bChapter /b46

bNyssa /bpov

“This bcake /bbis /bbreally /bgood!” I nodded in approval bas /bI took another bbite/b. “Chef’s outdone himself bagain/b. No wonder he’s my bfavorite /bin the packhouseb.” /b

I bpaused/b, the fork still in my mouthb, /bthen turned to Serene with a bdeadly /bserious look. “Don’t btell /bmy bfather /band uncles bthat/bb./bb” /b

Her beye /bbtwitched/bb, /bbdisbelief /bbclear /bon her face, but she said nothing. After everything with Kieran and Ariab, /bbI /bwas bfinally /bin bed, rxing and enjoying cake. It felt… nice.

“Do you want me to bring more, missb?/bb” /bshe asked.

I shook my head and waved a handzily in the air.

“No, this bis /bfine. I’ve already had three slices- any more and I’ll be bloated.”

Serene visibly rxed, letting out a small sigh of relief. But then I smirked.

“Orb… /bshould I just eat two more since I’m already going to be bloated anyway?”

Her eyes widened in horror and I chuckled at her expression.

“I’m just joking, I’m just joking,” Iughed, popping thest bite of cake into my mouth. I ced the empty te back on the tray and wiped the crumbs from my lips.

That was delicious. I couldn’t even remember thest time I had cake in my past life. I stretched with a satisfied sigh and leaned back on the bed,pletely rxed.

“Miss,” Serene’s voice gently called out, drawing my attention. I raised a brow, noticing how she dipped her head respectfully.

“Thank you, miss… for today. I’m really grateful for the gift. I loved the ne,” she said, beaming, her eyes practically sparkling. “The otherdies said it’s one of the trending ones right now–and very expensive.”

I couldn’t help but smile back at her, though I shrugged it off like it was nothing.

“Of course, it’s nothing,” I said, but my chest puffed up with pride anyway. It was definitely something. The ne had sold out everywhere, and I had to pay twice the original price to get it from one of the nobledies. I shivered just thinking about how that amount could’ve easily bought a small home. Still… it was worth it. It was for Serene- myst gift to her.

“Miss, bplease /btake this.” She opened her palm and revealed two items: the potion Zayn had given her earlier, and the white- bjadrne /bthe king had personally bestowed upon her.

bI /bbraised /ba browb, /bconfused. Why was she giving these back?

bSeeing /bthe question in my eyes, Serene quickly added, “Please ept them. You seemed to really like the potion, Miss, and… the Alpha told me the ne is more precious than words can exin. He said there’s only one of its kind.”

“One of bits /bkindb?/bb” /b

I frowned and leaned bcloser/bb, /bmy eyes fixed on the ne. Without thinking twiceb, /bI reached out and took it in my hand for a closer look. But the moment my fingers touched it, I hissed in pain- the dagger tattoo on my hand burned fiercely, glowing brightly against my skin and forcing me to drop the ne back into her palm.

Still frowning, bI /braised my hand band /bbstared /bbat /bbthe /bbtattoo/bb, /bbwatching /bas its bright luster bfaded /bbback /bbito /i/bbits /bbusual /bbdull /bbcolor/b. This was the bsecond /bbtime /bbit /bbhad /bbburned /blike bthat- /bbthe /bbfirst /bwas when I bhad /bsensed She bfor /bthe first timeb. /bbAnd /bbnow /bthis? What was bgoing /bbon/bb? /b

“Miss? bAre /bbyou /bbokay/bb?/bb” /bbSerene /basked, her bvoiceced /bbwith /bbconcern/b.

I blinked out of my bdaze /band bforced /ba smile, nodding casually.

b“/bbYes/bb, /bI’m bfine/b. And I don’t need those things. bThey’re /bnot mineb, /bthey belong to you–so don’t try to give them to meb, /balright?”

b“/bbB/bb–/bbut-” she began to argueb, /bbut I shot her ba /bstern look. She immediately closed her mouth and lowered her head without another word.

I hadn’t asked them to give Serene gifts just for her to hand them bback/b.

“What about Cassian’s gift? What did he give you? And did Drake get you something too?” I asked, curiosity piqued by what the king’s Beta and Gamma bhad /bchosen.

Her cheeks flushed a soft red as she nodded, then reached into her bag and pulled out two identical bbracelets/b.

“These were the gifts from Sir Cassian and Sir Drake. They’re exactly the same,” she said, clearly fighting backughter.

I blinked at them, momentarily confused, then shook my head. The bracelet was undeniably pretty–and expensive–looking but I had a feeling they hadn’t nned on gifting her the same thing.

Why? Because if you searched “gift for younger girls” on Google, this would probably be the first result to pop up. How did I know? Well, I’d done the same thing. I just happened to have more time to research and ended up choosing something a bit more thoughtful.

“They’re both pretty. At least one is pink and the other is blue, so you can wear them together,” I said with a smile, earning a soft chuckle from Serene.

After chatting for a while, she eventually left the room, leaving me alone.

Once she was gone, I drew in a sharp breath and got up from the bed, walking over to the drawer. I opened it slowly and pulled out a pink scarf, my eyes settling on it with a deepening frown.

bAria’s /bscarf. The damning piece of evidence that would link her to my murder tomorrow–along with Kieran’s ring.

I bstared /bdown at the ring and scarf in my hand and sighed, fingers tightening slightly before I ced them both in my bdrawer/b.

Hands on my waist, I stood still, staring nkly into nothing.

bJust /bone more night.

One final night before the day everything ends.

Before I die.

I wanted to do something fun and exciting for myst night.

I breached /bout, rubbing my chin in thought bas /bbI /bconsidered the possibilities. Slowly, an idea began to take shape in my mind, and before I knew it, a grin tugged at the corners of my lips, my eyes lighting up with excitement.

bMaybe /bit bwasn’t /bsuch a bad idea bto /bbsee /bwhat color my wolf was. And more than that–maybe bI /bcould shift and take a run through the woods.

Just bonce/bb. /b

Before everything bfell /bbapart/bb, /bbefore bI /bbactually /bdied, I wanted to bfeel /bthat rush–the wild freedom of my bpaws /bgliding bover /bthe

earth.

b“/bbShe/bb,/bb” /bI murmured bunder /bmy breath, “wanna bgo /bfor a runb?/bb” /b