Violet
I stared at the three routes Rowan had traced on the map, my chest tight.
Where he had pointed out was an even longer route that would take more ti to get there.
"How long would it take?" I asked him carefully, keeping my eyes on the map.
"Four weeks... but I don’t mind carrying you on my back for the journey. It would make it faster."
I snapped my head up. "No."
I frowned and looked back to the map, feeling a slight headache coming on. If I could have it, I didn’t want to be anywhere near him, much less even touch him.
Looking at him made so angry.
I squeezed my eyes briefly as I tried to control myself.
Four weeks was a long ti just to go around the territory to get to it. And the more I thought about it, maybe going through this nation wouldn’t be such a bad... idea.
I straightened. My eyes were still trained on the map as I had a brilliant thought.
I could find a way to lose him in this place.
It would be far easier for him to lose track of in a large nation amongst other wolves rather than in this place.
’But he has all sorts of information that could help...’
This was a difficult decision.
I hadn’t even known about this nation’s Supre Alpha being here or not. And Rowan had attended other etings with Kael and the others.
But I could not stand to have him with .
What if I could just gain whatever information I could from him on the way to this nation and abandon him when we got there.
I found myself staring at him as he sorted through the papers.
He seed docile. A lot more docile than Kael.
My eyes traced over him, taking in details I had been too angry to fully register before. While he wasn’t any taller than Kael, he was larger. Far larger, with an even broader fra packed with muscle mass that his coat couldn’t quite hide. His shoulders were wide enough to block out the light when he shifted position, and his hands as they carefully smoothed the maps were easily twice the size of mine.
He could snap in half without even trying.
The thought made uncomfortable.
He was dangerous. What he had just done to the others without any regard for how I felt was evidence of that.
And no matter how gentle he looked, he was a Supre Alpha.
He would have his dark side.
A shudder swept through and I imdiately looked away. My heart hamred against my ribs in a way that had nothing to do with the mate bond and everything to do with the sudden, stark realization of how vulnerable I actually was out here.
My abilities hadn’t worked on him in the hall either just because he was my mate.
I needed to get rid of him.
’I wish Kael was here...’
I swallowed hard, fully making my decision. It was settled. Passing through this place would be the best option.
"Orpal is over there, right?" I asked, pointing towards the side as I pointed to the distance.
Surprise slipped into Rowan’s eyes, followed by so relief.
So he did want to go through the nation too.
"Yes—"
Before he can utter another word, I pulled the rest of the belongings into the bag and hoisted it up on my back before snatching the map right out from under him.
He looked at , stunned.
I stared at him too.
I think it would be sowhat easy to handle him... maybe.
Without a sound, I turned and started walking in the direction he had confird.
Behind , his footsteps followed.
I walked faster.
His pace matched mine.
After several minutes of this, I stopped and whirled around.
I clamped my mouth shut, resisting the urge to ask him why he was following .
He just looked at . He didn’t speak and didn’t move. He just had that sa apologetic look on his face.
We both knew he wasn’t going to leave.
I turned back around to continue walking.
"Anyone would be able to tell you’re not a normal wolf," I muttered, half to myself.
The words had barely left my mouth when I felt his presence suddenly dwindling. The oppressive weight of his power, that constant awareness of his strength that had been pressing against my senses, just... faded.
If not for the bond, I would have barely been able to sense him at all.
I paused mid-step, turning to stare at him in astonishnt.
He t my eyes briefly, and paused.
The power that had been radiating from him was now barely a whisper.
’Why am I even surprised? Kael had done sothing like this before.’
I had been doing the sa thing myself, keeping my syzygy suppressed to the point where it was barely noticeable.
I felt irritated.
I did not like any of this.
[ - ]
We had luckily found a thin stream along the way.
I dropped my bag beside the water and knelt on the smooth stones at the edge. The water was shockingly cold when I cupped it in my hands, but I welcod it. I drank deeply, then splashed my face and neck.
Behind , I heard the soft rustle of movent as Rowan approached the stream several paces downstream.
I ignored him, dunking my whole face in the water and letting the chill seep into my skin. When I finally sat back, I noticed he had also knelt by the water to rinse his face and hands.
That was when I noticed it.
He had no bag.
No pack, no supplies, no change of clothes. Nothing. Just himself and whatever he seed to be carrying in his coat pockets.
I stared for a mont, surprised despite myself.
How was he planning to travel for weeks with nothing? No food or anything else...?
The question rose to my lips, but I bit it back.
I didn’t care.
It also wasn’t my problem if he hadn’t prepared properly.
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