Chapter 35:

I sit on my bed, staring at the half-packed bag beside me, fingers curled around the worn strap. 

The room is dim, the only source of light coming from the small lantern by the bedside table. 

Shadows dance along the stone walls, flickering like ghosts of my past. My mind is restless, jumping from thought to thought like a frenzied bird trapped in a cage.

I'm going back to Moonhaven.

The thought alone sends a shiver through me, though I'm not sure if it's dread or something else entirely. 

What will it be like to return after everything? After leaving as a prisoner and coming back as... what? Caspian's guest? His companion? His pet?

I swallow hard. No. I won't let them define me.

But still, I wonder—how will they see me now? Will they whisper behind my back? Will they sneer? Will they look at me with pity, assuming I've been claimed by the prince as a prize?

And then there's Darius.

My heart stutters at the thought of him. The last time I saw him, he was standing over me, a mocking smile as he watched me retreat into the woods.

He looked at me like I was a pathetic thing. Granted, I was. Will he look at me the same way now? Has he found someone to replace me?

I press my fingers against my temples, sighing deeply.

It's not just Moonhaven I have to worry about.

Cassidy.

She's going to kill me.

I should tell her I'm leaving. But I already know how that conversation will go—she'll argue, she'll try to convince me to stay, and if that doesn't work, she'll insist on coming with me. 

I can't let that happen. She has a life here, a future. And besides, Caspian's right—her parents would murder him if anything happened to her.

There's a knock on my door.

I jolt, gripping the sheets beneath my fingers before forcing myself to relax. "Come in," I call.

A guard steps inside, bowing his head slightly. "The prince is waiting for you by the fountain, on the west side of the garden."

I nod, forcing a small smile. "Thank you."

He leaves, and I sit there for a few moments longer, staring at the spot she stood in. Then, with a resigned sigh, I reach for a scrap of paper and scribble a quick note.

I'll be back in a few days.

It's not much, but it's all I can do. Cassidy will find it when she realizes I'm gone.

Tucking it beneath my pillow, I grab my bag and slip out the door, moving through the corridors like a shadow. 

The estate is quiet at this hour, the usual murmurs of the staff long gone, replaced by the hush of the night.

When I reach the driveway, my eyes immediately find the sleek black car parked near the gates. 

I recognize it instantly—the same car he threw me into the night he kidnapped me.

I huff a quiet laugh. How fitting.

Swinging the bag over my shoulder, I stride toward the vehicle and toss it into the backseat before slipping into the passenger side.

Caspian doesn't say anything at first. He simply glances at me, one brief, unreadable look, before shifting the car into drive. 

The gravel crunches beneath the tires as we pull onto the road, the estate disappearing behind us.

Silence stretches between us, thick and charged, until I finally decide to break it.

"Remember when you tossed me in the back seat like I weighed nothing that night?" I say, smirking slightly. "I thought you were going to eat me for dinner."

He doesn't look at me, but there's the slightest quirk at the corner of his lips. "To be fair, you do weigh nothing."

I scoff, crossing my arms. "I do not weigh nothing."

"I can lift you with my thumb and index finger. No exaggeration."

I glare at him, but he keeps his eyes on the road.

"The drive will be long," he continues, shifting gears smoothly. "We'll camp just outside the borders. I made reservations at a motel—mostly humans, so you won't have trouble blending in."

I frown. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you'll be safe, for the most part. But don't trust anyone. Most humans are worse than the wolves you've known your whole life."

I snort. "What could they possibly do? I bet I could throw a punch harder than any of them."

He turns to look at me then, his silver eyes glowing faintly in the dim car. The estate gates disappear behind us as we merge onto the highway.

"Have you ever heard of psychopaths?" His voice is low, dangerous.

I roll my eyes. "Obviously."

"And do you know what they do?"

I hesitate, narrowing my eyes at him. "What's your point?"

"The worst of them will make you wish you'd ended up with a rogue," he murmurs. "Creative sadistic fuckers, those ones."

A chill runs down my spine, though I refuse to show it. I don't know what it is in his tone—the certainty, the calmness—but it unsettles me.

He continues, gaze flicking between me and the road. "For us—Lycans, wolves—humans pose no threat unless they're armed with silver or lead. But you?" His jaw tightens slightly. "I'd be careful if I were you."

I shift uncomfortably. "You should've booked a Lycan-only hotel," I mumble.

He chuckles. "Getting cold feet?"

I scoff. "Hardly."

"Relax," he says, resting one hand on the gear shift. "I'll keep close to you as much as I can. We'll only stay there for the night before heading to Moonhaven. The second motel I booked is beyond your pack's territory—mostly wolves, but there'll be humans too. We'll be fine. We're only staying as long as it takes to find what we're looking for."

The conversation lulls, and I turn to stare out the window. The road stretches endlessly ahead, the night swallowing everything in inky blackness except for the glow of our headlights. 

I vaguely recognize this route, though I hadn't paid much attention when he first brought me to his pack.

My thoughts drift back to Cassidy.

"She's going to kill me," I mutter. "Cassidy, I mean."

"She will," he agrees. "But hopefully, it'll be worth it, and we'll have what we came for."

"I should've told her."

"No way. She'd never have let you leave, and even if she did, she'd be sitting in the back seat, yapping my ears off." He glances at me, smirking. "She's her parents' only pup. I can't afford to put her in danger. Alma would take my eyes for it."

I chuckle. "That's true. You're your parents' only pup too. Although, you are a prince, so I guess you're used to danger."

His smirk fades. His grip tightens on the steering wheel.

I frown. "What?"

He doesn't answer right away. Instead, he exhales sharply and reaches for the radio.

"It's going to be a long drive," he mutters. "Find something to keep you busy."

I glance at him, watching the way his jaw tenses, the way his fingers flex against the leather wheel. Whatever nerve I struck, he's not going to talk about it. Not now.

Fine.

I press a button, flipping through stations.

The static hums, filling the space between us, and I settle in for the long night ahead.