Luck is Not On My Side

I only planned to stay in the palace for a few days. But as it turned out, finding a map was a lot harder than I thought.

"No, it's not that hard," my wolf grumbled. "You're just using it as an excuse to stay longer and enjoy their food!"

"Don't be ridiculous," I muttered. "I'm just trying to learn the layout of the palace."

But, yeah, the food also tasted good.

I mean, once I left this place, it'd be nearly impossible to find anything that even came close to the palace food, especially for free.

Besides, the people here didn't bother me at all.

They were aware of my existence, sure, but they didn't pay too much attention to me.

Which, honestly, was a relief.

I didn't have to talk to many people. I got warm meals every single day. And the best part? Theron hadn't come near me since that day.

One of the maids told me he had locked himself in his chamber, probably trying to control his desire for his mate.

Which, obviously, was me.

Even though the palace gave me comfort and warm meals, I wasn't naive enough to believe that something like this came without a price.

Maybe they were being nice to me now, only to tie me to a stake and burn me later.

You never know what the future holds, right?

That's why, no matter how cozy this place felt, I had already decided: I was leaving today.

"Who knows …," I muttered, pulling a rolled-up map out of the stolen leather bag. "I could also use my face to get what I want here."

"Face?" My wolf burst out laughing. "You mean your boobs?"

"Shut up," I snapped. "That was a small price to pay for something much bigger."

Earlier, I'd asked one of the palace guards for a map. I said I wanted to learn more about the kingdom.

Just as I expected, he refused, saying he wasn't allowed to give something like that to me.

So what did I do? Give up?

Please.

I simply lowered the front of my dress a little—just enough to show some cleavage—and leaned forward.

He didn't say anything, but the way his eyes locked onto my breast told me everything.

Then I asked for the map again, and this time, he handed it over without hesitation.

"Poor guy," my wolf laughed. "You didn't even let him touch you, not even for a second."

"That's the beauty of having precious gems," I said with a shrug. "People can admire them all they want, but they can't lay a hand on it."

I didn't compare my body to an object, but to survive in this cruel world, sometimes I had to do things that might be considered dirty or degrading, things people said took away a woman's dignity.

No, I never let men shove their dicks into me for a few pieces of Lirae. That would be far too disgusting, even for someone like me.

Most of the time, I just danced in revealing clothes for creepy men or posed nude for painters who paid for what they called "art."

People still looked down on me for it. I got used to being labeled as a "slut" or "a woman with no shame." But really, what other choice did I have?

Even if I couldn't die, my body still needed food. Hunger wouldn't kill me, but it would weaken me and torture me slowly with aching pain in my stomach.

My wolf clicked her tongue—if she even had one—clearly disappointed. "Seriously, how can you still be poor after living for fifty years? Shouldn't you have saved some money by now?"

"Saved what?" I replied. "I can't even stay in one place without someone accusing me of being a dark witch. How am I supposed to save money when I'm constantly running?"

"Besides, carrying too many coins would only be a burden."

I never had a permanent place to return to. I was always on the move, never staying long. That's why I didn't keep many belongings since it would be a pain to carry them all.

"Here," I said, pointing to the western region of the Kingdom of Valedorn. "This river flows into the neighboring kingdom. We can sneak in through it, swim down the stream, and come out in their capital."

My wolf asked, "Wait—you're not actually planning to swim across kingdoms, are you?"

"No, silly." I rolled my eyes. "We'll use a boat."

The real question was, how was I going to get a boat?

Even a small one would do, but I'd probably have to steal it from someone living near the river.

Hopefully, some perverts lived near the river, those were easier to trick.

"Let's worry about the boat later," my wolf reminded me. "You're still stuck in the palace. Shouldn't you figure out how to get out first?"

"Oh, don't worry. I've got a plan for that too," I replied confidently.

There were four main gates in this palace—north, south, east, and west.

The southern gate was the most heavily guarded, as it led directly to the front entrance of the palace.

The western gate led to the soldiers' barracks and training grounds, which made it a terrible choice.

The north gate was used by the palace staff, which means it was always crowded and full of people moving back and forth.

That left the eastern gate.

Beyond that gate was nothing but a neglected garden, full of dying flowers and dried-up trees. 

I had a feeling Theron wasn't much for aesthetics, and he clearly didn't see the point in maintaining a garden that served no purpose.

The only obstacle between me and freedom was the tall palace wall with sharp iron spikes lining the top.

But honestly, that wasn't a real problem for me.

I could jump over it easily, and even if the spikes scratched me, my body would heal in no time.

So really … I could just jump and leave this place behind for good.

"Are you sure about this?" my wolf asked, sounding a little unsure. "Like I told you, fate will always pull you back to him, no matter how far you try to run."

I let out a soft laugh. "How would I ever know what will happen if I don't even try?" I took a deep breath and added, "Just shut up before I drill into my own head to get rid of you."

She let out an annoyed scoff. "You'll never be able to get rid of me, even if your head gets chopped off."

I groaned, choosing to ignore her because there were more important things I needed to do right now.

Once I stuffed all my things—most of which were stolen—into my bag, I headed straight to the eastern side of the palace.

Just like I expected, there weren't many soldiers or maids around. Most of them didn't even look at me, let alone ask where I was going.

Maybe they acted that way because, for the past few days, I had been wandering around the palace a lot, even going down to the dungeon to see the place I might end up in if I got caught trying to escape.

"How is there a blind spot like this in the palace?" my wolf muttered. "Someone could sneak in so easily through the east side."

She had a point, actually.

I didn't even see a single person passing by once I reached the east gate.

"Who cares?" I replied. "Let's just think of it as our lucky break."

My wolf sneered, "Like hell you and luck could ever be put side by side."

I rolled my eyes. "You know, for someone stuck in my head, you sure talk a lot of crap."

Without wasting another second, I pushed the door open and walked through the dried-up garden. I paused for a moment to check the height of the wall, then stepped back, got ready, and jumped.

At first glance, the wall and the iron fence on top didn't seem strange. But the moment my hands grabbed the metal bars, my nerves instantly told me something was wrong.

"Oh, fuc—"

BOOM!

The wall was protected by magic, a strong one that exploded the moment someone touched it.

My wolf let out a tired sigh. "Well … well, like I said, luck is clearly not on your side."