A Rogue For The Quadruplet Alpha's.

Adrein.

We immediately positioned ourselves, every trace of exhaustion disappearing in an instant.

The room that had moments ago felt like a place to rest suddenly became a battlefield in our minds.

No one spoke.

No one made any unnecessary movements.

Every one of us shifted into a defensive stance, waiting for the person—or people—outside to reveal themselves.

Honestly, none of us minded fighting another group of assassins. If they wanted blood, we could give them blood.

If they wanted a fight, we could certainly provide one.

But my gaze drifted briefly toward Noah.

The unconscious fool remained motionless where he lay and that was the problem. I wasn’t sure Noah would survive another attack, especially not in his current condition.

Not when he could barely hold on to life as it was.

The room itself wasn’t particularly spacious either. There wasn’t much room to maneuver if a battle broke out. The narrow space would make protecting Noah even harder.

My jaw tightened.

This was the worst possible place for another confrontation.

The sounds outside continued slowly and steadily, growing louder with each passing second.

Every footstep seemed to echo through the abandoned building.

Every creak of the old wooden floorboards made the tension inside the room rise another level.

I could practically feel my brothers becoming more alert beside me.

Then suddenly...a voice spoke.

"Anyone in here?"

The voice was surprisingly gentle, calm and polite, even.

The words echoed from outside the building, carrying none of the hostility we had been expecting.

Immediately, I felt some of the tension leave my body. My shoulders relaxed slightly before I could stop myself.

A quick glance at my brothers told me they had reacted similarly.

The voice simply didn’t sound threatening, as there was no aggression, and no arrogance, nor hidden malice that I could immediately detect.

Still, none of us lowered our guard completely.

A calm voice could be just another trick.

Silence followed for a few moments.

Then the voice spoke again.

"By the order of the Lycan Prince, I am here to escort you to the Lycan territory!"

The announcement echoed clearly through the building.

For a second, nobody reacted.

We simply stared at one another, as we were trying to process what we had just heard.

"Like seriously?" Davian asked immediately, as his brows shot upward as he looked around at the rest of us.

The disbelief in his voice mirrored exactly what I was feeling.

I shook my head instantly.

Was the Lycan Prince playing games with us?

Because none of this made sense, not a single part of it I was still convinced he had been the one behind the previous attacks.

Who else would dare launch attacks so close to his territory?

Who else could operate so freely in this area without consequences?

The answer seemed obvious.

And yet now he was supposedly sending an escort?

Why?

What has changed?

Why the sudden hospitality?

Why the sudden change of heart?

The entire situation felt wrong.

"This has to be a trap," I said immediately, as I looked at my brothers one after another.

And none of them argued, instead, they nodded in agreement. Their expressions were just as cautious as mine.

"We need to be careful," Damien said.

"Very careful," Aidan added at the exact same moment.

The fact that both of them spoke simultaneously would have been amusing under different circumstances.

Instead of relaxing, we became even more alert, and every sense sharpened and every muscle remained ready.

Our attention stayed fixed on the entrance as we waited patiently, silently and prepared for anything.

Whether it was truly an escort from the Lycan Prince—Or another enemy waiting to lure us into a trap.

Either way, we intended to be ready when the owner of that voice finally appeared.

And then, just as we remained on high alert, the owner of the voice finally appeared before us.

He stepped into view so suddenly that the entire atmosphere shifted.

Every one of us instinctively tightened our stance again, muscles coiling in readiness for whatever came next.

"Do not panic!" he said immediately, raising both hands slightly as though to show he meant no harm, his eyes flicking over our positioning.

We weren’t panicking.

We were simply prepared.

Prepared for war, if it came to that.

The man looked at us carefully before speaking again.

"I am Alak," he introduced himself, his tone steady but firm, "and I have been instructed to escort you safely to the Lycan territory!" He paused briefly, as if to ensure his words were properly understood, then added, "Please calm down. I am not here to hurt you!"

There was an easy confidence in the way he spoke, almost too calm for someone walking into a tense situation like this.

For a few seconds, none of us responded.

We studied him instead, looking for any sign of deception.

But slowly, as the seconds passed and nothing hostile followed, my brothers and I began to ease out of our defensive stances, not fully relaxed.

Just enough to acknowledge that, for now, he didn’t appear to be a threat.

"How did the Lycan Prince know of our coming?" Aidan asked immediately, breaking the brief silence.

His question was sharp, direct, and very much needed.

Alak only smiled in response. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

A calm, almost knowing smile that did nothing to settle my suspicions.

"There is nothing the Lycan Prince doesn’t know," he said casually, as though that alone should explain everything.

The confidence in his tone irritated me instantly. It was the kind of confidence that either came from absolute authority...or dangerous arrogance.

Neither option sat well with me.

"I will lead the way," Alak continued without waiting for further questions. "I am very sorry for the inconvenience, but you have to follow me now!" he added firmly.

His tone left no room for argument.

Then, without wasting any more time, he turned and began walking toward the exit as though the matter had already been settled.

I exhaled slowly, as I was mentally drained.

I had barely gotten any proper rest, and now we were expected to continue this exhausting journey again without pause.

There was no time to argue.

No time to question further.

Damien and Aidan moved first, carefully lifting Noah once again between them.

His condition remained unchanged—still weak, still unconscious, still dangerously fragile.

Davian and I followed closely behind them as we made our way toward the exit.

The moment we stepped outside the abandoned building, the scene before us became clearer.

Alak was already mounted on his horse, waiting patiently, with a few other men positioned behind him.

Their presence confirmed that this was indeed an organized escort.

Still, I didn’t lower my guard.

My brothers and I quickly mounted our own horses as well.

This time, Noah was carefully placed on Aidan’s horse to ensure he was as secure as possible during the ride.

Once everything was in place, there was no more hesitation.

We set off immediately.

The horses moved fast beneath us, hooves striking the ground in steady rhythm as we followed behind Alak, who now led the way toward the Lycan territory.

And just like that, without further delay, our journey continued once again into the unknown.

Because I was sure the Lycan prince was up to no good!