Chapter Seventy–Two 

“...What‘s her name?” I found myself asking politely, though I didn‘t really feel present. 

Truthfully, I didn‘t feel much of anything. My body had gone completely numb, falling into autopilot responses as I struggled to come to terms with what Cai had just told me. 

He found his mate. 

But he was only nineteen. He shouldn‘t have found her so soon. 

‘Caius knight dies at the age of twenty–one with no Luna, mate or child‘. That was the future for Cail had known. Yet somehow this timeline had changed enough that he had met her earlier. It was a cruel slap in the face as reality reminded me, once more, that it would refuse to ever let me be happy. Even for just the few years I thought I might have had with him. 

“Caitlyn,” he replied awkwardly. “She seems... nice. Sweet.” 

‘Nice? Really? That was the best he could say about the woman who was supposedly his other half? His soul mate? 

I wanted to ask him how they met but a part of me couldn‘t bear to hear any more details. Knowing her name would be enough. 

Aria,” he said, tilting my chin up to look at him, to meet his golden eyes. “It doesn‘t change anything for m e... I still want to be with you.” 

Instantly, my body tensed, the gears in my head finally starting to kick back into reality. His words managed to trigger a pain inside me that I was all too familiar with, something I had tried so hard to push t o the furthest part of my mind. It was almost exactly like it was in the past. 

...Except I wasn‘t the girl being abandoned by her mate anymore. 

No, now I was being set up to become Thea. 1 

“No,” I said flatly, grabbing the keys and dagger by my side to leave. “No, I‘m not doing this.” 

Aria, wait. Talk to me.” 

I stood up and started to walk towards the car but Cai quickly rushed to stand in my way

Aria, please. Can we just talk about this for a second?” 

“No, this was dumb from the beginning,” I said. “And I‘m not just referring to us. I mean this whole plan for my escape too. It‘s rushed and clumsy.” 

“We‘ve got everything sorted. We‘ll get you back to the Silver Lake and take care of you.” 

There it was again. No insinuation of moving me, no mention of Iris or the rebellion. As if he thought everyone wasn‘t going to just assume that the Silver Lake was the first place I‘d go. 

“Tell me, Cai, what exactly was the plan? Do you even have one?” I asked, folding my arms over my chest. “I was under the impression you were working with Iris for this but I‘m quickly realising that maybe that‘s not the case.” 

He frowned. “Why would I be in contact with Iris for this? I haven‘t seen her since last year.” 

A cynical laugh escaped my lips. “This is actually ridiculous. The first place Tytus is going to look is the Silver Lake, especially once Aleric is forced to confess that info. Then we‘re back to square one; avoiding a war between two territories because of me.” 

Lilapler Seventy Two 

“Then we‘ll move you,” he argued. “We can go somewhere else until it‘s safe.” 

“Just the three of us, yeah?” I snapped back snarkily. “You, me, and Caitlyn?” 

face flashed with pain but I didn‘t feel bad. He should have never touched me tonight knowing he had someone bonded to him. I was too familiar with the anguish of seeing

it out myself. Go home, Cai,” I said, stepping past him

or desperation, I felt as Cai then grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me

I was pissed. Not because he had a mate; that was always going to be a possibility and I had already accepted that. No, I was pissed because he still had the audacity to look at me and tell me that he wanted

exact situation already

me, my

quickly bring the

touch me,” I

hand away without

he said, his eyes flicking back and forth

had meant to come off as appealing to the side of me that still cared for him, but now they only came off as though

my hand tightened on the

think I wouldn‘t do it?” I asked him, my eyes narrowing with the threat. “You‘re so sure,

knew he was right. There was no way I would actually do it and he was trying to call that bluff. But in that moment, I

fact he could even ask that of me made me feel sick. It made me regret so many of my

it was a reminder of who I really was, what I was actually capable of, something he was

came from. Never forget

didn‘t wait. With my spare hand, I grabbed at his shirt and pulled his torso down so I

I whispered. “You shouldn‘t test someone who

are you

Knight, Alpha of the Silver Lake. Our packs were at war for months, neither one gaining

could look him in the eye. “Because of me,” I said.

in my chest as I confessed the words! never wanted him to hear. “... I did it for

the attention he had so brutally deprived me olu! That was what your life was wortii, Cai. That is why I killed you.

us spoke, just my words hanging in

for me, just a version of me I‘d let him see. Not some young, tormented girl he met in high school... but a killer. Someone who had wiped more territories off the map just from within her own quarters, than he had ever visited

through with it; to sever that tie that had become a lifeline for me. Cai had become a symbol in my head of what I had always hoped my life would

And it was time to wake up and acknowledge that this wasn‘t a fantasy, that

go of that delusion and prevent a cycle

trying to move the

was so typical of him to not just force it out of my hand and push me away already. He could have overpowered me within seconds without any effort on his part... but he was trying not to hurt me, Somehow after everything I said, he was still

pressed the knife in further, trying to prove my point. Because, even though I didn‘t want to, needed him to at least believe I would, to take me seriously, and

you want to make it two for two?” I asked darkly.

to his side, acknowledging that

m e with those eyes. As if I hadn‘t

smart enough to realise that he should let m e go. Or at least take this as my confirmation that I didn‘t want to be involved with him anymore; even though a part of my

away from him, taking a few steps backwards to

Cai,” I said, my voice finally betraying my exhaustion. “Go home

I left.

the key in the ignition, and

yet I realised that all paths ahead were likely the wrong choice. And so I just

Chapter Seventy–Two 

second. 

no time to relax or give in to the

so, doing my best to compartmentalise the aching inside, I tried to focus on what to do

the world... and Tytus. There was no safety for me. Not really. Maybe

who was in contact with Iris, one person who I could trust

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