"—the car would leave tonight, before midnight. Just a few miles east of the river crossing. Forest Springs is Nora's father's territory, so you'd be safe there until—"
My fingers curl into the soft fabric of my recovered pillow, digging in until my knuckles turn white. Forest Springs Pack. The neighboring territory ruled by Nora's father.
I keep my face blank while Evan continues explaining their supposed escape plan, but inside, my stomach twists into knots dense enough to sink through the floor. In the end, Nora and Xander want to go to her father's pack.
Silly , to ever think Nora and I could be on the sa page for even a mont.
"Alpha Thornton will personally guarantee your protection," Evan says, leaning forward with an earnestness that might be convincing if I didn't know better. "It's the perfect solution."
The room suddenly feels smaller, the walls closing in as Evan's voice drones on about routes and timing and security asures. Each word lands like another shovelful of dirt on my grave.
"—Xander wanted to co himself, but he's tied up with the transition etings. The Lycans are demanding a lot from him as the new Alpha."
Of course they are. Convenient excuse.
I trace a loose thread on my bedsheet, keeping my gaze down so Evan won't see what's in my eyes. This plan isn't about keeping safe. It's about getting rid of permanently. Nora's intent is to make sure I'm forever miserable.
If it was about my safety, they'd send to Sterling City.
"—and once the Lycans leave, probably in a few weeks, Xander will send for you and—"
A bitter laugh threatens to burst from my throat, but I swallow it down. The fantasy that Xander would "send for " after the Lycans leave might be the most ridiculous part of this whole charade. Nora would sooner tear out her own heart than allow back into Xander's orbit, even at the edges.
"Violet?" Evan pauses, finally noticing my silence. "Are you listening?"
"It's a lot to take in," Evan says, mistaking my silence for consideration. "But we don't have much ti."
"Nora's put together a bag for you—clothes, so toiletries. Basic stuff to get you through the first few days until you're settled."
Clothes picked by Nora. I imagine scratchy fabrics, wrong sizes, colors ant to wash out and make look sickly. Little cruelties hidden in gestures of false kindness.
I stare at Evan, sothing inside finally snapping. The pretense of polite consideration evaporates, like water beneath the noon sun. "Do you actually believe any of this bullshit you're spewing?"
My words are a brutal knife slicing through his plans. Evan blinks, taken aback by my sudden shift from passive listener to open skeptic.
"What? Violet, this isn't—"
"This isn't what? A convenient way to get rid of ? To hand over to people who would hate even more than the ones here do?"
Evan's expression hardens. "Look, I wouldn't be part of this if I thought you'd be in danger. I'm coming with you."
"Excuse ?"
"I'm going with you to Forest Springs. To make sure you're treated well." He leans forward, earnestness radiating from him. "Xander wants to make sure you're okay. He specifically asked to accompany you. If she wanted to hurt you, why would she send along?"
I tilt my head back, staring at the ceiling with a humorless laugh. I lift my injured wrist, the one Asher had so carefully bandaged.
"Did you know? Nora's the one who hurt this wrist this morning."
Evan's eyes widen slightly; I can see his expression out of the corner of my eye.
"She grabbed in the hall and wouldn't let go. Squeezed until I thought the bones would snap." My voice drops to an icy whisper as I finally et his gaze. "She did this in front of the Lycan Beta. She didn't care who saw."
I lean forward, forcing Evan to maintain eye contact. "So tell again why soone like Nora—soone who was willing to physically harm in front of witnesses—would suddenly be so concerned with helping ? The human ex-girlfriend of her mate?"
The question hangs in the air between us. Evan shifts uncomfortably, his gaze dropping to my bandaged wrist. The certainty in his expression wavers.
"Maybe she..." he starts, then falters. His throat works as he swallows. "It's still better than being prisoner to the Lycan King, isn't it? You've seen it. He's crazed for violence. He'll kill you the mont he's done with you."
