Draven.
When the convoy slowed to a stop along the remote roadside, I stepped out of the Maybach and imdiately felt it—a stare.
I turned slightly, gaze flicking toward the rcedes van parked behind us.
That was when I saw redith. She seed to have noticed , dropped her hands with a sharpness too precise to be casual, and pivoted back toward . Avoiding .
My jaw tensed, a breath leaving through my nose. She was still bitter from last night.
Good.
I had done what I intended. Her pride had cracked, and she couldn’t even bring herself to mouth off that ti. But the strange part wasn’t her silence—it was her retreat. I had expected another sharp-tongued coback, another glare, another ga of pride and venom.
But instead, she had hidden. Ten whole minutes in the bathroom last night—stalling. It had amused .
Almost.
I didn’t know what disappointed more. That she had chosen cowardice, or that a part of had missed the fight.
Even when I had challenged her, needled at her with truths she clearly hated to admit, I hadn’t lied. I had only spoken what I saw.
My thoughts still drifted back to the fact that she feared her family’s cruelty more than she feared . That alone made no sense.
It made wonder the kind of fear they instilled in her that even I couldn’t touch.
I was still mulling over the thought when Jeffery returned to my side.
"The lady went into the woods," he reported. "I assigned two guards to her."
I gave a short nod, eyes drifting toward the tree line.
"She knows better than to wander too deep, right?" Wanda chid in just as she walked over to my side.
I didn’t look at her. "She should."
As she turned her head, I reached into my coat for my phone, checking the signal. Empty bars. Duskmoor’s outskirts were always this dead.
I slipped it back into my pocket—but just then, sothing shifted in the air.
A low ripple across the skin. Cold. Sharp.
My wolf, Rhovan, stirred awake with a low, warning growl.
"There is a blood-sucking demon in the woods. Go get our mate."
I didn’t have ti to argue with him about the word mate. Again.
I moved imdiately, leaving Wanda and Jeffery without a word. I walked past the van and two other cars until I neared the edge of the trees.
And that was when I saw her, redith. She was rging from the woods. Her maidservants trailed behind her. Two guards flanked the group.
But my eyes stayed on her.
She wasn’t speaking. Her face had gone pale. Her brows were tight with unease. She looked unnerved.
Frightened.
She had only been in there for a few minutes. That wasn’t long enough for a walk. Sothing had spooked her.
My eyes briefly scanned the forest behind her shoulder. Nothing moved. No scent lingered in the air. But I knew what I felt.
And so did she.
Rhovan grumbled again. "She felt it. She felt danger."
That shouldn’t be possible. She was wolfless.
But sohow, she had sensed what my guards—trained, ard, with wolves—had not.
When her eyes t mine, she froze. Her voice had left her. She only nodded when I asked, "You done stretching?"
"Our mate is scared. I can sll it so strong," Rhovan whispered in my head again, his tone both concerned and strangely... proud.
I didn’t reply to him. Not aloud. But in my head, I admitted sothing to myself. redith is wolfless, but there might be sothing alive kicking inside her which we knew nothing about.
She might not be powerless as we all thought.
I looked at her one last ti and said, "Good. Let’s continue the trip."
---
Back in the car, I leaned back in my seat and stared out the window, arms folded as Wanda chattered beside .
I wasn’t listening. Not really. I was still thinking about what redith had sensed—how she had known sothing was off when the others didn’t.
Her instincts were sharp. Sharper than they should be.
Wolfless didn’t an senseless, clearly.
"She’s not moving into your room, is she?" Wanda asked, drawing out of my thoughts.
I blinked and turned slightly to face her. She was referring to redith.
"Give her a comfortable room. Not a guest room," I said. "Big enough. Let her settle in wherever she wants."
Wanda smiled, smug but silent.
I didn’t care where redith slept, as long as she wasn’t suffocating in so corner. This wasn’t a punishnt. At least, not entirely.
When Wanda finally stopped talking, I went back to thinking.
What exactly was in those woods?
I asked Rhovan about it again.
"It was too far," he said. "Its scent was hidden. Masked by the trees."
"Do you know what it was?"
A long pause.
"Not sure. Not werewolf. Not human. It was blood-thirsty."
I exhaled, my hand curling into a loose fist on my knee.
I hoped whatever that thing was wouldn’t dare to enter Duskmoor or Stormveil. And I also hoped it didn’t have a family.
---
By the ti we passed the border checkpoint and arrived at Duskmoor, the sky had grayed.
I had lived here for years, and still—I would never get used to the noise. The congestion. The horns. The scent of oil and tal.
But I tolerated it because of my mission, and my daughter.
As soon as the Maybach stopped, the door was opened and I stepped out—and there she was.
"Daddy!" she cried, barreling toward in her little pink skirt.
I crouched imdiately, arms wide.
Her laughter as she launched into my chest nearly unmade .
I caught her. Lifted her. Spun her. I didn’t even think about who was watching.
She was the only human I had ever protected with the full weight of my being. And she wasn’t even mine by blood.
I had adopted her two years ago. Saved her from what would’ve been a cruel ending. And sohow, she had filled a quiet void I hadn’t even known existed.
She never whined about not coming to Stormveil. Never demanded too much. She was thoughtful. Smart. Gentle. Human, yes. But more—sothing else. Sothing brighter.
She hugged and asked if I brought her gifts.
I smiled. "They are in the car."
She squealed. And then Wanda appeared beside us.
She ruffled Xamira’s hair, calling her by na and asking, "Is it only your father you missed?"
And of course, Xamira giggled and hugged her, too. She liked Wanda as much.
Reviews
All reviews (0)