VALERIA

The King's carriage was spacious and comfortable, lined with soft red and black velvet.

We had left the castle that morning, traveling along winding roads toward a distant pack.

As soon as we emerged from the dark mist surrounding the forest, I tensed slightly, nervously watching out the window.

It was absurd to think they might still be hunting me outside the Golden Moon pack. Maybe they didn’t even realize I was still alive.

His Majesty sat across from me, absorbed in reading several manuscripts, fully focused on his task.

He wasn’t a man of many words, and the trip was quickly becoming dull.

At some point, I closed my eyes, but a sudden jolt of the carriage startled me awake.

A comforting warmth was pressed against my side—my head resting on a broad, muscular shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty!" I shot up, stiff as a board, realizing I had been sleeping against the King.

Wasn’t he supposed to be sitting across from me?

"Why are you apologizing this time? For breathing? O