And at that moment, my path solidified.
The very thing everyone here seemed to be hoping for, the moment I became whole again, was also the moment I would disappear in order to protect myself and my secrets.
Narine’s POV
Time moved differently now. Not slower or faster. Just… quieter. The kind of quiet that slipped into my bones like warm water.
It had been another two and a half months since everything changed.
Since I screamed and found my voice. Since I whispered my thanks over warm milk, and I kissed the inside of silence, and let someone stay beside me.
Sargis.
We were in a much better place now. Not perfect, but closer. Closer than I’d ever thought possible.
I spoke with him now. Freely, when I wanted to. Quietly, when I didn’t. He never pushed for more. And I found myself offering him pieces of me just because he made room for them.
He kept his promise about his mother, too. Not once had I seen her again, not even in passing. It was like he’d built an entire barrier around me.
I’d started leaving the palace, too. Not on my own, not yet, but with Hasmik.
She was different.
I didn’t know what changed or when, but somehow, in the spaces between morning walks and late-night giggles, she became something close to a friend. She taught me silly games that didn’t make sense at first, until they did. She painted my nails a shade of lavender once, giggling when
I scrunched my nose. She also let me braid her gorgeous hair. We spoke about books. Movies. Girl things. Mate things.
She asked me once what kind of man I liked, and I had no answer. But she still smiled and told me about Lupercus.
Which… was the biggest shock of all.
Lupercus, the tall, brooding wall of muscle with a scowl that seemed carved into his face. The one who moved like a shadow and looked like he ate raw iron for breakfast. He never spoke much around me. We were both wary of each other, like two stray wolves smelling blood from opposite ends of the forest.
So imagine my utter disbelief when Hasmik, all giggles and heart eyes, casually told me they were mated.
I had blinked at her, then blinked again.
“Him?” I asked, the only word I could muster, and she burst into laughter like I’d just told the funniest joke in the world.
But it was true. They were mated. And when I watched him through the corner of my eye afterward, I noticed the subtle ways his posture shifted when she entered a room. Softer and calmer. Like his sharp edges dulled around her.
Physically, I was changing too. Slowly but visibly. I’d gained weight, healthy weight, not the bloated, fear-puffed body of survival, but softness in the right places. My hips had begun to round, and my breasts were fuller. Even my cheeks, once hollow and sunken, now filled the curve with my oval face again.
My hair had grown out, thicker and healthier, curling a bit at the ends like it used to before the world broke me. I was fifty kilos now. Still smaller than most wolves, but I no longer looked like a ghost in borrowed skin.
But despite everything, despite the peace I wore and the comfort I allowed and I’m now growing accustomed to, I hadn’t stopped searching for a way out.
That part of me never quieted.
Hasmik thought I explored for fun. That I was finally stretching my legs. And in a way, I was. But every corridor I walked, every locked door I passed, every whisper I overheard, I logged it. Memorized it. Notebooks hidden behind the wardrobe were slowly filling with sketches of palace maps, blind spots in guard rotations, and tunnel theories.
But with all the time that passed, with all the things I learned, I still hadn’t found a way out.
It was evening now. The light had dimmed into a honeyed gold that spilled lazily through the palace windows, casting sleepy shadows across the marble floors.
Sargis wasn’t around. He’d left earlier for some Alpha thing that sounded important enough to drag him away, but not important enough for me to care. It was just Hasmik and me in the common lounge, and she was curled up in the oversized armchair with her legs tucked under her, and a book spread open in one hand with a ridiculous grin on her face.
If she wasn’t gaming, she was reading. Not just any book, either.
The smutty kind.
The ones with half-naked men on the covers and titles that made me blush, just trying to sound them out in my head. She’d been trying, actively to get me into them. Left one on my bed last week like a trap. A big, glossy cover with glistening abs and a title that screamed bad decisions ahead. I’d stared at it for all of five minutes before shoving it under my pillow like it was cursed.
I walked into the room, hugging my sweater a little tighter around me, and she looked up with an exaggerated scoff, dragging her eyes over me like she was personally offended by my entire existence.
“Ugh, I’m tired of seeing you in his clothes,” she groaned dramatically, tossing the book aside. “You’re getting thicker now…finally and your boobs are starting to fill out, thank the Goddess, but you’re still dressing like a malnourished librarian with those oversized clothes.”
I blinked at her.
“You need your own clothes, dresses, shoes, and undies,” she announced. “Sexy ones. And clothes that actually fit. Not these stretchy hand-me-downs that look like they’re begging to be retired.”
I opened my mouth and closed it unable to form a word. What was wrong with his clothes? I thought, looking down on myself.
The door swung open, and in walked Sargis.
Hasmik lit up like a devil with an accomplice. “Good. You’re here.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What now?”
“Your mate is filling out genius. The curves are coming in, and it’s a crime she doesn’t have decent underwear or anything remotely flattering to wear. I’m taking her shopping.”
I froze.
Shopping?
Out?
With people?
No.
Sargis blinked, clearly trying to catch up. “You’re what?”
“She needs a wardrobe overhaul,” Hasmik said sweetly, already walking over to him with her hand outstretched. “Your card. Now.”
He looked between us, me in oversized sweatpants and a hoodie that swallowed me whole, and Hasmik looking smug with a hand on her hip.
Then he groaned. Loudly.
“For the Goddess’s sake…fine.” He yanked his wallet out and shoved his black card into her hand, muttering curses under his breath.
Hasmik grinned like she’d won the lottery and kissed his cheek. “Good boy.”
He pointed a warning finger at her. “The only person you’re allowed to splurge on is Narine. Not yourself?”
She saluted him.
“Crystal clear, my King.”
And with that, she looped her arm through mine, practically dragging me toward the door while I stumbled along, half-horrified, half-terrified.
“If she comes back with those hideous shades of yours, I’ll personally exile you, Hasmik!”
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