Violet
I walked through the woods in a daze, my feet moving like I had no direction or purpose.
The trees blurred around , and their trunks blended into shadows that seed to press in from all sides. I didn’t know where I was going. Neither did I care.
They had been in their wolf forms when I caught up with them, running with a single-minded determination that sent ice through my veins. I had called out to them, but it had been as if I wasn’t there in the first place. They had acted like I didn’t even exist.
And when I had thrown myself in front of them, I couldn’t help but notice how distant their gazes seed, as if they were looking at sothing far beyond where I stood.
They had simply run past.
As if I wasn’t even there.
As if I was nothing.
My hands clenched into fists at my sides as I stumbled over a root I hadn’t seen. The mory of those blank looks made my stomach turn.
He had done sothing to them. There was no other explanation.
But had Kael planned this with him?
The thought surfaced before I could stop it, and fury imdiately followed.
No.
No, Kael would never do such a thing.
Not after everything. Not after arranging for them to accompany , after ensuring they had everything they needed. He wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble just to have them leave like this.
He would never even do this!
Rowan was the problem.
He was the one who had appeared out of nowhere and driven away the only people I had left!
Rowan!
That person was the last thing I needed.
Why barge into my life like this?!
Just when I had finally gotten a semblance of freedom, I was tied to another mate bond I never asked for.
I hated it.
The woods opened up slightly ahead, revealing a small clearing where moonlight still filtered through the trees. I stopped walking and just stood there, staring at nothing.
The strange sound I was hearing turned out to be my shuddered breathing. My body was riddled with sweat, and a faint numbing sensation buzzed inside my head.
What was I supposed to do now?
They had left so supplies behind at the camp, but I didn’t even know if the maps were among them. And if they were, I barely knew how to read them properly. Bei had been teaching , but I hadn’t learned enough yet.
I was alone.
Again.
The thought hit and my knees buckled. I sank to the forest floor and pulled my knees to my chest.
My throat burned. My eyes stung.
And when the sun rose, I was still sitting in the sa spot.
A shudder went through and I looked up, squinting my tired, dry eyes at the bright light.
How long had I been here?
The next second I felt the bond, my body tensed.
I didn’t turn around when I heard his footsteps approaching from behind. He moved slowly and carefully, like he was afraid I might run if he moved too quickly.
I was too tired to even try it.
He stopped a few steps away.
"Violet," he said softly. "I am sorry—"
"What do you want?" I cut him off, my voice flat and hollow.
There was a pause. I could feel him standing there, searching for words.
"I wanted to—"
"If you think coming here will help ," I interrupted again, my voice shaking now with barely controlled anger, "or make feel better, you’re only making feel worse."
He didn’t respond, and for a mont, I thought he might actually leave.
But then I spoke again, the question tearing out of before I could stop it.
"What did you do to them?"
Another pause. Longer this ti.
"I only overrode their command," he said quietly. "Kael’s orders. I told them to go to my nation instead. To report to my beta."
I stood up slowly, turning to face him for the first ti.
He looked terrible. His hair was dishevelled, and his clothes, wrinkled. But it was the guilt written across his face that struck most.
The raw look on his face made sothing twist uncomfortably in my chest. A pang of guilt I imdiately tried to snuff out.
"You are lying," I whispered. "And they listened to you? Just like that?!" I flung out my arm to the side.
He solemnly shook his head and I rembered their eyes. How unfocused and distant they had beco.
The sinking feeling returned, filling my body with a chilling sensation.
"Like Palisa?" my voice trembled as I murmured the wicked woman’s na.
His expression imdiately shifted to panic. He shook his head, stepping forward with his hands raised.
"No. No, it is nothing like that. What I did was different—"
"Different how?!" I demanded, my voice rising. "You took away their choice! You made them—"
"I know and I am sorry. I am so sorry for making you feel uncomfortable. But I really ant for you to be safe."
I stared at him, my chest heaving.
What nonsense was he even saying?!
"So Supre Alphas and their wolves are going to be scouting the neutral zones bordering their nations to find you," he said quickly, his words spilling out in a rush. "The journey wasn’t going to be entirely safe. If I could influence those three with my abilities, there is no telling what others could have done to them. Or to you."
The reality of his words struck .
He wasn’t wrong.
But that didn’t make this...
"You had no right!" I shouted, my voice breaking. "You had no right to do that!"
Pain flashed across his face, but I didn’t wait to see more.
I turned and ran back toward the camp.
My heart felt like it was being crushed in my chest.
When I reached the area, I dropped to my knees beside the pile of abandoned supplies and started grabbing things. My hands shook as I shoved items into one of the sacks, not even paying attention to what I was taking.
"What are you doing?" Rowan asked, appearing beside .
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. My throat was too tight.
I kept packing, my movents frantic.
"Violet—"
"Don’t." I stopped, my voice firm as my body trembled. I tried to hold back the tears. "Don’t call my na... I hate you so much right now." My hand fisted around one of the maps, crumpling the paper.
My heart stung as I said those words, a sharp, painful pull that told I didn’t entirely an it.
But in that mont, it felt like the truth.
User Comments
0 comments from readers