Alaric stood at one of the outposts of the castle—even though he had high rank, there was a recent invasion gone sideways and many men were injured, and many were dead.

He stepped in, and did the old grunt work he did not miss whatsoever. But he knew deep in his soul it was needed to do this—to protect the royal family.

Alaric’s sharp blue eyes scanned the surroundings, and saw nothing threatening. Only the famed mystical wood—where the witches were. Oh how he hated the women of the moon. He thought them were just evil, and only wanted the best for themselves. Especially after his mother was killed by a witch.

The wood was rumored to be where the witches were. Where they hid and did whatever…witches did. But every time someone had gone into the wood, they never came back. It was a communal rule to never go into the mystical wood. No matter what.

Alaric sighed softly, the pale blue moon shined upon him and the castle, and everything around him. Full moon.

His blue eyes scanned his surroundings, and didn’t stop.