Part 3

Adelie left Kai’s house quietly. It was 3 a.m. when she drove back to Kiran’s house. She noticed the car that stayed behind her. It didn’t follow her up the dirt road, and she sighed with relief. She would be 19 in September, but they would come for her before then.

The house was quiet as she made her way upstairs and packed a suitcase. She loaded the suitcase into the car’s trunk and went back inside. She had just gotten out of the shower when she heard Kiran’s footsteps. It was 5 a.m.

At 6:30, Adelie went downstairs and smiled cheerfully at Jace. “Morning.”

“Good morning, my cuddly unicorn,” Jace said, with a smile as he sat down at the counter.

“You look like you need coffee,” Adelie said, and Jace sighed.

“I do, sweetie pie, that man is going to be the death of me,” Jace said, and giggled. Adelie made coffee for both of them. She needed to leave by 7, that way she wouldn’t raise any suspicion.

“Morning,” Kiran said, as he exited the hallway from his study, dressed in a suit.

“Hey, big guy,” Jace said, with a sweet smile. Adelie chuckled, and Kiran glared at him.

“Jace, one of these days–”

“I know, I know, you’re going to hurt me,” Jace said, and Adelie laughed louder.

“Do you want a ride to work?” Kiran asked her.

“No, I’m okay to drive,” Adelie said, and Kiran nodded his head and headed to the garage.

“I love it when he’s so grumpy in the mornings,” Jace said, as he watched Kiran leave.

“He’s only grumpy when you’re here,” Adelie said, with a laugh.

“Maybe, but secretly he loves all the attention,” Jace said, and laughed with her.

“Morning, you two,” Adara said, with a smile as she walked toward them.

“Good gracious, Adara, look at that glow. I’d say the big guy did something right,” Jace said, and Adara blushed lightly.

“Jace!” Adara said, but laughed.

“I need to get going,” Adelie said, and looked at her watch. She wished she could hug them goodbye, but that would be odd since she never did that. She wished she could stay here with them, but then they’d all be in danger.

“Have a good day!” Jace said loudly, as she made her way to her car.

Adelie drove down the dirt road, then turned left instead of right. She drove toward town and stopped at the Safeway. She switched the car off and climbed out. Four men approached her and she tried to keep her breathing normal.

“Princess Adelie,” one of the men said, and they all bowed their heads at her.

“My suitcase is in the back,” she said, as she looked at the four Zetas. The first man held his hand out for her keys, and she handed them to him. Running wouldn’t help. They had found her all the way in Alaska. They would find her no matter where she went.

“Where’s the man?” another Zeta asked her.

“What man?” Adelie played dumb.

“The man you spent the night with,” he said, almost in a snarl.

“Oh, he’s like a brother to me, and gay,” Adelie said, and looked him in the eye.

“Good, we don’t have time for me to kill him if he touched you,” the man said. “Let’s go.”

He led her to the waiting SUV and two more Zetas flanked her on either side. They got on the highway and headed toward Anchorage. Adelie sat back and looked through the windscreen as she resigned herself to her fate.

Kai never should have saved her. If he hadn’t found her, then she wouldn’t have imprinted on him, and this wouldn’t be so hard. She never would’ve known what she did now, and she never would’ve felt the loss of that bond.

It would have been better if the Zetas had found her instead of Kai. She would have accepted her fate without knowing this feeling of loss. She could already feel it, the sadness and pain was taking over, and settling in her heart.

“Have you been hiding in Seward all these years?” the man next to her asked.

“What’s your name?” Adelie asked him.

“It’s Gunter, Your Highness,” he replied.

“Where I’ve been is none of your concern,” she replied.

They drove the two hours to Anchorage, and her phone pinged as they walked onto the tarmac. She took her phone out, and Gunter gave her a look. She read the text from Kai, and she had to fight the tears that formed in her eyes.

“Give me your phone,” Gunter said, as he watched the expression on her face.

Adelie handed her phone over after locking the screen. Gunter couldn’t see that message. He took the phone, pulled the battery out, and smashed the phone on the tarmac. He stepped on the phone for good measure, and Adelie fought to keep her composure.

“Was that really necessary?” she asked him.

“Your life is in Germany now. There’s nothing that binds you to this place, is there?” he asked her.

“No,” she said.

Gunter led her onto the private jet, and Adelie knew it was futile to fight them. She had planned to go to Germany and hand herself over to the King and Queen. She didn’t want her parents to suffer the consequences if she failed to honor the age-old agreement. The Archambeau and Conrad families have always married each other.

Imprinting didn’t matter to the Royal families, the blood lines mattered, and the alliances mattered. If she didn’t marry Prince Rupprecht, it could mean war between the two houses; and the House of Conrad had a bigger pack and more warriors.

Adelie closed her eyes as she thought back to that last time she had seen her parents. It was easier to let people think they had sold her. There was no higher authority than that of the royal families in Europe. America had no royal family, and that’s how the Councils came to exist. The World Council was the only one who could decide the fate of a royal member.

“When is Prince Rupprecht turning 21?” Adelie asked.

“In December,” Gunter replied.

She nodded her head. At least she had a few months before she would be forced to marry him, then the imprinting bond with Kai would automatically be rejected. She would have to be careful, as soon as they find out that she’d imprinted on someone else, they would kill him.

Adelie smiled as the jet took off, at least she had saved Kai’s life by leaving. She could handle the pain as long as she knew he was alive.