ADAN

Some weird impulse had Adan wanting to call Yena again right away after she didn’t answer the first time.

When had he started feeling like that about Yena? Desperate to talk to her?

He tossed the phone down on his bed.

Then realized he was just staring at it, waiting for it to ring.

He shook his head. Turned to look at the video that was playing on his laptop.

It was the interview she gave on TV at the werewolf orphanage. He’d been rewatching it, listening to all three of them talking about Nolan. Studying what they said.

If Adan could count on his little brother for anything, it was for him to always be soft. Generous and caring, and going out of his way to do stuff for other people.

Nolan would be going back to visit these friends of his at some point.

Adan was just trying to figure out the timing. Seemed like based on what the old skeleton man said in the interview, Nolan should be going to see him soon.

The prince was difficult to follow around directly… unlike Yena, who Adan was keeping tabs on at all times.

No, Nolan wasn’t an easy person to find on any given day. Adan needed to figure out where Nolan would be ahead of time, if he was going to catch the prince off-guard again.

About Yena… Adan decided to compromise. He wouldn’t let himself call her again.

He’d send her a text instead.

YENA

Hey, Yena! Just checking in. Wanted to see if you were having any trouble booking a flight. lmk if you need anything.

It was a text from Adan. He’d called just a few minutes before, and I silenced it. I didn’t really feel like talking to him.

I’d taken a quick shower after Evan and I got back from boxing and didn’t have any energy left to get dressed afterward. I was in my bathrobe and curled up in bed, resting my eyes. Debating whether I should let myself take a nap.

Then Adan was hitting me up.

I whimpered tiredly as I read his message. But once I realized his reminder was actually helpful, I started feeling more awake. Now I remembered there was something I needed to do.

Thinking about how to reply to Adan… I wasn’t sure how much I should tell him about my plans.

I still couldn’t figure out what his intentions were.

I wanted to keep peace with him, because he was helping me, but I was cautious because of my instinct and Lily’s warning not to trust him.

I put my phone aside. I didn’t really need to respond to him.

But I did need to book my flight and do it soon.

I had that phone call planned with Nolan today. I’d texted him in the morning to set up a time. I knew how busy he was and was trying to inconvenience him as little as possible.

I picked my phone back up and texted Lucy instead.

You wanna come over later?

I had a feeling that after getting off the phone with Nolan, I might not want to be alone.

“I have a lot to tell you,” Nolan said after we traded some pleasant greetings.

“Oh, yeah?”

“I talked to the school this morning and confirmed with them. They’re sending your acceptance letter now. I gave them Tina’s address so they could deliver it to you there.”

“Oh.” This surprised me. “You didn’t tell them that we… that I don’t live there anymore…?”

“Oh no,” Nolan said quickly. “I, uh… we haven’t told anyone outside the palace about the, um…”

“Right, of course.”

Nolan cleared his throat.

“A few other things, too,” he said quickly, blowing past the awkward mention of our divorce. “Remember how they wanted you to have extra security at the school?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I hired a private security firm, and you should know, they’re going to be, well, following you while you’re over there.”

“Following me?” That was super creepy.

“Yeah, I know. But listen, it was what we needed to do to get you in school, and I just wanted you to know. They’re not going to be taking photos of you or anything, they’re just there to keep a look out for security threats.”

I thought this over quietly. It did give me peace of mind to think about being abroad and having someone watching my back.

“How many people are we talking about?” I asked him. “Following me?”

“Well, the contract I set up is for a team of about ten agents, but there will be two assigned to each shift.”

“And they’re, like… undercover?”

“Yes.”

“Are they Gamma warriors?”

“No. I can’t send werewolves over there. It’s a human team, but I assure you, they very skilled at what they do.”

“Will they be armed?”

Nolan paused, like he was thinking about how much to tell me.

“Yes,” he finally said.

“Okay. Well, thank you. I appreciate you taking care of all that for me, though I feel bad about the expense, after what I told you…”

“I know, Yena. I don’t want you to worry about that. And remember, you did agree that I could help with paying for school… just think about the security as part of the school expense.”

I could hear in his voice that he was smiling. Probably feeling smug that I couldn’t argue with that logic.

“Alright,” I said. “Well, then I’ll just say thank you again, and we can leave it at that.”

“You’re welcome. And, um… a few other things.”

“Yeah.”

I sat back in bed, only just then realizing I’d been literally on the edge of my seat for the first part of this conversation. I don’t know why I expected it to go badly. It was easier and more comfortable to talk to him than I’d been expecting.

“Well,” Nolan said, “I do need to insist on paying for one more thing, and before you say anything, please hear me out.”

I chuckled. “Ugh, okay. Say what you have to say.”

“Yena, it would be dangerous for you to fly to the human world with the public. I need to book you a trip on a private jet, to make sure you’re safe.”

Private jet didn’t sound bad. Not something I wanted to argue against right away.

But the reason he was hesitant was because he knew that I really, really didn’t want to be dependent on him anymore. And I didn’t want him to start thinking that I was using him for money.

He was right, though. It was the best idea.

I’d been afraid to even go to the boxing gym with Evan when it was crowded. The thought of being on an airplane for a long, overseas flight, with a big mob of strangers… that didn’t seem super safe.

“Okay,” I said.

I heard him exhale and could tell he was relieved. He’d been expecting me to fight him on it.

“Thank you. Alright, just let me know which day you’re ready to fly out, and I’ll book the jet.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to Evan and get back to you.”

Then there was a long, awkward pause on the line.