redith.
The van finally slowed, and Kira’s soft voice stirred from the quiet haze of exhaustion.
"We are stopping for a bit, my lady. You can use the restroom now."
I nodded wordlessly and stood, my spine protesting the movent. My legs felt wooden from sitting too long. I ducked behind the curtain, letting out a sigh as I finally relieved myself, the small space barely enough to stretch in.
When I pushed the curtain aside to step back into the main cabin, I was surprised to find the space empty. The van door was wide open.
But before my heart could skip a beat, Azul’s head popped in. "My lady, we are taking a short break. You can stretch your limbs now."
Relief blood in my chest. "Finally," I muttered, making her way forward.
Azul offered her hand as I reached the door, and I took it without thinking, grateful for the support as I stepped down.
The air outside was crisp and damp, as though rain threatened to fall at any mont. The sky above was grey, heavy with clouds. Not a single car passed along the lonely road that sliced between dense clusters of tall forest trees.
The isolation made slightly uneasy, but the cool air and chance to stretch my legs were a welco reprieve.
I raised her arms in a full stretch, exhaling as my spine popped—only to quickly drop them the mont I caught movent from the corner of her eye. Draven.
He was stepping out of the black Maybach in front of us.
I instinctively turned her back to him. I didn’t want to see his face, and I didn’t want him to see mine, either.
"Would you like to take a walk, my lady?" Deidra’s voice pulled my attention back.
Before I could answer, Beta Jeffery approached. He stopped beside us, his tone even and respectful. "We’ll take a ten-minute break here, my lady. Feel free to stretch your legs. But... take two guards with you. This area’s not fully safe."
I understood imdiately.
I had no wolf.
I was... vulnerable. His reminder wasn’t cruel, just honest. I gave a small nod, and he moved on without fuss.
I stared toward the forest. The trees called to —not in any mystical way, just the way any wild place calls when you’ve been cooped up for too long. I needed movent. And maybe... maybe I’d spot herbs, sothing useful. Sothing grounding.
"I will go into the trees a little," I said to Deidra, who stood next to . "Not far. Just a short look around."
Deidra left and returned shortly with two guards in tow. Azul and Kira insisted on coming too, of course.
We didn’t go deep—only enough to still see the vans lined up by the road. I kept my eyes low, scanning the grasses and wildflowers at my feet, brushing aside leaves in search of familiar herbs.
But three minutes in, a strange weight crept over .
My chest tightened slowly, the pressure subtle but insistent. I straightened, looking around as far as my sight could go.
Nothing.
Azul was admiring a tree. Kira was giggling at sothing Deidra said. The guards stood silent, eyes always on .
But it wasn’t them. Sothing was off.
Goosebumps appeared on my arms.
I turned sharply to the right, certain sothing was there—watching. Waiting. But there was nothing.
No sound. No movent. Just the faint rustling of leaves.
My pulse quickened. Suddenly, I didn’t want to be here anymore.
"Let’s go back," I said quietly to Azul and the rest. My voice sounded too steady for how I felt.
I didn’t wait for them to agree. I turned and walked, faster than I intended. The guards fell into step beside , silent and sharp-eyed.
The mont we broke free from the trees, I saw Draven.
He was walking toward , a faint crease on his brow. His gaze swept past toward the forest—just for a second—before settling on again.
"Are you done stretching?" he asked.
I could only nod.
"Good. Let’s continue the trip," he said, turning back toward his car.
The strange presence that had gripped vanished like mist.
I stood there for a beat longer, watching him walk away. A thought pierced the edge of my mind—Did he feel it too? Was that why he ca?
Or was it just a coincidence?
I didn’t know. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
Back inside the van, I sat quietly, slowly clicking the seatbelt across my body. The unease still lingered, curling in my stomach like smoke.
I looked down at my arms. The goosebumps were gone.
---
The soft patter of rain had co and gone, leaving behind a sheen of mist on the window. I stirred awake from a light nap, blinking into the stillness of the van, and imdiately noticed it wasn’t moving.
I turned to Kira, who was peering out the window from the other side, "Why did we stop?"
Kira leaned away from the window and turned her gaze to .
"We are at the Duskmoor checkpoint, my lady."
My brows lifted. "So, we are here?"
Kira shook her head. "Not yet. The checkpoint’s just at the border. Two more hours to the city."
I sighed. Of course.
"What’s this checkpoint for?" I asked, pushing back the curtain and peering out. All I could see was a sliver of so tall, tallic post and a stretch of guards.
Kira leaned back. "It’s part of the human-werewolf truce. Also, every werewolf needs a valid ID to live in Duskmoor."
"Do you and Deidra have your ID cards?"
Kira replied. "We left them in Duskmoor. No use carrying them around outside the city."
I frowned, thinking for a mont before asking again, "Are they going to check everyone’s IDs?"
"There is no need for that since we are with the Alpha. But they will still need to search all the cars," Deidra chipped in.
I frowned, finding this whole scrutiny an insult for soone like Draven, who was already known to the humans as one of Stormveil’s leaders.
Folding my arms, I asked, "Alpha Draven is the future king of Stormveil. Does he still need to undergo this?"
Deidra responded gently, "The Alpha insisted on it. He wants the humans to undergo the sa treatnt when they visit Stormveil in the future."
I nodded, silently impressed with Draven’s smartness.
But a darker thought curled at the edges of my mind.
This truce between us and the humans... it felt fragile.
Too fragile.
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