*~Hazel’s POV~*
I stord into my room, my chest heaving like I had just run a mile through mud. I don’t know what I thought—that they would believe ? ? The helpless human girl whose voice had never mattered in a room full of wolves. One strange observation and I thought it would finally count for sothing?
It never has.
Caspian didn’t follow . He didn’t even try. He just stood there, watching walk away. Or maybe he’d already turned his back by then. I didn’t go to his chamber this ti—I went to mine. I wanted to be alone, where the silence wouldn’t try to argue with , where I didn’t have to pretend I was still brave.
The mont I shut the door behind , the weight of everything crashed down.
I collapsed into the bed without even pulling back the covers. I lay there as the hours passed, unmoving, my body heavy and my mind louder than ever. At so point, the room began to dim. Evening gave way to night, and moonlight crept through the slits in my curtains, casting silver streaks over my skin.
The glow touched my face. I didn’t move. I just turned to my side and touched my stomach, rubbing slow circles.
I gasped softly. A soft movent
It was faint. So faint. But I felt like...
My child.
And then the mory returned. The thing I saw. The thing no one wanted to believe. The thing with his eyes. The way he looked, the power around him, the way sothing ancient had flickered across his skin for a split second. What is he? Who the hell did I get pregnant for?
Before the thought could consu again, a sound cut through the stillness—a knock. But not on my door.
Tap. Tap.
I sat up sharply. My head whipped toward the window.
Another knock.
I crawled to the window and peeked through the glass. My breath caught. A small folded letter was pressed to the outside, pinned with a silver thumbtack. I opened the window slowly, letting the cool breeze brush past , and took the letter.
Scrawled in dark ink:
"et at the rooftop."
My heart stuttered.
Who? Why?
But curiosity? Yeah, it had always been the death of .
I didn’t think—I just moved. Slipped out the back of my chamber and snuck through the silent halls. Up the winding stairwell that led to the roof of the high-house.
When I finally pushed open the rusted door, the night air kissed my skin, and my eyes found him.
Sitting near the ledge, his posture relaxed, but everything about him scread tightly wound chaos. His long black hair blew gently in the breeze, a few strands sticking to his sharp cheekbones. He had a trimd beard now, darker than the last ti I saw him this close. And those eyes—goddess, those eyes, blood red, glowing faintly under the moonlight.
Cayden.
He turned his head slightly, catching in his gaze. And then, slowly, he patted the spot beside him. No words. Just an invitation.
A cold drink sat in one hand. Another empty cup in the other. As he poured from the bottle, the golden liquid glistened under the moon.
I didn’t move.
My legs froze. My breath caught.
I couldn’t sit next to him. Not after what I’d said. Not after the way I’d looked at him—like he was sothing to fear.
He looked like a man now, calm and collected. But that didn’t erase what I’d seen earlier. The rage. The power. The monster.
Still, the guilt that weighed on my chest made step forward. The mory of his face when I called him that. The pain in it, like a mirror of sothing he’d seen before. His mother looked at him like that and even feared him... till now.
It broke sothing in .
I walked over slowly and sat beside him, careful not to brush against his arm.
He handed the cup.
I flinched.
His jaw tightened, and sothing flickered across his face. A mix of hurt and disappointnt, quickly masked with a scornful half-smile. "I forgot," he muttered, "humans don’t like sitting near monsters."
"No," I whispered. "That’s not " I stopped, then took the cup from him gently. I placed it back on the ground, between us. "I can’t drink that."
He raised a brow.
"I’m pregnant," I said, rubbing my belly like it would prove my words. "You shouldn’t serve a pregnant woman alcohol."
He blinked, and then he chuckled. A real, low sound that rumbled from his chest.
"My bad," he said, taking the cup back and downing it in one long gulp. "I’m used to being nice to people like you."
"People like ?"
His gaze shifted toward the stars. "Soone carrying life."
I didn’t know how to answer that. But then he turned to fully, his face unreadable.
"Why did you call a monster," he asked, voice quiet, almost gentle... Almost? "That made you call a monster?
I took a deep breath, my lungs stinging with everything I hadn’t said for weeks I’ve stayed in the high-house. My voice trembled, but I forced the words out anyway.
"Millions of reasons," I said quietly. "You want to know why I called you a monster? Fine. Let list them."
He turned toward , his jaw already tightening.
"One," I began, counting on my fingers, "you rejected ."
His eyes flinched just slightly.
"Two... you got pregnant."
His lips parted, but I didn’t stop.
"Three, you rejected the baby. Called it illegitimate like it didn’t matter. Like it wasn’t even yours."
His eyes dropped to the ground.
"Four, out of nowhere, you accepted again. Married . No explanation. No apology. Just... possession. Five" I inhaled sharply, voice shaking now. "You started acting all weird. Possessive. Like you have the right to call my baby your child."
And then my voice dropped, lower, softer, like it might break apart.
"And then I had the dream."
He didn’t look up.
"I saw you kill your brothers. Both of them. Your body... it changed. Dark veins crawling under your skin. This terrifying power bursting out of you like sothing inside you was breaking free."
Silence.
Then, a whisper. "What?"
I blinked, confused. "I said, first you rejected "
"No, no." He sat up, his eyes locked on mine now, sothing wild flashing in them. "The last thing. Say the last thing again."
My heart thudded.
"I said... dark veins appeared in your body. And this weird power was surging through you. It didn’t feel like a dream. It felt... real."
That’s when his face changed.
Sothing flickered in his soft red eyes... Weird
I froze. "Wait... don’t tell ....don’t tell it wasn’t a dream." My voice broke.
I stood imdiately, the panic swelling in my chest. "Cayden, don’t tell that was real. Don’t tell the veins, the power, the you—"
He reached out and grabbed my wrist, firm but not rough. I yanked back.
"Don’t touch !" I scread. " What the hell are you?!"
His voice dropped low–too calm. Too controlled.
"Hazel. Calm down."
"Don’t you dare tell to calm down. Is that what you beco? That thing in my dream?"
"I don’t rember killing my brothers," he said, almost to himself, eyes distant. "But you Hazel, you’re leaving tonight."
I blinked, stunned. "What?"
The version of Cayden who had looked at with softness earlier—who had chuckled, who had listened....he was gone. He was now back to his monstrous self.
"You’re leaving," he repeated. "Aurora’s packed already. She’ll go with you."
"Leave?" My voice cracked. "Why? Cayden, you were just about to...what the hell is going on with you?!"
He stood now, towering, that alpha dominance seeping out of him like smoke.
"There have never been any ’dark veins’ in my body," he said flatly. "No weird power. There’s nothing wrong with ."
"Liar," I whispered. "You’re lying.."
"I am an alpha," he growled. "A full-blooded werewolf. And the father of that child growing inside you. That’s all you need to know."
I swallowed hard, my knees weak.
"You’re leaving with Aurora," he said again, stepping closer. "Because Dahlia is alive."
Everything in froze.
"What?"
"A witch is here. In this palace. And if you love your child... You have to leave."
My mouth fell open. "Why didn’t you say anything before? Why now?"
He exhaled deeply. "Because it’s not safe for you here. I can’t explain everything. But I swear to you—there’s a plan."
"What plan?! What does that an?" My voice cracked. "You can’t just dump into the woods with a witch hunting and say ’there’s a plan!’"
"Hazel..." he said softly.
He stepped forward again, slower this ti.
"Co here."
I hesitated.
Then he took my hand warr than I expected and leaned in. His breath tickled the shell of my ear as he whispered:
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