“And Kaldrek is fine with this now? Even after I—”
“Oh, he’s definitely not fine with it.” Heidara smiled slightly. “I’d suggest keeping your distance for a while, unless you have a death wish. I also managed to talk him out of killing Alaric, which seemed to piss him off even more. Especially after I told him you were right.”
Evelyne offered a small, sincere smile. “Thank you, Heidara. Truly. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you’d go to such lengths for people you barely know.” Though she was grateful, the words felt strange to say. Could she trust Heidara? Could she trust any of them when their alpha was still deciding whether to kill her friend in his sleep?
Heidara must have read the doubt shadowing her face, because she quickly reassured her, “Lorena says his wounds aren’t showing any signs of infection. And we have strict orders to check on him every few hours, just in case… Well, you know.”
Evelyne nodded. “Remind me to thank her later. And Holden? How is he?”
Heidara huffed, shaking her head. “Back to being an overprotective ass. He hit his head, but he’ll live. Unfortunately.”
A small laugh slipped from Evelyne’s lips, and the tension eased slightly. Heidara rummaged in her pack and pulled out a cropped leather vest and a slit skirt, tossing them to Evelyne.
“Change into these. The sun will be brutal today, and we won’t be making many stops.”
Evelyne held up the clothing. “You don’t shift to travel?”
“Normally, we do,” Heidara admitted, “but given the circumstances, we’re walking until we can find horses for you and Alaric. He says there’s a trading outpost east of here with stables.”
Naturally, Alaric was familiar with these lands as well. Evelyne whispered a silent prayer of gratitude to Charise Hallowell for guiding him to join her.
“Why is the pack heading north?” she asked.
“Kaldrek has his reasons, but I don’t think it’s my place to share them. That said, after last night’s attack, getting the hell out of the forest seems like a smart move.”
Evelyne nodded, choosing not to push further. “Thank you. Again.”
This time, she stepped forward and pulled Heidara into a hug. The shifter stiffened, caught off guard, but after a moment, she returned the embrace. And Evelyne realized, perhaps for the first time, that this was what the start of a real friendship felt like.
Chapter 31
Heidara hadn’t been exaggerating about the heat. Evelyne was grateful she had woven her hair into a long braid. At least it kept the sticky sweat from clinging to the back of her neck. The warmth still made the leather stifling, the material sticking uncomfortably to her skin. Yet, she had to admit, she didn’t miss the dresses, or the corsets.
Still, wearing a cropped leather vest that bared her stomach in front of others left her feeling exposed. Not that anyone seemed to notice, except for Alaric. The moment she approached the wooden sled to check on him, he bolted upright, his tired eyes widening slightly.
A familiar, flirty smirk curled his lips. “Lady Evelyne,” he drawled, his voice still hoarse from exhaustion. “You do wear leathers well.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and for a second, she had the urge to smack that smirk right off his face. But what struck her most was the absence of the usual fluttering warmth his voice used to stir in her. There was no racing pulse, no stolen breath, just the easy familiarity of friendship. And maybe that was all they should be now. Just friends. Whether he felt the same, she wasn’t sure.
The afternoon sun blazed mercilessly as they continued their trek, and Evelyne felt the burn of it across her forehead. Despite the canopy of trees, their path remained oddly exposed to the brutal sunlight. One of the elders must have noticed her struggle, because she tossed a thin cloth over her head—asmall mercy in the unforgiving heat.
She walked near the center of the pack, flanked by the elders. Kaldrek led the front, with Holden trailing close behind him. The woman beside her met Evelyne’s glance with a smile and a quiet explanation. The alpha and beta—Holden, as Evelyne now recognized—guided the front, while the pack’s elders and vulnerable remained safely nestled in the center. The strongest warriors and scouts took the rear, guarding the pack from behind.
Their structure and fierce loyalty to one another awakened something in Evelyne. A sense of respect, perhaps. And this, she’d come to learn, wasn’t the only pack in the eastern lands. There were dozens more, though most had gone into hiding or fallen under Vaelora’s control.
Curiosity burned within her, an eagerness to know more about the wolves and their world. But exhaustion pressed down on her shoulders, reminding her she’d need her strength to keep going. She silently thanked the fact that she’d been an active runner back home—she would have collapsed by now if she’d spent her days lounging in parlors and sipping tea like many women of her standing.
She found herself thinking of Caltheris, of her father and Seraphine. Was he still looking for Cillian? Was he looking for her? And how was Seraphine taking her absence? She would have given anything for her handmaid’s calming presence.
A painful twist in her stomach pulled her back to the present—hunger. How were they still walking? She couldn’t remember anyone stopping to eat or even to relieve themselves. Heidara had warned her they wouldn’t take many breaks, but she hadn’t expected this relentless pace. If they didn’t stop soon, she would drop on the forest floor.
Heidara jogged up from the back of the pack, falling into step beside Evelyne with ease. “How are you holding up?” she asked.
Evelyne eyed her suspiciously. Not a single sign of exhaustion. Just a little sweat glistening on her sun-kissed skin. Meanwhile, Evelyne was pretty sure she looked like she had been dragged through hell and back.
“I’m still standing,” she panted, pushing a stray strand of hair from her face.
Heidara smiled. “Impressive.”
