Chapter 51 51

Chapter 51 51
Eve's POV

I slid out of Rygar's arms carefully, slowly, so as not to wake him up. 

I've got to say, at this point, I have mastered this sneaking out of Rygar's arms thing. 

I stopped to watch the slow rise and fall of his chest. His face in sleep was softer, younger, almost boyish.

Oh, I love him. I love him so much that it made my chest ache.

This man trusted me.

Loved me.

Claimed me before his entire pack.

And here I was, already planning to steal my way into the night again.

A bitter thought whispered that maybe betrayal was the only thing I was truly good at in this world.

Maybe I can't escape my villainy.

I sat at the edge of the bed, staring into the dimness of the chamber. The fire had burned low, leaving shadows licking the walls.

Skara's words replayed in my head.

I can help you get your life back.

My life.

Stanford lecture halls.

My phone, buzzing with notifications.

Late-night instant noodles and trashy werewolf novels I paid coins to unlock.

My messy, ordinary, modern life.

A life where I wasn't a pawn in prophecy, politics, or pack hatred.

I swallowed hard.

And like an idiot, I had told her to go fuck herself before hearing everything.

I pressed my fingers to my temples.

Why was I like this? Pottymouthed and impatient.

If I had just let her finish…

If I had just listened…

Now the pack was divided because of me. Rygar was under pressure. Garrick wants my head. The people want justice for old grudges I didn't even commit. To them, I was Ravena, the daughter of Lithuan, the cursed lineage, the political stain.

Not Eve Jones.

Just Ravena.

Even Rygar's love felt like it was standing on thin ice. Don't get me wrong. I never doubt his love for me. But I feel like this love is one crack away from plunging me into a horrible death.

Did I believe love could survive power, politics, and pack rage?

I didn't know.

I'm too young for all this shit.

And guess what, it's that uncertainty that is killing me. 

I don't know what will happen to me next. I've escaped death countless times, just been here. Feels like every bwing in this place is connniving to bring me down. 

I have imagined it over and over, and now I can't sleep: the day the pressure became too much. The day everyone will revokt and Garrick will bank on that to set a rebellion in motion. Rygar will be forced to choose between his mate and his pack.

If he chose me, he risked rebellion and death like Aria said. 

If he chose them, I lost my head.

Either way, he suffers.

And I… I don't want to die.

I hugged myself.

Skara had said annul the marriage. She needed it undone. She wanted something tied to Rygar. I didn't fully understand it, but I understood this: she can help me out of here before things get really crazy.

She knew who I was.

She knew my past.

She knew my world.

That alone made her my only possible way out.

A terrible guide, yes.

A blood moon witch, yes.

But also a door.

And right now, I was trapped in a burning house pretending the flames were just warm light.

I couldn't wait or sit pretty, hoping fate would be kind.

Fate had already thrown me into this hostile universe; kindness clearly wasn't its brand.

I stood.

The cold floor kissed my feet as I moved quietly around the room. I dressed in the simplest garments I could find, and I looked back at Rygar one last time.

A guilt I couldn't name twisted in my stomach.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, though he couldn't hear me.

Sorry for not being Ravena.

Then I slipped out.

The corridors were quiet at this hour. Guards were fewer near the Alpha chambers because they didn't want to risk prying into our business. 

No one imagined the Alpha's mate would be the one sneaking out at night.

I kept my head low and steps soft, copying the stealth I'd seen warriors use. 

But no one stopped me.

The night air hit my face when I finally crossed beyond the main structures. 

My heart raced harder the farther I went.

Once I passed the pack boundary markers, the invisible line of safety vanished, and a strange loneliness crept in. 

I should have been terrified.

Instead, my heart hardened. I need to do this.

And as if the universe heard my musings all night long, I stepped forward, planning to weave my way through the deep forest before me when,

I saw her.

Her dark-cloaked figure stood ahead in the clearing.

Back turned to me.

Waiting.

Like she knew I would come.

Like she had always known.

My breath caught.

My steps slowed.

There was no mistaking the presence.

Skara was here.