Chapter 34

Raven

I was sitting in my room late that night, reading a book in bed, when a knock on my door suddenly jolted me out of my thoughts. I frowned as I stood and grabbed a nearby robe, tugging it around myself before opening the door.

Neil stood in the doorway, dressed all in black.

“Come with me,” he said quietly, his voice low as if he didn’t want anyone to hear.

I blinked, my hand still gripping the edge of the door. “What? Why?”

“You’ll see.” When I didn’t move, he added, “You still want to make that call, don’t you?”

That got my attention. Without another word, I threw on my leathers and my cloak, fastening it as I followed him into the dimly lit hallway. The castle was eerily silent at this hour, with only the flicker of torches and the occasional guard standing sentry.

We made our way outside toward the stables, where Neil’s massive black stallion waited, already saddled. I stopped, taking in the sight of the beast, its breath misting in the cold night air. It was a lot bigger than Penny, the gentle roan I’d been learning to ride on.

But before I could protest, Neil’s hands were suddenly on my waist, and he was lifting me effortlessly into the saddle as though I weighed nothing at all. He mounted behind me in one fluid motion, his chest pressing against my back as he reached around to take the reins.

“Hold on,” he murmured near my ear, his breath warm against my skin. His arm wrapped itself firmly around my waist, and then we were moving.

The night air bit at my cheeks, cold and crisp, as we ascended some sort of mountain path. The moon bathed everything in silver, casting long shadows across the rocky terrain. Higher and higher we went, leaving behind the flickering torchlight of the castle and the surrounding villages.

After what felt like an hour of riding, I shivered, pulling my cloak tighter around myself. “Where exactly are we going?”

“There is a spot up here,” Neil replied, his arm tightening slightly around me as we navigated a steep incline. “The altitude helps.”

I didn’t quite understand what he meant until we reached a small plateau, nestled high above the valley. The view stretched out below us, vast and empty, the distant castle lights flickering like tiny embers in the darkness. If I squinted, I thought I could just barely make out the distant red light of a cell tower on the horizon.

The Werewolf world. So close, yet so far away.

Neil slid off the horse first, then reached up to help me down.

I had barely regained my footing when I saw him pull something from his cloak—a small, outdated flip phone.

I stared at it in disbelief. “You have a phone?”

Neil’s lips twitched. “I had one smuggled in for this purpose.”

“But the service—”

“We are too far out for service most of the time,” he explained as he handed the phone to me, pointing in the direction of the flashing red light in the distance. “But up here, there is a slight signal due to the altitude. Make it quick.”

My hands trembled as I took the phone from him, my fingers fumbling as I quickly dialed the familiar number I knew by heart. The sound of the ringing echoed in my ears, and I bit my lip as I waited, wondering if my father was even awake.

“Hello?” My father’s voice finally crackled through the phone, and I nearly dropped the phone as a wave of a million different emotions suddenly ran through me—relief, heartache, fear.

“Daddy,” was all I could manage, my voice cracking.

“Raven? Is that you?” my father asked. “Where are you? I’ve been worried sick! Whose phone is this?”

“I’m fine,” I said quickly, blinking back tears. “I just… I needed some time. I’m sorry I didn’t call. I lost my phone.”

“Time? Raven, what’s going on, honey?”

I took a shaky breath, forcing myself to stay calm. “I’ve decided to extend my trip by a few months,” I said, managing to flood my voice with false cheeriness. “I just need to unplug, you know? Go off the grid. I was getting so sick of all the… bullshit.”

As I spoke, I glanced at Neil, who was still nearby. He was scratching his horse behind the ears, giving me a little bit of space.

“What?” My dad sounded concerned. “Raven, honey, if something’s wrong—”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I lied, managing a light chuckle. “I just need to unwind for a while, that’s all. But I’m having a nice time here. It’s… warm. And I’m making some friends.”

At that, Neil glanced up from beneath his eyebrows as if in surprise, but he remained silent.

There was a long pause before my father sighed and spoke again. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Nathan’s engagement, would it?”

The world seemed to tilt. “Engagement?” I repeated, my voice hardly more than a croak. “Nathan’s engaged?”

“To Dani,” my father said carefully. “It was announced last week. Caused quite a stir, considering everyone thought you two… I thought you knew, honey.”

His words faded into the background as something cold and dark coiled in my chest. Nathan. Engaged. The man who had cheated on me was now flaunting his new relationship for the world to see, less than two weeks after our breakup.

“How’s the perfume business going?” I suddenly asked, tears misting my eyes. My dad was my Chief Operations Officer, and I trusted him in that role with my life.

“Everything is fine,” my dad said, a hint of frustration in his voice at my blatant shift in topic. “Everything’s running smoothly. But Raven—”

“Good,” I said before he could finish. “Thank you for keeping an eye on things. I’ll try to call again when I can, but it might be a while.”

“Raven…” My dad sighed again. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

I swallowed hard, glancing over at Neil again. He wasn’t watching me anymore, although I knew he could hear me.

For a moment, I almost told my father everything. I almost told him to come and get me, to protect me. But I couldn’t, and it had nothing to do with the blood pact I’d made with Neil.

After hearing about Nathan and Dani…

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go back home. Not for a while, at least.

So when I said my next words, they were surprisingly true.

“I really am fine, Daddy,” I said, managing a small smile. “Don’t worry about me, okay? I’m just… doing my thing.”

There was a pause before my dad sighed again and said, “Alright, Raven. Enjoy your vacation, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.” My voice cracked again at that last word, but I quickly hung up the phone before he could say anything else. My hands were shaking as I handed the phone back to Neil.

He studied me for a moment, his eyes unreadable in the moonlight.

Then: “Who is Nathan?”

The question caught me off guard, but I quickly masked my reaction and tugged my cloak tighter around my shoulders to ward off the night chill.

“It’s not important,” I muttered, not really wanting to get into it. “Thank you for letting me make that call.”

Neil didn’t push further. He just gave a small nod before helping me back onto the horse.

We rode back to the castle in silence, the only sounds that of the horse’s hooves clopping against the path and the occasional night owl hooting in the distance.

By the time we returned to the castle, Neil was too exhausted to speak and my own heartache was sharp and burning. We said goodnight and went to our respective rooms, where I locked the door behind me and threw myself facedown onto the bed.

But I didn’t cry. Not a single tear.

Instead, I thought of Nathan—of him smiling beside Dani, his arm wrapped around her like nothing had ever happened between us.

And I thought of Dani—the girl who had once claimed to be my best friend, my only friend in a world of superficiality. Maybe I wouldn’t have been so surprised and hurt if Nathan had slept with anyone else, maybe I would have even expected it, but her? Why her?

As my mind whirled that night, I realized that I wasn’t even sad anymore. I wasn’t heartbroken that my relationship had ended. I was just…

Angry.