A/N: My Patreon just passed 10 supporters. To celebrate, I've released 3 new chapters for you to enjoy. Next milestone is 50 patrons. I will do a mass chapter release when we reach it. I hope you can help me get there. You can find my Patreon in my bio or follow this link: https://patreon.com/SmallScribble
They both sat on the small leather bed, facing one another in the dim, flickering light of the room.
After a heavy silence that stretched between them like a drawn bowstring, Three finally spoke up.
"It's about the Great One."
"I know,"
One simply confirmed, his eyes steady to let Three continue his confession.
"What I did was wrong, and I understand the harsh punishment I faced for defying her, but…"
Three took a deep, shuddering breath, a tremor running through his entire frame.
"Even though I already accepted my fate, deep inside, something was… off. It was like a tiny bug that kept nagging at my insides. Like I was done for, like I was finished."
"Hmm…"
One hummed in soft acknowledgment, nodding slowly.
"But actually, I felt it too. Something was missing, as if I was incomplete without it,"
Three continued, his voice barely above a whisper.
"And you felt this loss after the punishment was dealt?"
One asked gently.
Three stopped speaking, his head slowly turning left and right, his eyes darting around the room to ensure no one was watching or listening.
"No… it was before,"
he admitted after a moment of hesitation.
"You mean…"
One's eyes widened slightly, the realization dawning on him that Three was confessing to a different kind of ache.
"No! I-It wasn't what yo-you were thinking…"
Three stuttered, his cheeks flushing a deep, burning red as his hands waved frantically in a desperate bid to dismiss the misunderstanding.
One's hand crept closer in the shadows, gently taking hold of Three's trembling hand to offer comfort.
"I understand. You don't have to admit it fully, but I…"
One started, his voice gentle.
But before he could finish his sentence, a loud, piercing yell echoed from outside the house.
"Hey!!! Where are you guys? It's time to practice, you dumb shits!"
It was Two, calling out impatiently as he searched for his missing companions.
Three quickly shook off One's hand, the connection broken in an instant as he scrambled out of the house.
He vanished into the night without looking back, leaving behind only one hurried sentence:
"Maybe we can talk about this later."
One was left sitting alone in the quiet dark, shaking his head as he let out a long, weary sigh.
"After hearing what those Hobgoblins said about male goblins pairing with male goblins, my head is getting scrambled,"
he muttered to himself.
He raised both hands and slapped his own cheeks hard, the sharp cracks echoing in the empty room to shock his senses back to the present.
"Focus! I have to train now; I can't afford to disappoint the Great One,"
he commanded himself firmly.
Standing up with renewed resolve, he followed the other goblins out into the night air.
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Somewhere else, in a place bright and filled with the golden warmth of the sun, a vast expanse unfolded where the brilliant blue sky met the horizon.
Green trees rustled gently in the vast area, while grass swayed in rhythmic waves every time a cool breeze passed through.
Upon a small, barren hill stood a pair of contrasting figures.
"Are you sure this is the place?"
asked one of them, her tone haughty and bratty as she looked around with disdain.
"Yes, Your Hi… young lady. This is the one,"
the other answered with a matured, cold, and steady voice.
"This doesn't look like a dungeon at all. I can barely see the entrance!"
she complained, wrinkling her nose.
"It is right there, young lady. The entrance is covered with so many vines, and because it blends perfectly under the foot of the mountain, not many has noticed this place before now,"
the figure wearing armor explained calmly and pointed below.
"So, we can go in now?"
she demanded, looking toward the dense foliage.
"No, we cannot enter just yet. We need to bring our essential supplies back to our camp first, because we shouldn't be staying out here for long,"
the guard replied.
"Insolence! Are you disobeying my direct order?"
she snapped, her face twisting with anger.
"No, young lady. It is just for your safety. At most, we can depart tomorrow morning,"
they stated without flinching.
"Huff! Fine, tomorrow it is. But don't expect me to wait any longer than necessary!"
She lifted her chin high and arrogantly turned back, walking away while leaving the guard to stay behind and survey the area.
