Chapter 0375

"What's his game plan?"

"He might be hunting you. Finding me would just be an extra prize. Or he could be after the female Alpha. I doubt Cooper ever has a real strategy. He adapts. He exploits opportunities as they arise."

"Will he strike at Obsidian Howl?"

She exhales slowly. "Absolutely."

More Wolves and Lycans will lose their gifts because of me. If he was already nearby, I’d be the cause of our kind’s downfall.

I tell Evelyn I'm heading to bed. She asks if I'm alright.

"Just exhausted," I lie. The guilt was a physical pressure, threatening to collapse my lungs.

I wait for hours after Evelyn retires, ensuring she's asleep. Silently, I pull on a jacket and slip outside, careful not to make a sound.

Standing at the end of the driveway, I weigh my choices. Turn left toward Obsidian Howl and hope for a swift end. Or turn right and vanish forever, living out my days as a Human. Neither option appealed to me.

I check my pockets, fingers brushing the rectangle of my credit card. I'd found it hidden in my vanity. A contingency plan from when I first moved in. More than enough funds to start over, far from this chaos. Somewhere no one could ever find me. I took it, just in case I chose right.

"Where are you going?" Evelyn steps beside me.

I close my eyes. I hadn't heard her. Not even the door. "You weren't supposed to know," I murmur.

"I knew something was wrong when you went to bed at seven. You never sleep that early. Not even after what that monster did to you."

"It's not safe here," I whisper back. The lone streetlight illuminates her face, giving her grey eyes a ghostly glow. "If Athena found us, Cooper definitely can. He could be watching us right now, and we'd never know. Obsidian Howl is a few miles that way, or..."

She grips my shoulders and turns me to face her. "Who cares if he's watching! He can't hurt us anymore. So I'll ask again. Where are we going?" Evelyn laces her fingers with mine. "I'll follow you anywhere."

"This isn't me," I mutter. "I don't ask for help. I am the help. People paid me to do their dirty work."

"Okay."

"Okay?" I whisper back.

She nods. "I thought I knew how to help you. But this is your choice, Seraphina. If you want to run, we run. If you want to talk to Athena, we go to Obsidian Howl."

"Why the change of heart?"

"Because I see you. I'm not a Lycan anymore, but I see the guilt you carry. The sorrow in your eyes is plain."

I start walking, pulling Evelyn with me.

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Yes. If they kill me, don't fight back. It's what I deserve. And more."

Her hand tightens around mine.

As we walk, she asks about the layout of Obsidian Howl's territory. I tell her I never got past the gates. Julian gave me some intel, but not much. I was never truly interested.

We find two burnt-out cars. The rear one looks like it rammed the front vehicle. The front car resembles the one Lucas hurried Athena into when they abandoned us.

"Is that...?" Evelyn asks.

"I think so," I mutter, quickening my pace.

Tire marks scar the ground.

A trail of blood leads from the windshield of Athena's car to the grass verge. Another dried crimson pool sits near the passenger door.

"What happened here?" Evelyn whispers, as if we're being watched.

"Not sure. They torched the cars to destroy any DNA evidence," I whisper back. "Standard procedure. I've done it myself."

"Are they dead?"

"No. Alexander would be breaking down my door if they were. I'm certain of that."

I scan our surroundings and grab Evelyn's hand. "Let's go. I don't want to stay here."