CHAPTER 192: THE GOD OF WAR

Edmund once told her that his beast form was terrifying, so monstrous that he worried she’d be too afraid to even look at him.

However, the moment Primrose saw his wolf form, the first thing that crossed her mind was, "He looks majestic."

Yes, he was a bit frightening with those sharp fangs. Yes, his size alone could send anyone running.

But the way the wolf looked at her—so gentle and full of admiration—made him seem anything but a predator. The big white wolf standing before her looked more like a divine beast sent from heaven to protect her.

"Edmund?" Primrose called out softly, wanting to confirm what her heart already knew that the enormous white wolf standing in front of her was really her husband.

Edmund didn’t respond, maybe he couldn’t speak in his wolf form. Instead, he lowered his head and gently nudged her cheek with his nose, as if trying to say, I’m here. You don’t need to be afraid.

Primrose wanted to reach out and touch him, to bury her hands in his snowy fur, but the tigers behind him were getting closer.

They had also shifted into their beast forms. They weren’t as large as Edmund’s, but if Primrose had been alone, they could’ve easily torn her apart.

[I will kill them all.]

Primrose’s eyes widened, and she held her breath the moment she heard Edmund’s inner voice. Even though it was just in her head, his voice sounded completely different from usual.

It was deeper, rougher, and far more dangerous.

In that moment, Primrose was reminded of something she’d nearly forgotten, Edmund wasn’t just her sweet, gentle husband.

He was also a dangerous man.

A man who could destroy an entire tribe of beasts if he had to. A man who had never once shown fear when stepping onto the battlefield.

Primrose had seen him angry before, specifically, when someone snuck into the queen’s chambers and tried to kill her.

But even that couldn’t compare to the fury burning in him now.

It was as if Edmund had stopped holding back, letting his instincts take over. The only thing he wanted to do was slaughter anyone foolish enough to lay a hand on his wife.

The wolf turned his head, eyes locked on the tigers behind him. Slowly, he moved his body until she was fully hidden behind his massive frame, shielding her from their sight.

[These bastards ... they don’t even deserve to live in this land anymore.]

[I’ll rip them apart and make them suffer for what they tried to do to my wife.]

Primrose hugged her legs tightly and buried part of her face into her knees, though her eyes never left her husband. She watched him closely, unable to look away.

When the tigers leapt at him, Edmund finally launched his first attack.

The battle was brutal. It was filled with snapping jaws, slashing claws, and thunderous growls that made Primrose cover her ears.

Fur flew. Blood sprayed across the forest. The ground trembled beneath the weight of their savage fight, every collision echoing like the drums of war.

Edmund didn’t hold back. His fangs sank deep into flesh, his claws ripped through muscle, and every move he made radiated pure fury.

He fought like a beast possessed, as if nothing else in the world mattered except destroying those who dared hurt his wife.

But it didn’t stop there.

More tigers began to arrive, maybe dozens of them. Their glowing eyes burned with rage and bloodlust as they circled him like predators closing in on prey.

But Edmund didn’t move.

He stood tall, unshaken, like a wall between them and the woman he loved.

His white fur was soaked in blood, his chest rising and falling with heavy, furious breaths.

Then he let out a deafening howl. It was loud and wild, a sound so powerful it shook the forest to its roots.

Birds flew from the trees in terror. The wind seemed to still. Even the sky felt quiet, as if nature itself had bowed to his fury.

Primrose, still curled up behind the tree, watched everything with wide eyes. It was the first time she had ever witnessed such a fierce battle. And yet, not even for a second did she feel fear in her heart.

She knew her husband was strong enough to kill them all, and she believed that he would never let any of those beasts touch her again.

Soon after, Solene and the soldiers arrived, their weapons stained with blood from the tigers they had slaughtered near the inn.

But as they stepped into the battlefield and saw Edmund surrounded by the mangled corpses of the enemies he had just torn apart with his bare fangs, they froze.

None of them dared take another step.

No one moved.

No one dared to breathe too loudly.

No one wanted to risk drawing the attention of a creature that still reeked of battle and death.

One of the soldiers spoke in his mind, [Damn it. We’re late. Once His Majesty loses control like this, he could attack anyone who comes near, even his own people.]

Primrose had heard plenty of stories about the royal guards choosing to keep their distance whenever Edmund used his beast form. She used to think they were exaggerating.

But now that she’d seen it for herself, she realized the stories were true.

Still, even seeing him like this—surrounded by corpses and soaked in blood—Primrose had no reason to fear him.

Somehow, deep in her heart, she felt certain that even in his most frenzied state, he would never hurt her.

It sounded a bit naive, and maybe others would think she was being delusional if she said it out loud.

But no one in this world understood Edmund’s mind better than she did.

Even now, as he tore through the beasts in front of him, there was one thought that never left his mind: his wife.

[If only I hadn’t left today, my wife wouldn’t have been hurt.]

[I failed her.]

[I failed to protect her. What kind of husband am I? If I had arrived even a second later, maybe my wife ...]

He couldn’t finish the thought. The idea of losing her made his heart ache so badly it felt like knives stabbing into his heart over and over again.

At last, after tearing the last tiger’s throat open, Edmund stopped moving.

The white wolf stood still among the discarded corpses.

Blood dripped from his fur. His glowing blue eyes slowly dimmed. Then his form began to shift, his bones cracking and reshaping until he returned to his human body.

He was naked from the transformation, but he didn’t seem to care. For the beast, it was nothing unusual. Edmund stood tall among the fallen, like a god of war who had just passed judgment on every soul in the clearing.

Callen hesitantly stepped forward. He held out a coat with shaking hands.. "Your Majesty, I—"

"Silence," Edmund cut him off.

Edmund took the coat from Callen’s hand without looking at him, then turned around. His voice was cold as ice as he said, "I don’t want to hear anything from any of you for a while."

He lowered his gaze, staring at the lifeless body at his feet. "Clean up this trash," he said. "It’s ruining the view."