Jaspers POV

I rode as hard as I could through the forest toward Blackwater. That animalistic protectiveness I felt for this woman had fully enveloped my soul. I was on the path to killing anyone who threatened her safety.

Wargs are notoriously gifted trackers, but I had nothing with her scent on it. Finally, I reached the only roadway that led to Blackwater's territory.

Corvus had essentially barricaded the entire border and had the road heavily guarded, so all I could do was cover in some brush nearby and pray to the Gods that they had not passed through here yet.

I waited for what seemed like ages. I grew more on edge with every passing second. "What if they weren't planning on taking Brenna here? What if their motive was to kill her off?"

I needed to get myself together; I had never experienced anything like this feeling before. I had always been level-headed and calm in the direst situations. At this moment, I was unstable and didn't know what I was capable of doing.

I grew even more agitated when trying to talk myself down. I thought about just charging up the road and killing all in my path to kill Corvus himself, and I would have if I hadn't heard voices nearby.

"we'll dismount here. Corvus's men wont be much further," one of the voices said lowly.

I heard their boots hit the ground, Just two pairs at first. Then, I heard a sudden struggle and the muffled grunts of a female voice. It was Brenna. I couldn't stop myself. I sprung up from where I had hidden.

A loud smack broke the air just as I locked eyes with them. One of them had struck Brenna across the face. The force of his hand knocked her to the ground.

"Stop fighting against me. You're making this harder on the both of uh..." As soon as the words left his mouth, they saw me and froze. I hadn't realized it, but I was already charging toward them. One of them opened his mouth to try and speak as if anything he had to say would halt my wrath.

There was no time for them to run. The Orc I got to first threw up his arms to protect himself, but the hammer I wielded crashed upon his head. My hammer dented his skull, leaving him unrecognizable.

The other started to back away with pure terror in his eyes. They were Elders who retired from the army long ago. They had wisdom in battle but were no match for my strength, and he knew that. I left my hammer lodged in the first Orc's head; I didn't bother picking it up. I used my weight to pin him. All I could see was red. I began to pound him into the earth over and over until my knuckles were slick with his blood.

I wasn't going to kill him just yet. He was going to give me answers. "Who else was involved with this!" My voice boomed through the forest.

He gurgled as he tried to speak, his mouth full of blood and loose teeth. "Please, don't kill me," he begged.

I pulled a knife from my boot, stabbing it into his hand. I twisted the blade around in his flesh. You could hear the bones and gristle pop as I did so. "Who else," I repeated.

"It... was just me and... Torvald", he sputtered, referring to the other Orc who lay feet away.

He tried to say more, but I wrapped my hands around his throat and choked him. He fought it, but his eyes grew wide and red as capillaries burst from the pressure. A minute or so passed before he finally grew still.

I immediately turned my attention to her. She was still on the ground. She stared at me with fear in her eyes, causing my anger to dissipate at the sight of her. I rushed to Brenna's side to remove her gag. Then, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest.

"I am so sorry, Brenna. Are you okay?" Her small body trembled against mine.

I placed a hand under her chin to lift her face to mine. I scanned her face to try and figure out what she was thinking. Her big amber eyes were full of fear. She looked pale and had dark circles under her eyes. Her face had already started swelling from being hit.

"You don't need to be afraid, Brenna. You're safe now," I paused. "I'm sorry if it's because of me." I looked at her pleadingly. "Is it because of me?"

She slowly shook her head no. She was in shock. I scanned her over a moment to see if she was hurt. I noticed the hair on the back of her head was matted with dry blood. There was no way of telling how much blood she'd lost from it. They must have knocked her out with the hilt of a sword.

I scooped her up and got on my warg. I needed to get her back and fast. I'm sure I made a lot of commotion and didn't want to stick around. She needed to be seen by the healer. I held her against my chest and used my other hand to grab the reins.