My stomach twists. Yes, I know. It isn't like I trust him, either. But it doesn't an I'm going to jump into a fire.
Evan's eyes suddenly narrow, and he takes an aggressive step forward. The shift in his attitude sends a shiver through my body. "It can't be… Do you actually believe what he said? About you being 'his'?"
The mory of Asher's voice echoes in my head—his furious declaration in front of the entire pack. The way Fenris had materialized beside him, as if summoned by his rage.
"No. Of course not."
But then I think about my strange al with him and how he bandaged my wrist so tenderly. Heat creeps up my neck.
Evan's nostrils flare slightly. "If there's sothing between you and the Lycan King that you're not telling us..."
"There's nothing," I snap. I don't need more rumors. Everyone's confused enough as it is.
"Then why are you hesitating?" Evan presses. "If there's nothing, why not co with tonight? Get away from all this?"
I study his face, searching for answers. Does he really think he's helping ? And why is he so damn stubborn about this? Evan has never liked .
"You didn't answer my question," I say quietly. "Why would Nora want to help ?"
He sighs, running a hand through his hair. "Xander is concerned about you. He feels guilty. Nora knows that, and she wants him focused on the transition, on becoming the Alpha the pack needs right now. As long as you're around..."
"I'm a distraction," I finish for him.
"You're a complication," he corrects. "And with the Lycans breathing down everyone's necks, complications are dangerous."
"And if I refuse to go?" I ask, though I already know the answer.
Evan's expression turns grim. "Then we can't protect you from whatever happens next. The Lycan King has claid you as his, but nobody knows why. What if he's just playing with his food?"
I'm not going to eat you, he'd said, like that was supposed to ease all my fears. The thought of it is laughable now.
My fingers trace the edge of the bandage Asher wrapped around my wrist. His touch had been surprisingly gentle for soone so feared, but he's unstable. Strange. Unreadable.
I can't stay here, but I'm not going to go along with Nora's plan.
"I'll go, but not to Forest Springs. You need to take to Sterling City."
Evan's brow furrows. "Sterling City? Why would you want to go there?"
"Because I'm human, Evan. That's where I should have been all along."
"The humans abandoned you," Evan says, his voice hard. "We took you in."
A humorless laugh escapes . "Really? Because the Lycan King seems to think differently. He practically accused Alpha of kidnapping from human society."
"Alpha Keller would never—" Evan's face flushes red. "He wouldn't kidnap a human child."
My hands drag roughly over my face as I groan in frustration. "Look, I don't care what you believe. Sterling City is the only place I'm going, with or without your help."
He shifts his weight, uncertainty flickering across his features. The silence stretches between us until he finally speaks. "Fine. I'll co with you to Sterling City."
What? No. "I don't need you."
"Xander asked to keep you safe." Evan's jaw sets stubbornly. "I gave him my word."
I roll my eyes toward the ceiling. The man's incapable of thinking for himself. It's always about Xander.
Having Evan along will complicate things, but fighting him on this will only waste ti I don't have. "Fine."
Sterling City is big enough. Once we're there, losing Evan in a crowd shouldn't be too difficult.
Evan frowns at , as if my quick agreent leaves him suspicious. Hopefully he gets over it. "Okay. Rember, the succession ceremony starts at midnight. Everyone will be focused on Xander taking his place as Alpha and re-bonding the pack mbers. Every Lycan will be there—they have to witness the transfer of power."
I tilt my head. "What happens if they catch us?"
Evan's expression darkens. "We can't get caught."
So, death. It's what I thought, but it's still unsettling to think about it. "Okay."
The weight of what we're planning settles in my chest like lead. If the Lycan King finds out... The image of Alpha's broken body flashes through my mind.
A strange part of feels as if I'm betraying my family by escaping, but I shake it off. "You should go before soone notices you've been here too long."
Evan nods, but hesitates at the door. "Violet... just be ready, okay? I'll get here as soon as I can."
The door clicks shut behind him, leaving alone with my thundering heart and a thousand doubts.
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