Chapter 5

Caspian's Pov

A final start

The morning sun casted a warm glow over the castle but the stones and floors were still cold. I called the butler, Nyx had to be treated well for my plan to fall into place.

“Make sure her breakfast is served well. Fresh bread, fruit, honey. Anything she might want. I want her fed and comfortable when she wakes,” I ordered.

“Yes alpha."

He nodded quickly, already used to the way I operated precisely, demanding and never asking twice.

I might have my wolf dormant but I didn't have my authority stripped.

I didn’t wait around to see it done, I trusted efficiency with my butler. Instead, I made my way to the garden, it was always my personal escape at the back of the house. A place none of my servants or even the mistresses I traded dared to step into.

I crouched near the edge of the bed of blooms. Wild lavender, yellow asphodel, and those white and violet charms. The charm flowers, they were there too. Each time I stare at them, I'm drawn back to that time.

It was twenty years ago, deep in the mountain region, when I met a girl who had escaped an attack.

“I have to run. That's all they told me.” She said,.

She was only seven, hiding in a cave I thought was abandoned. Her face was sunburnt, but her smile….her smile was healing.

She pointed to the flowers growing nearby and told me, “These cure sadness. Just looking at them, you’ll forget whatever ever made you sad.”

I laughed, but I never forgot it. Her radiant smile and pure heart, jumping around like she really wasn't in trouble. It felt like fate, and it felt like a curse.

“What's your name?” I asked her.

“Veyra.” She said excitedly.

We were kids and knew nothing of what was going on. She took my hands when she was ready to depart, and gave her bright smile again.

“If we meet again, will you stay?” She had asked.

I nodded and plucked out the flowers for her, watched her run as fast as she could with the stain of the blood I got from my dad after mourning him.

And I never saw her again.

Yet every time I saw those flowers bloom in the back of my garden, I remembered what peace once felt like.

That’s where I found Nyx. Barefoot in the grass, her arms loosely crossed, her eyes locked on the flowers like she could feel the same thing as I did.

“Are they beautiful enough for you?” I asked, breaking the silence.

She flinched slightly, then turned her head.

“They are,” she said softly. “It’s strange… they look exactly like the flowers I grew up recognizing. It was the only thing I had with me when I arrived at the Crescent Moon Pack and they make me smile each time I look at them. It's like they cure sadness.”

I paused, surprised.

“Sadness?”

She nodded, still staring. “Yeah, staring at them… it feels like joy. Like something I want to stare at forever. I used to call it a charm but Zade never let me plant them. He said they made the pack look weak. I still can't make sense of that though.”

I chuckled low, and genuinely amused. “Zade would say that.”

“Why do you have them planted here? It's rare and no one knows about it. How do you have it?” She asked.

“Well… they grew by themselves. I just can't tell about the curing sadness part.”

“Why? You've never felt it? Is it just me then?” She asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

“No, no. I feel it too. Sometimes.” I responded.

She looked at me then, her brow furrowed. “Why all this, Caspian? The food.. the clothes… the space… is it pity? Because if it is, I don't want it.”

I stepped closer. “Is your trust that shattered, Nyx? That you can’t see… we both need each other?”

She didn’t give a response. Instead, she looked down, pulling her arms tighter around herself.

“I need to be alone.”

I'd rather not push, and I did exactly that. With hope that she would come around and everything would work according to my plans.

“Alright,” I said, stepping back. “Take your time.”

I turned away and walked out of the yard, stepping into the hallway, then I pulled out my phone as I walked a bit away so that no one could hear me.

“Karl,” I called.

“Yes, Alpha?” came his voice on the other end.

“Is it ready?”

“Everything you asked for.”

“Good,” I replied. “Now get the car from out of town. We leave by sundown.” I ordered and went to get ready.

Hours passed before Karl pulled up. I was already in motion when I heard hurried footsteps behind me. A soft thud followed and I turned.

Nyx stood there, her hand pressed against the car door, stopping it from closing. Her breathing was uneven, but her eyes—damn, those doe eyes.

“I’ll do it,” she said. “I’ll get you a cure. I don’t know how… but I will.”

My chest tightened.

“Finally,” I thought as I breath a sigh of relief.

And gave a warm smile.

I nodded once. “Alright. You do that. I need to get somewhere.”

I shut the door gently and Karl started the car. He stared ahead but smirked faintly. “She’s finally hopping in, right Alpha?”

I leaned back in my seat, watching the estate grow smaller behind us.

“She sure is,” I said with a smile.

“Soon everything will be back to normal."