CHAPTER 85

CHAPTER 85
"Dara!" I grab her wrist and yank her toward me.
We don't wait to see what it is. We run. Twigs crack beneath our feet while thorny vines lash against my legs. My lungs burn almost immediately, still protesting after the punishment Cassian forced me through earlier that day, but I grit my teeth and keep going. I don't dare look back.
"Damn it..." I pant, nearly stumbling over a thick root protruding from the ground.
Dara catches my arm before I can fall. "This way!" she cries, pulling me toward a narrower trail that snakes between ancient trees.
"What is that?" I gasp between breaths.
"I don't know!" Dara answers, her voice shaking. "I've lived here my whole life and I've never heard anything like it!"
Neither have I. My wolf, who has faced warriors, survived torture, and endured my father's brutal training, is trembling.
Faster!
Her panic slams into my mind.
Don't let it catch us!
"I am trying!" I hiss back under my breath and then a deafening crash erupts somewhere to our left. 
Whatever is chasing us isn't even trying to move quietly anymore. It's bulldozing through the forest!
"Dara!" I shout. "Split up!"
"No!"
"If it follows one of us, the other can get help!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
She refuses so fiercely that I don't argue again. There isn't time. The moonlight finally spills onto a wider clearing ahead, and relief nearly makes my knees buckle.
"The packhouse!" Dara cries.
"Almost there!" I yell.
"We made it!" Dara gasps.
I brace my hands on my knees, my chest rising and falling so violently it feels like my ribs might crack.
"I..." Dara pants. "I thought... we will be dead!” 
"So did I." I straighten slowly and glance toward the woods, afraid that it would keep following us.  "Where did it go?" I murmur.
Before Dara can answer, slow applause echoes across the courtyard. I whip around.
Nico stands near one of the stone pillars with his hands tucked casually into his pockets, laughing so hard he's practically doubled over. Beside him, Jaxon pinches the bridge of his nose like he's regretting every life decision that has led him to this exact moment.
"What," I say through clenched teeth, "is so funny?"
Nico wipes a tear from the corner of his eye. "You."
My eyebrow twitches. "Excuse me?"
"You should have seen your faces!" he wheezes between laughs. "I've never seen anyone run that fast in my life!” 
Dara blinks in confusion. "What are you talking about, Beta?"
Nico points toward the forest behind us. "The monster."
My stomach drops. "You know about it?"
"Oh, I know it very well."
A strange mechanical whirring suddenly echoes from beyond the trees. A second later, something large rolls out of the darkness. Dara lets out another terrified squeak and instinctively hides behind me. I prepare to fight...until moonlight reveals polished black metal instead of fur.
The thing standing in front of us isn't alive. It's a machine!
Four mechanical legs support a sleek steel body roughly the size of a wolf. Crimson lights glow where eyes should be, and hidden joints hum softly as it moves with eerie precision. The moment it reaches the courtyard, it stops.
Its glowing eyes blink twice. Then its tail...actually wags. Dara and I stare at it.  Finally, Jaxon clears his throat.
"I suppose," he says with an exhausted sigh, "this is the part where I explain before someone murders my brother."
He walks toward the mechanical creature and pats its metal head. The machine emits a cheerful electronic chirp.
"Nico imported it from the human territories a few weeks ago," Jaxon explains. "He said he wanted something that could patrol the eastern forest at night."
I slowly turn my head toward Nico. "You chased us...with a robot?"
He grins."It works beautifully, doesn't it?"
My eye twitches again.
"It has thermal sensors," Jaxon continues apologetically. "Motion tracking. Voice simulation. We have been modifying it for days."
"The howl is my favorite feature," Nico says proudly. "Terrifying, isn't it?"
Dara's jaw falls open. "You nearly gave us heart attacks!"
"I know!" Nico beams. "Success!"
I shoot both of them a withering glare. Honestly, I have no idea what's wrong with the Valiente triplets. They are the most unserious men I have ever met. Seriously? Robots to patrol the pack? What kind of idea is that?
"Whatever," I mutter, waving a dismissive hand before walking away.
Neither of them seems offended. If anything, they laugh even harder and their laughter follows Dara and me all the way back toward the packhouse. By the time we reach the servants' quarters, we're laughing too. The fear from earlier slowly melts away, replaced by sheer disbelief over how ridiculous the whole situation turns out to be.
"So..." I ask after closing the door behind us. "Are you sleeping here tonight?"
Dara glances toward the empty bed before nodding. "I think so. The maid assigned to the other room is staying with her family tonight anyway, so nobody will mind."
After changing into our sleeping clothes, we climb onto our beds. Neither of us feels sleepy anymore. The excitement from our late-night adventure has completely chased away any chance of resting. Naturally, our conversation drifts back to the incident in Alpha Cassian's office.
"The fight with Erin..." Dara says, shaking her head. "I still can't believe you actually headbutted her."
"Oh, don't remind me." I groan, burying my face in my own pillow. "I thought I broke her nose."
"You did."
"I mean... permanently.”
Dara laughs again. 
"You know..." I murmur.
"Hmm?"
"I've been thinking."
Dara immediately turns to look at me.
"That sentence usually ends with trouble."
"It probably does."
She sighs dramatically. "Go on."
I fold my arms behind my head and grin at the ceiling.
"I think..." I let the silence stretch just long enough to make her impatient. "I should seduce Alpha Cassian for real.” 
Dara bolts upright. "What?"
"You heard me."
"No!" She points a finger at me. "Repeat it because I refuse to believe those words just came out of your mouth, Vivienne!” 
"I think I should seduce the Alpha,” I repeat. 
She blinks several times. Then she reaches over and places the back of her hand against my forehead. "You're delirious!” 
I swat her hand away. "I'm serious, okay?” 
"Vivienne!"
"What?"
"You've completely lost your mind!"
I shrug. “Maybe."
She stares at me in absolute disbelief. “He is engaged, Vivienne. He is different from his brothers,” she warns. 
"I'm just thinking strategically."
"There is nothing strategic about flirting with the Alpha!"
"There is if it drives Erin insane."
Dara opens her mouth, and then she closes it again. "You know what?" she finally says. "That's actually terrifying. Aren’t you scared to provoke her even more?” 
"Hey, don’t worry about me,” I assure her. 
"You would really do it?"
I roll onto my side and prop my head up with one hand. "I don't even have to try very hard."
She narrows her eyes. "What does that mean?"
I smirk. "Erin already believes I'm trying to steal him."
"She is just being paranoid,” she states. 
“Or maybe a little bit insecure with my beauty,” I wink.  “Just imagine her reaction, Dara. Will she cry?”
Dara groans and throws her pillow straight at my face. "You are going to get yourself killed!” 
"I've almost been killed several times already."
The idea might be reckless and completely insane but one thing is certain.  If Erin wants to make my life miserable every single day simply because I'm Cassian's mate...then perhaps it's time I give her a reason to be worried.