Chapter 23

Adeline’s POV

The tires hum against the road, a steady drumbeat that does nothing to calm the storm in my chest. My breath catches, too quick, too shallow, like the air’s turned to syrup. I stare out the window, rooftops and trees blurring past, pretending I’m fine. But my hands itch to tug at my sleeve, to ground me. I force them still in my lap.

He notices anyway.

“His Majesty the King seems to think you’re more than an acquaintance” Mathias says, his voice low, barely rising above the tires’ hum. His eyes stay on the road, but I feel the weight of his question.

My throat locks. For a second, I can’t breathe. Then I force a laugh, brittle and fake. “Vincent? We’re just… old friends.” The lie tastes like ash.

Eve, my wolf, snarls in my head. “Liar.”

Because it wasn’t just Vincent’s stare that unraveled me back in the square. When he stepped close—too close—my wolf nearly broke free. His presence, the raw power of an Alpha King, hit me like a tidal wave. My body remembers him—every ne