****************
CHAPTER 16
~Rhiannon's POV~
After breakfast, I didn't return to my room like Kael ordered.
I waited.
Waited by the corridor just long enough to hear the clicking of boots, the shuffle of uniforms, the raised voices of warriors being summoned to the outer gate.
From this point, I knew I had to either hide or use my room to view the chaos going on without drawing unwanted attention in my direction.
With that, I left the dining room and moved to my room. As soon as I was in, I made my way to the balcony outside my room, overlooking the front of the pack house.
From here, I watched two black cars roll in and servants scatter like ants to meet them.
Then I saw it—white banners hanging above the garden arches, strings of lanterns and silver cloth dancing in the wind.
"Someone's birthday," I muttered. "Perfect."
It was the distraction I needed now that every part of the pack was focused outward, for once, not on me.
However, I knew I had to deal with the two significant problems outside my door. Following Kael's earlier orders, they guarded me day and night.
My first thought was to go down the classic old fairytale style, using the window and blankets, but I knew better than to attract the attention of all the guards and servants.
I shook my head.
"How about you knock them out?" Ravyn suggested.
"No, can't do. They are way bigger than me."
"And you are an alpha she-wolf. I can easily take them out."
"And risk being found out? No."
Ravyn was right about my strength but I knew I couldn't take them down without causing much disturbance, then all my plans would be for nought.
My feet moved of their own accord and soon I was pacing the length of my room, thinking of ways to escape.
"Should I request a servant and have them come into my room?"
"And what good would that do you?" Ravyn scoffed.
"Simple… I knock them out and trade clothes, then escape as a servant."
Although she was silent, I sensed her approval through our connection.
"Okay, that's the plan," I stated. I moved towards the servant's bell on the wall and was about to ring it when suddenly a sharp, deep voice called out outside my door.
"You, you there."
"Sir? Us?"
"Yes, follow me."
"But we have our orders to… and we need to…"
"And we need more warriors guarding the guest Alphas. Let's go."
My lips pulled back in a smile when I heard the sound of unhurried footsteps outside my door.
Bingo.
I didn't hesitate more than I needed to. I took the small dagger they gave me, wore a few jewels in my pocket and left.
My door wasn't locked. I slipped out quietly. No one noticed or stopped me.
The maids were distracted, flitting in and out, whispering about the high-ranking guests the Alphas had and the birthday of one of the guests.
Two outsiders meant distractions, loose eyes and weak schedules.
A breeze carried faint music from beyond the northern wing, laughter, footsteps, voices—dozens of them.
And the moment I reached the east wing service passage, I ran.
There were no guards or warriors here.
I moved like smoke between hedges, ducking behind trimmed shrubs, following the curve of the stone path until I found it—an opening near the eastern fence that led into the forest beyond.
It was quieter here, the trees thicker and the path overgrown but still visible.
I ran.
My boots barely made a sound and my breath stayed even. Ravyn buzzed in my head, half-thrilled, half-anxious.
"We're doing it," she gossiped. "We're close."
Branches whipped past, and the last of the estate fell behind. I could already feel the border ahead, just past that final stretch of trees. Just a few more strides and…
A hand shot out of nowhere, yanked me sideways by the waist, and slammed me into something, a nearby tree.
I gasped, ready to scream, when a hand clamped over my mouth.
"No sound," a familiar voice murmured in my ear. "Just look."
My ears perked up at that voice. Darian.
At the same time, my eyes widened, and for a second, I almost fought him, until he tilted my chin forward.
A small, blue butterfly, glowing faintly in the morning light, fluttered lazily in the direction I'd been running… and then, halfway across the last tree line, it hit something.
Something invisible.
With a soundless crack, it disintegrated mid-air, reduced to ash that fell like dust.
My heart lurched, and my body stilled.
Within seconds, the air shimmered barely and a thin membrane rippled across the line like glass catching sunlight, then blinked out of sight.
"What the hell…?" I whispered.
Darian pulled his hand back slowly from my mouth. "You were two seconds from slamming straight into the barrier."
I turned sharply, breathing hard as anger rose beneath the panic. "You were following me?"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, his green eyes studied mine, too close, too intense. His chest rose and fell in time with mine.
His wolf pushed closer, just beneath the surface, till I felt him before I saw him. His energy licked at my skin like a second presence.
"You were going to leave," he said quietly, voice laced with something between disappointment and awe.
"Maybe I still am," I shot back.
His hand brushed my arm. "After that? You wouldn't have made it ten steps."
"I didn't ask for a cage with fancy curtains," I snapped.
His jaw twitched, but he didn't pull away. Instead, his fingers slipped to my waist, his head dipping slightly forward.
Our faces were inches apart.
"You don't have to like this," Darian murmured, "but you're not leaving without knowing what you're walking into."
I stared at him, breath faltering as the space between us seemed to vanish. My heart pounded in my chest—loud, disoriented, like it wasn't sure whether to flee or fall.
Darian was close, too close.
His presence wrapped around me like heat, like gravity, pulling me in before I could remember why I should resist. My brain whispered warnings but I registered none.
Would he help me escape, or hand me over? I wasn't sure I cared.
While my thoughts were busy forming, his eyes locked onto mine fiercely, and the intensity in those emerald eyes made it hard to breathe. I could feel his wolf right beneath the surface, pressing against me without even touching.
Our lips didn't touch, but they could have. His breath brushed mine, eyes flickering down to my mouth and Darian leaned in slowly as if pulled by an invisible string.
I blinked, but I couldn't look away.
My gaze dropped to his lips—just for a second—and everything in me tilted forward without meaning to. Like I'd forgotten the trees, the escape, the risk.
Forgotten why I came here or how I got there. All I could feel was the pull.
And that terrified me more than any barrier ever could.
I drew a sharp breath and turned my head just enough to break the moment. "Don't," I whispered, throat tight. "Don't try to confuse me."
Darian stilled, the heat between us flickering but not fading. "You think this is confusion?" he murmured.
"I think you're dangerous when you're quiet," I snapped softly, though it came out more like a plea than a warning. "And I need my head clear."
His lips parted as if to say something else, but that was when a voice barked from deeper in the trees.
"Who's there?!"