coins he had still kept since the night of his escape.
“Take this, ma’am,” Caleb ordered, placing the coins into the old woman’s hands.
“Use it to buy medicine or food from hidden traveling merchants.
Do not let the fortress guards see these coins.” “Thank you so much, Your Highness,” the old woman said with overwhelming sincerity, bowing deeply until her human forehead touched the red dust.
“We will always pray for your safety and your army from this dry land.” “Stay alive until tomorrow afternoon, ma’am,” Valerie added with a thin smile full of a carefully prepared desire for revenge.
“Because once the sun passes the top of the sky, that food wagon will never make it into Oakhaven Fortress.” The three of them quickly backed away, leaving the village area by slipping back into the shadow of the stone cliffs before the warehouse guards at the end of the road noticed them.
The midday heat felt even more intense now, but the atmosphere between the three of them had changed completely, filled with an urgent need to carry out the sabotage plan they had already built.
Valerie walked faster now, her head busy aligning the new supply schedule data with the escape route through the ancient tunnel Caleb had drawn the night before.
Her fatigue and thirst vanished at once, replaced by a surge of adrenaline pushing her to keep thinking and minimize every tiny chance of failure.
“Your human footsteps suddenly got much faster after seeing that village, Valerie,” Caleb said from behind her, forcing his stride wider just to stay beside her.
“I do not have time to stroll around like a tourist, Caleb,” Valerie replied without slowing down at all.
“We only have less than twenty four hours before that logistics wagon leaves.” “The tyrant’s troops are going to pay for what they have done to my people,” Caleb said through a restrained growl, his eyes fixed on the gray horizon with a terrifying intensity of anger.
“I swear it on the Alpha blood running through my body.” “Save the grand oath for tomorrow, Caleb,” Valerie said casually without turning back.
“Right now focus on the road so Captain Vane does not have to turn us around because we took the wrong corner.” Caleb paused for a second, then a faint amused smile appeared on his handsome face.
“You really are good at ruining a dramatic mood, smart human,” he muttered, quickening his pace to match Valerie in the middle of that dry, ash filled world.