Chapter 164

I need a moment to fully understand what Caleb is saying, because there’s no way he could mean what I think he means. He can’t possibly be planning to go look for Samuel himself!

Yet, as he looks at me, I can clearly see the fiery determination in his eyes.

“If the Council needs proof before they will act, then I will bring them the proof that they need,” he says.

“Caleb, you can’t,” I say. Immediately, his gaze hardens. No one tells the king what he can or cannot do. He detests orders; I learned that from our time in the farmhouse. Even so, with his life at stake, I press onwards. “You are the Alpha King. If anything were to happen to you, the entire kingdom would fall into chaos.”

“It’s already in chaos,” Caleb replies. With a huff, he adds, “I have no one to send in my stead who I can trust not to be swayed. And Samuel wasn’t right about me. I’m no coward. I’m not going to sit behind the walls of my capital while others take the risks I should be taking.”

“If you walk into the lion’s den like this, they will kill you, Caleb,” I insist.

Caleb leads me the rest of the way to my chambers and then follows me inside. Once the door is closed behind us, he turns to me once more.

“I will not die,” he says. “You are always underestimating my ability.”

“It’s not your ability I doubt,” I tell him. “It’s everyone else I don’t trust.”

Caleb’s wolf is incredibly impressive, but ever since he fell out of that window and nearly died in that alleyway, I’ve known that he isn’t invulnerable. In his massive wolf form, he could likely fend off a large chunk of Samuel’s army. But against all of it?

“You forget how few people know my true face,” Caleb says. “Very few people outside of the palace know what I look like. And even if I am recognized, which is unlikely, fewer people still would believe their eyes. No one will expect me to leave the palace.”

“For good reason,” I say, unconvinced. “You don’t have anything to prove…”

“I have everything to prove, Harper,” Caleb says. “Tristan is dead. My kingdom is falling apart. If I don’t do something now, the rebellion will win this war on sheer numbers alone.”

“It doesn’t have to be you –”

“It does,” Caleb says. Then again, after a moment, more forcefully, “It does.”

Maybe he’s right. With all the betrayals and the infiltration around here, it’s difficult to know who to trust. Sometimes it feels as if no one could be trusted, especially with Tristan gone. Bethany might know which of the guards is the most trustworthy, but even those guards could be swayed once outside the capital walls.

The only person he truly could trust not to betray him is himself.

And me.

“I’m going with you,” I say, deciding at once. I have already made a promise to myself to stay at Caleb’s side no matter what, through thick and thin. This is definitely the thick of it, but I’m not straying from his side.

If he goes, I go.

In a flash, his face hardens. “No.”

Remembering our time on the farm, when Caleb was barely able to take care of himself without a palace full of servants, I press. “I can help.”

“You are capable,” Caleb says. “But I will not have you placed in danger.”

“Without someone to help guide you on how to act like a commoner, you are going to stick out.”

“You showed me how to be self-sustaining at the farmhouse,” Caleb says. “I can manage now.”

“I’d believe you if you were going back to the farm, but you aren’t,” I insist. “You are going to be around people. You want to hide in plain sight, but you won’t be able to if everyone can see straight through you, based on how you talk and act.”

“So teach me. Quickly. Before I go.”

“There’s no time. You just have to let me come with you.”

“I refuse it. You will not endanger yourself.” He crosses his arms and half turns from me, signaling this is the end of the discussion.

Annoyance prickles my skin. I refuse to be dismissed in such a manner, especially when I know I’m right.

If I let Caleb go alone, he will be walking straight to his death.

“If you do not allow me to go with you,” I threaten, “Then I will chase you on my own. I don’t care what I have to do, or who I have to bribe, but I will follow you. Even if it puts me in more danger than I would be if I was by your side.”

His jaw tightens. A muscle at the corner of it ticks. He’s furious with me, there’s no denying that. But I’m hoping he’s not so angry that he’ll chain me to his bed again.

“Besides,” I push, my final play. “What if something happens while I’m here without you? It is safer for me, for both of us, if I come with you.”

With how much he’s glaring at me, I know he doesn’t want to agree. But at the same time, I can practically see the cogs in his mind working.

I’m right, and we both know it now.

“Fine,” he says eventually, curtly, as if the words had been forcibly pulled from him. “But we do things my way. If anything happens to me, and I tell you to run, I expect you to run. Is that understood?”

“Perfectly,” I say. I understand him well enough, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to agree. If he does fall, but there is some way I can help him by staying, then I will stay to do whatever I can.

We are a team now, him and me. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure the Alpha King returns home from this adventure alive.

If I thought convincing Caleb was difficult, Bethany is somehow even more difficult to convince. As she’s still recovering, when she comes to my room, I make her sit down while I do most of the cleaning. It upsets her, but I insist. Yet nothing upsets her more than when I tell her I’ll be leaving and insist she must keep it a secret.

“I’ll be with the King,” I assure her. “He will keep me safe.”

“Until he goes into a rampage,” Bethany replies. “Who will protect you then?”

“He and I will protect each other,” I insist.

She shakes her head. “The entire kingdom is splintered. Even the half that is loyal to the King doesn’t like him very much. If anyone discovers who you are…”

I’ve thought about this myself. I know the dangers. “Without me, he has no chance of passing as common,” I say. “I have to go, Bethany. I’m sorry.”

She hangs her head and closes her eyes. “I know how much you must love him, so I will not stand in your way. But I insist that you return. You are my dearest friend.”

Approaching her, I quickly pull her into a hug. If things go south, this could be the last time I see her. After everything we’ve been through together, it doesn’t feel right to leave things unsaid.

“You are the sister I wish I had,” I tell her. “You are my best friend.”

We hold onto each other a little tighter, and say our goodbyes.

After dressing in more common clothing than usual, Caleb heads toward the kitchen to have the staff prepare a few travel-ready meals, when a voice calls out to him.

“Caleb?” It’s his mother. “Can we talk?”