Chapter 45. Unsaid Feelings

"Before going back to Askavan, you must know something about the Valley of Ghouls."

Ares bent down, pulling a rolled parchment from his boot. He handed it to Lei, his hand firm but strangely gentle.

"Arthurian lives far," he said. "But he manages the biggest archive in Wolf Territory. There must be something there you can find."

Lei unraveled the map, her fingers tracing the faded ink. It was the first time she'd truly seen the scale of the Wolf Territory. It spanned nearly as vast as Askavan—untamed and nameless.

Five emblems marked the parchment:

A wolf’s head — the Black City, ruled by the Lycan King of the Midnight Legion.

A sun’s crest — the lush Sunlit Reservoir, domain of the cunning Ares and the Helios Pack.

A ravaging claw — the grim Zetalyn Grounds, the military base where Commander Aiden reigned with iron law.

A whimsical tree — the Moonlit Pavilion, where the half-blood magi-wolves, the Gnosenia Magus, lived under Arthurius’ cleve