Chapter 219
ELENA
The car hummed steadily beneath us, eating up the endless miles
I sat stiffly in the back seat, arms crossed tightly over my chest, w
Derek sat beside me, his presence filling the small space even tho
When I’d told him about Maggie’s request, I hadn’t expected him
And though I hadn’t fought him enough to cut glass.
on it
some small part of
me gra
Neither of us could pretend things were normal.
Not after what the Priestess had said. Not after the soul–binding t glanced at each other.
The silence stretched long and brittle. Even Nox, usually restless
I shifted in my seat, trying to unkink the muscles in my lower back
The maximum security facility wasn’t close to anything–it was b village.
Isolation. Security.
Control.
All the things the Alpha Council Guard valued most.
By the time the car finally crunched up the long gravel drive to the stewing in my own thoughts.
We climbed out, stretching stiff muscles, and approached the mai
The guard at the booth was a thick–shouldered woman with a buzz suspicious packages left unattended in an airport.
“We’re here to see Maggie Thorn,” I said, forcing my yoice to stay
The woman didn’t blink.
“Visiting hours are over,” she said flatly. “You’ll have to return to
I opened my mouth to argue–but Derek beat me to it.
He stepped forward, pulling himself to his full imposing height,
“I’m the Alpha of Silverclaw,” he said, voice low and hard. “And th exception.”
The woman’s eyebrows barely twitched.
“We follow Alpha Council protocols here, sir,” she said crisply. “N
Derek’s jaw flexed.
For a second, I thought he might actually try to pull rank harder-
Smart.
Chapter 219
ELENA
The car hummed steadily beneath us, eating up the endless miles of asphalt stretching toward the northern border.
pines blur past the windows in shadowy smears.
I sat stiffly in the back seat, arms crossed tightly over my chest, watching the
Derek sat beside me, his presence filling the small space even though he hadn’t said much in hours.
When I’d told him about Maggie’s request, I hadn’t expected him to insist
on
And though I hadn’t fought him on it–some small part of me grateful for hi enough to cut glass.
Neither of us could pretend things were normal.
Not after what the Priestess had said. Not after the soul–binding truth glanced at each other.
coming with me. But he had.
Ss–the tension between us was sharp
still sang between us whenever we so much as
The silence stretched long and brittle. Even Nox, usually restless and brimming with commentary, stayed unnervingly quiet.
I shifted in my seat, trying to unkink the muscles in my lower back. It had taken all day to get here.
The maximum security facility wasn’t close to anything–it was buried deep in the mountains, miles from the nearest pack village.
Isolation. Security.
Control.
All the things the Alpha Council Guard valued most.
By the time the car finally crunched up the long gravel drive to the iron gates, my nerves were raw from exhaustion and hours of
stewing in my own thoughts.
We climbed out, stretching stiff muscles, and approached the main checkpoint.
The guard at the booth was a thick–shouldered woman with a buzzed haircut and piercing blue eyes. She eyed us like we were suspicious packages left unattended in an airport.
“We’re here to see Maggie Thorn,” I said, forcing my yoice to stay calm.
The woman didn’t blink.
“Visiting hours are over,” she said flatly. “You’ll have to return tomorrow.”
I opened my mouth to argue–but Derek beat me to it.
入金
He stepped forward, pulling himself to his full imposing height,
”
“I’m the Alpha of Silverclaw,” he said, voice low and hard. “And this is Princess of Moonstone. I suggest you make an exception.”
The woman’s eyebrows barely twitched.
“We follow Alpha Council protocols here, sir,” she said crisply. “Not regional pack politics.”
Derek’s jaw flexed,
For a second, I thought he might actually try to pull rank harder–but then he exhaled sharply and stepped back.
Smart.
The last thing we needed was to get thrown off the property altogether.
The woman’s expression didn’t change.
“Return tomorrow. Gates open at eight.”
With that, she turned back into her booth and buzzed the gates firmly shut behind her.
I blew out a breath and rubbed a hand over my face.
“Great,” I muttered.
Derek shot me a sideways glance, his own frustration barely contained.
“Let’s find a hotel,” he said. “And something to eat.”
***
The hotel was a low, nondescript building tucked into a bend of the main road, its neon sign buzzing faintly against the deepening dusk.
We booked two rooms without incident.
The clerk didn’t even blink at the sight of two wolves checking in together but asking for separate keys.
Small mercies.
After tossing our bags in the rooms–side by side, the thin walls offering no real privacy–we wandered across the lot to a diner that smelled of burnt coffee and fried food.
Neither of us spoke much at first. We slid into a booth by the window, menus sagging between us.
I ordered something at random. Derek ordered coffee. Black.
The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable exactly.
Just… heavy.
Like we were both carrying too many things neither of us knew how to put down.
When the waitress disappeared to get our food, I leaned back in the booth, staring out the window into the falling night.
“I’m worried,” I said quietly.
“Worried about Maggie?”
I nodded.
“About what they might do to her. What they might pin on her,” I added. “And about…” I trailed off, pressing my lips together.
“Everything,” I finished lamely.
Derek sipped his coffee, watching me over the rim of the mug.
“You’ve been carrying a lot alone,” he said.
