Chapter 19 : The Other Side of the Wall

*Alice's POV*

The nerves were still mounting as I walked to the lake.

I had continued to talk with Joan in my bedroom, but she had not calmed me down, so I left to get fresh air. It was starting to get late and I wasn't sure if Simon was still going to show for our regular training session.

I hoped so.

I would much rather keep privately training anyway. Simon was ignorant if he thought I would do well around the rest of the palace wolves. Just because I had gotten comfortable with him, it didn't mean that I was magically going to be comfortable with the rest of them.

Simon hadn't tortured me my whole life.

I walked up to our usual meeting spot and was hurt to see that Simon wasn't there. Maybe he had gone further into the woods.

I walked to the nearby grove. It was a small area in the trees, still covered by branch cover, but big enough to still train in. After a quick evaluation, I realized that Simon wasn't here either.

Suddenly, my anger spik