We moved through the town, and Elias was walking quickly, not sticking to a straight path. We kept turning onto different streets and looping around for a while. I didn’t know what he was trying to do, but I trusted


    him to get us out safely.


    “What happened to all of your cars?” I asked.


    “Most of the other pack members took them, and a few got destroyed during the attack,” he said.


    “I can’t believe they found your pack. Elias, this is all because of me. Wouldn’t it be easier if you were just


    alone?” I asked, stopping in ce. He nced around at everything nearby before easing up a bit<b>, </b>stepping


    closer to me, and cing his hands on my arms.


    “Lyra. You’re my mate. I’m not going to leave you. If it means giving up my whole pack and making Luke


    the Alpha so I can keep you safe, then that’s what I’ll do,” he said.


    “Why? You don’t even really know me. You could reject me anytime you want. Honestly, I’m shocked you


    haven’t already,” I said.


    “Because I’d never do that. You don’t just need someone–if I walked away, I’d spend my whole life


    wondering if you were okay. I’d miss you forever. No one else could ever take your ce. Not for me,” he said, looking right into my eyes.


    “I just don’t understand. No one’s ever cared about me before,” I said. <fn9ce0> For original chapters go to f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fn9ce0>


    “Well, that was them. I’m not them. You’re everything to me,” he said. I gave him a nod so he’d know I


    understood what he was trying to tell me.


    He leaned in and kissed me, then wrapped me in a hug again. He could tell I was still uneasy and guilty about the trouble he was in because of me. But he was doing all he could to show me how much I


    mattered to him.


    We had to keep moving, and we kept weaving through the town until we finally made it to the highway. But fields surrounded us again, making us feel exposed, though we could spot the forest up ahead. That was


    our goal–we needed its cover.


    Once we got to the woods, we were able to slow down a bit. My legs were sore from how fast we’d been


    going, but we knew we weren’t out of danger yet. I kept wondering what else my father had in store for me. He already had witches and creatures under his control–ones I used to think were just myths. Realizing they were actually real was unsettling. It made me question what other things might be real. And what else could still being.


    It was honestly terrifying. But I didn’t want Elias to know how scared I was. He already had enough on his te–he didn’t need to worry about how I was feeling too.


    I could tell he was in full–on warrior mode now. He kept scanning our surroundings, using all his senses to check if anyone was following us. It was a totally different version of him than what I saw back at the


    camp where they lived.


    More Rewards


    And it made me wonder even more. How exactly did they live? None of them had normal jobs. They just trained all day. Where did their moneye from–for food, clothes, everything? And what about this second location–how much would it cost to have a backup ce ready in case something happened? It was a mystery I’d have to ask aboutter. Just not right now.


    We were still walking when the sun set, and we kept going for a few more hours after that. <i>We </i>didn’t stop until Elias found a safe spot for us to sleep–a cave in the woods. We went inside, but we couldn’t risk lighting a fire. That would just give away our location. Luckily, we had night vision because we were


    werewolves, so we didn’t need any light.


    Once we were settled inside, I sat against the back wall, opened my bag, and pulled out the royal family


    heritage book again.


    “Is that why you won’t let me carry that bag?” Elias asked.


    “What do you mean?” I asked, confused.


    “Because I told you to only grab the essentials. You didn’t want me to know you brought those books,” he


    said.


    “Well, these are essential to me. I need to understand all of this,” I replied.


    “I get that. I’m not upset that you took it. How far have you gotten?” he asked, settling down beside me.


    “I’m still in the 1300s. The King and Queen had ten children. Three of them died when they were little, and one of them got married but didn’t have any kids. Another one was exiled after being disgraced, but I don’t know why yet. I’m going to try and find out. But from the five who did have children, that gave the King and Queen forty–one grandchildren. Clearly, no one knew what birth control was back then,” I said while looking at the first family tree.


    “No kidding. Well, I guess they figured it out eventually since you’re thest one left,” he said.


    “Yeah, seems like it. But now I’m starting on their kids, and that’s going to take some time,” I said, picking up my notebook and pen.


    “I’ll keep watch,” he said.


    “Alright. If you want to rest, just tell me. I can sit at the entrance and keep guard,” I offered.


    “It’s fine. You’d be surprised how long I can stay awake,” he replied with a smirk, heading back to the cave’s


    entrance.


    I stayed there for a while, writing in my notebook, when Elias came over to check on what I was doing.


    “What are <i>you </i>working on?” he asked.


    “The year is 1410 <i>now</i>. At this point, the King and Queen have 172 great–grandchildren. I’m trying to track what happened to each of them,” I answered.


    “That’s a lot,” he said.


    More Rewards <b>> </b>


    “I know. But I need to if I want to figure out what really happened to the royal family. I’m still going through the story part before I get to the family tree of all 172 great–grandkids,” I exined.


    “Okay,” he said.


    “By now, the King and Queen are already dead, and their oldest son has taken the throne. So after these great–grandkids, it moves on to the next King’s grandkids. That’s where it starts getting <i>more </iplex. A lot of them don’t stay in the royal line and are basically cut off. It kind of restarts with the new King’s grandkids,” I said.


    “Yeah. If they aren’t direct descendants of the King, they basically get pushed aside. That could exin how the family got so small. You might have more rtives out there than you think,” he said.


    “I don’t know. But I’m going to keep looking into the whole family. I want to know if any are still out there<i>,” </i>I


    said.


    “You should. Just follow everything from the original King and Queen. That should tell you what happened to everyone. Does it have full records?” he asked.


    “Yeah. They just don’t show up on the actual family tree. So I’ve got a lot of reading ahead,” I replied.


    “Yeah. It’s going to take some time,” he said.


    Then we heard something outside. It sounded like a twig snapping, and Elias immediately turned his head


    toward the cave entrance. He moved toward it quietly, signaling for me to stay put.


    He stepped outside, and only seconds passed before I heard the cracking of bones and Elias letting out a


    loud growl. I got up and went to the entrance, staying in the shadows, and I saw him standing face to face


    with three men. They were in human form, and right away, I could tell they weren’t werewolves. But Elias


    clearly didn’t like them.


    They looked straight at me like they could see me even though I was in the shadows, and I noticed


    something strange about their faces. ck veins ran up their cheeks, and their eyes were glowing red. Long fangs hung from their upper jaws, and they stared at me with a threatening look.


    “Princess,” they all said together.


    “Vampires,” I gasped.