"Sigh, I shouldn't have accepted to do this with her,"
the figure grumbled.
She lifted the faceplate of her helmet, revealing hazel eyes and long lashes inside, before she quickly followed after the impatient lady.
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BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sharp sounds rattled the wooden frame, breaking the silence of the morning.
"What happened?"
Lyssandra groggily woke up as she heard the frantic pounding on the door.
"Great One, something has happened and it's bad!"
The voice of a swift goblin came from the other side of the door, breathless with alarm.
"I will open the door,"
Luna said, placing a soft kiss on Lyssandra's cheek before rising.
Lyssandra quickly wrapped a leather blanket over the naked bodies of the bloom mothers before the swift goblin could walk in and see the aftermath of their night.
"Report,"
she commanded coolly as she adjusted her black bodysuit.
"Great One, the Lightning Wolf, something has happened to it. Yesterday its health was fine and dandy, but this early morning, it just suddenly dropped down!"
The goblin spoke with shaking worry, fearing he had failed his duty as a caretaker.
"It is laying down as if it was about to die, and its mouth is full of foam,"
he continued, his eyes wide with terror.
Lyssandra raised an eyebrow, stepping closer to Luna as she listened to the frantic news.
"Let me see for myself."
They quickly hurried to the area where the captured Lightning Wolf was being kept, a small wooden cage roughly the size of a normal log house.
Inside, a soft leather rug served as the sleeping place for the beast, with water and food bowls neatly prepared next to it.
"So it worked as I expected,"
Lyssandra murmured as she observed the miserable state of the Lightning Wolf through the bars.
It truly did not look well at all; the great predator lay unusually still, its entire body trembling with extreme tension.
Its breathing was uneven and shallow, while its legs remained stiff and curled in an unnatural way as if cramping.
"You all could leave; I need a moment with it,"
Lyssandra said, turning to Luna and the swift goblin.
Both obeyed her order and moved away.
"Helena's food is indeed scary"
she was observing the food bowls that was the culprit for the white foam inside the lightning wolf's mouth.
"Wake up! I know you can understand me,"
Lyssandra said as she began knocking firmly on the wooden cage.
The rhythmic thuds echoed slightly as she tried to pierce through the beast's stupor.
As if caught red-handed, the Lightning Wolf slowly got onto its legs, its head lowering slightly while its shoulders rose to create a tense, predatory posture.
Its eyes fixed on Lyssandra, cold and unblinking, as if it were ready to pounce on her at any moment.
"What poison did you put on that bowl of food?"
it questioned her while growling.
"Don't worry, it just has some detoxification ingredients that can help you with digestion"
Lyssandra hid her giggling with the back of her hand.
"Then release me, you inferior human, or I will have your head!"
it growled, its powerful jaws grinding against each other.
"No, can't do. I have something for you to do, and you will obey,"
Lyssandra said with calm confidence as she opened the wooden cage door and stepped inside.
"Then die!"
the Lightning Wolf shouted as it leaped at her, claws extended and ready to rip out her throat.
But it was too slow. Lyssandra had already side-stepped and delivered a precise kick to its stomach.
Its whole body jerked to the side, slamming hard against the wooden wall of the cage with a heavy thud.
"Just give up. Even your alpha…"
she started to say, her voice cutting through the air.
Without letting her finish the sentence, a bright yellow lightning streak shot from the wolf's mouth with a crackle of static.
She raised her palm, the lightning streak crashing into it without anything happening to her.
"So rude. At least let me finish,"
she said with a smirk as she clenched her fist tight, then slowly released her grip.
A yellow lightning ball began to expand from her hand, humming with contained power and electric energy.
The Lightning Wolf startled, a horrifying feeling rising deep inside its core at the sight of her mimicry.
It quickly regained its composure and dodged at the last second, leaping through the air with surprising agility.
Bam!!!
KRAK—ZZZTTT!
A huge black patch appeared at the spot where it had been standing, with rising smoke curling into the air.
If it had been hit by that bolt, it probably would have been electrocuted to death instantly.