Chapter 040

It was well past midnight when I finally moved.

The mansion had gone still no footsteps, no voices, not even the sound of doors creaking. Just the low hum of the wind pushing against the windows. I’d been lying awake for hours, staring at the ceiling, replaying every sound, every look, every touch from earlier.

Daemon’s hands.

Darius’s fist.

My own voice, breaking with need and shame.

I wanted to crawl out of my own skin.

The moonlight cut through the window, thin and cold, spilling over the room. I sat up, my throat dry, heart pounding. This place had become a trap one I had willingly walked into without realizing. I couldn’t stay here, not another day.

I moved quietly, pulling on my cloak and boots. Every sound felt too loud the soft scrape of fabric, the wooden floor groaning beneath my feet. I reached for the small satchel near the chair and stuffed in whatever I could find: a half loaf of bread, a small knife, a water flask. My fingers trembled as I tied the strap.

The hallway outside was darker, emptier. Candles burned low, their wax dripping like slow tears. I kept to the shadows, passing closed doors. Somewhere down the corridor, someone shifted maybe one of the guards, maybe one of them. My heart leapt into my throat, but no one came out.

When I reached the back door, I hesitated. The iron handle was cold beneath my palm. Once I stepped outside, there was no turning back. I’d have to find my way through unknown woods, with no wolf, no guide, and no one to trust.

But staying meant drowning.

I eased the door open. The night air rushed in damp, sharp, carrying the scent of rain-soaked pine. The moon hung high, pale and watchful, casting silver across the courtyard.

For a long moment, I stood there, breathing it in. Then I pulled my hood low and stepped out, shutting the door behind me with a soft click.

The grass was wet beneath my boots. Each step away from the mansion felt heavier, but I didn’t stop. The forest loomed ahead dark, endless, whispering.

I tightened my cloak around me and kept walking, guided only by the faint glow of moonlight and the desperate thrum of my own heart.

Whatever was waiting out there couldn’t hurt more than what I’d already felt tonight.

The forest stretched endlessly ahead of me, dark and silent except for the faint rustle of leaves whispering above. My feet crunched softly against the damp soil as I moved, clutching my cloak tighter around me. The air was sharp with pine and night frost, the moon my only companion.

Here I was running again. Just like the last time.

I didn’t know where I was going only that I had to move, I kept glancing over my shoulder, half-expecting to see Daemon, or worse, Darius emerging from the shadows. But all I saw was mist curling between the trees, silvered by the moon.

Or so I thought.

The hairs at the back of my neck rose before I even heard it—the faint padding of something large moving behind me. A presence. Low, deliberate, almost… stalking.

I froze. My breath caught. Then came the unmistakable growl—a deep, rumbling sound that vibrated through the air.

I spun around, heart slamming into my ribs.

“Not again” I almost cried. I barely made it alive last time with the bear, and right now what I just heard was no bear.

A wolf stepped into the clearing, huge and russet-furred, eyes glowing amber beneath the moonlight. It was Colin’s wolf, I recognized that color anywhere, from when I had sat by my window and watched him and Maris shift and fight together. It was a beautiful display between siblings, something I never got to experience.

But still, instinct had me backing up until my spine hit a tree.

“Colin?” I whispered uncertainly.

The wolf stopped. Then, with a slow stretch of muscle and bone, he began to shift. The sound was grotesque—cracks and pops echoing as fur melted into skin, claws retracting, his human form emerging in the moon’s pale light.

My eyes went wide as I quickly turned away, pressing my palm to my face. “Gods! put something on!” I blurted out, cheeks burning.

He chuckled softly behind me, the sound deep and amused. “You always sneak out here at night to tell men what to wear?”

“Only when they decide to show up naked,” I muttered, still refusing to look at him.

A rustle of movement, then the sound of fabric brushing skin. He must’ve grabbed the small cloth bundle that wolves sometimes tied to their legs before a run. When his voice came again, it was closer. “Alright. You can look now.”

I hesitated, then turned slowly. Colin stood only a few feet away, his eyes studying me curiously. “What are you doing out here, Rain?” he asked quietly. “You know how dangerous it is this close to the border.”

My mouth went dry. I couldn’t tell him the truth not that I was running, not that I didn’t have a wolf to protect me if something came out of the dark. So I lied.

“I couldn’t sleep,” I said quickly. “Needed to clear my head, that’s all.”

Colin’s gaze lingered on me, searching, like he didn’t quite believe it, but he didn’t push. Instead, his expression softened, his tone low and soothing. “You’ve been through a lot lately,” he murmured. “I get it. Sometimes, being in that house feels very suffocating, that’s why I run at night.”

The kindness in his voice made my throat tighten.

He stepped closer, careful not to startle me. “How about a run?” he asked, eyes glinting in the moonlight. “Nothing far—just enough to feel the wind in your fur. Might help you breathe easier.”

My stomach dropped. My wolf. He didn’t know I didn’t have one, and he couldn’t. No one could. Not here.

I forced a small smile and shook my head. “I’d rather just walk. My wolf… she’s restless tonight. I don’t think I could control her.”

He nodded slowly, though a flicker of doubt passed through his gaze. “Fair enough.” He looked away, giving me that space again, his voice quieter. “Then walk with me, Just until the cold gets too much.”

So we did.

Side by side, our breaths fogging the air, the night stretched around us like a secret neither of us dared name. And though I kept my distance, I couldn’t help the thought that crept in.

if Colin ever found out what I truly was, would he still look at me the same way?