Garrick’s POV
I stopped walking, forcing myself to take a breath before I lost complete control.
“Ronan, Why wasn’t this brought to me earlier?”
Ronan came to a stop beside me, his expression serious now.
“You had enough on your hands with the lower alphas of the council. And I told you I already have it under control. I didn’t want to bother you with another problem.”
I turned toward him, and he flinched slightly at whatever he saw in my eyes.
“Another problem?”
Ronan nodded toward the wall.
“I thought I’d handle it. Isn’t that why I’m your Beta?”
I didn’t waste another second on conversation.
I broke into a run, my body shifting seamlessly into the accelerated speed of my wolf form.
The world blurred around me as my boots pounded against the ground, eating up the distance between the mansion and the western wall.
I could hear Ronan following behind me.
By the time I reached the breach, my anger had only intensified.
It was worse than the report had suggested, or that I had seen from a distance.
A wide section of the wall had collapsed completely, leaving a jagged opening large enough for several armed men to walk through at once.
Stones were scattered across the ground in chaotic piles, and dust still covered parts of the surrounding stone, evidence of how recent the collapse had been.
Ronan had already stationed additional guards there.
They stood around the opening with weapons drawn, their eyes scanning the surrounding forest with constant vigilance.
The moment they saw me approach, they straightened up.
I switched back to my human form and stormed toward them.
“Where is he? Where is that damned guard who is responsible for this?”
The men exchanged nervous looks, clearly unsure whether answering would make things better or worse.
“Where is he?” I roared.
One of them finally raised his hand and pointed toward the northern section of the breach.
“Over there, my lord.”
I followed his finger and found a young guard standing among the others, looking pale and wary.
The moment our eyes met, fear bloomed across his face like a stain.
I stormed toward him, my wolf pushing forward underneath my skin, eager to punish the failure.
“YOU!”
He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
“My lord.”
I didn’t give him time to prepare himself.
I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him forward, forcing him to look at the massive breach.
“My lord, I—”
“What happened?” My voice was low, yet dangerous.
The edges of my vision were already beginning to narrow.
I knew what was coming, and so did he, because his eyes started to pool with tears.
“Mercy, my lord. I didn’t know the wall had collapsed.”
My world reducing to nothing but red rage and the overwhelming need to punish this failure.
I could hear my own breathing, louder than everything else around me, could feel my heartbeat thundering in my chest.
“How long?” I demanded, lifting him slightly off the ground.
“I swear, my lord, I didn’t see it happen.” His hands clawed desperately at my arm.
“I was c… checking the n….northern side of the wall when I heard the noise, but when I came back, it was already down. I didn’t k….know what to do.”
I heard Ronan call out a warning to me, but his voice was blurred by my rage.
I lifted him completely off the ground, his boots kicking helplessly against the dirt as he struggled for breath.
“My lord!”
His voice cracked with panic, but I was beyond hearing it now.
My wolf had taken the reins, and I was simply a passenger in my own body, watching through a haze of fury.
The guard’s face was already beginning to flush from lack of air.
“You allowed a breach in my territory,” I growled, my voice barely recognizable as human.
“You failed your duty.”
“I didn’t, I swear!” Tears were streaming down his face now, desperation replacing fear.
“Please!”
“Garrick, stop!” Ronan warned.
“You’ll kill the boy!”
I tightened my grip even further, my entire body tensing with rage.
“He is responsible.”
“He’s already turning purple!” Ronan’s voice had a note of alarm now, as though even he was uncertain whether I would stop in time.
“He should have thought about that before failing his post.”
“GARRICK!”
I could feel myself slipping further, my wolf taking more and more control.
There was a hole in my wall, and my people’s lives could be lost.
Enemies could already be moving through that forest, infiltrating my territory while this incompetent guard failed to do his job.
Worst of all, my mate, the Oracle, was in mortal danger now.
This was not something I could forgive.
This was not something that deserved forgiveness.
“Please, my lord…” the guard choked out.
I heard the words, but they barely registered.
They were sounds, nothing more.
Noises from a failing body that deserved to fail for its weakness and incompetence.
Then I felt a hand touch my shoulder, and everything inside me stopped.
The rage didn’t dissipate gradually; it vanished so suddenly that it left me disoriented, like stepping from fire into ice.
I turned my head, confused and still half-wild.
The Oracle was standing behind me.
“You shouldn’t be here!” I snapped at her.
“Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to stay in the house at all times?”
She looked frightened, her gray eyes wide, but she hadn’t moved away.
Her hand was still resting on my shoulder, small and delicate against the heavy fabric of my shirt.
I stared at her, unable to comprehend how she had gotten here or why she would touch me when I was in this state.
Then she stepped around me, moving deliberately and calmly despite the chaos surrounding us.
Before I could understand what she was doing, she placed her palm flat against my chest, directly over my heart.
She didn’t say a word—she couldn’t, anyway—but her gray eyes stayed fixed on mine.
I realized she was trying to communicate something with her expression and her hands.
Stop.
That was what she wanted.
She wanted me to stop.
I didn’t understand how I knew it.
I only knew that my wolf went instantly still, as if someone had flipped a switch in my mind.
I had spent years learning how to control my wolf, but nothing had ever worked like this, this sudden cessation of rage.
I released the guard, and he dropped to the ground like a puppet with cut strings, coughing violently as he grabbed his throat and gasped for air.
The entire area had gone completely silent.
Every guard was staring at me and at the Oracle, confusion and fear on their faces.
No one moved.
“Are all of you planning to stand there and stare at me?” Ronan’s voice snapped me out of my trance.
“Get to work and secure the breach. You, you and you, check the surrounding forest. Stop standing around like scolded children.”
The guards immediately moved, scurrying to follow orders, suddenly eager to put distance between themselves and me.
I barely noticed their departure.
My eyes were on the Oracle as she walked away.
And I left Ronan without a word and followed her.