Chapter 36 Change
Change
Kane
She drives me insane, and I’m not even sure she cares. She’s under my skin, and every second I’m near her, the urge to close the distance gets harder to resist.
Watching those tapes only drove it home.
Sleep feels like an impossible luxury, but I force myself to give in, knowing I need it if I’m going to make sense of this tangled mess. Or maybe I’ll just find myself even deeper in it.
I’m in the forest. The air is thick with the scent of pine and damp earth, it clings to my skin. The sky is endless and black, streaked with swirling blues that pulse in rhythm with my heartbeat.
Something’s wrong. Everything feels off. The stillness isn’t peaceful, it's suffocating. My instincts are on edge, and every step I take feels heavier than the last.
I know this place. Or at least, I thought I did. But tonight, it’s different, drawing me deeper into the darkness.
A rustling sound shatters the silence, and I pivot, narrowing my eyes as I track the movement between the trees.
A massive wolf steps into the clearing, with fur as dark as midnight. His steel-gray eyes glow when they lock onto mine.
“I should’ve known it was you.” He lifts his head, sniffing the air like he's searching for something, then his eyes snap back to mine.
“Yeah, I smell it too,” I mutter, keeping my voice low. The wolf's gaze sharpens, and an unsettling intensity burns behind those steel eyes.
The air around me stirs with a breeze twisting through the trees, carrying whispers that brush against my skin like cold, invisible fingers.
At first, they’re faint, blending with the rustling leaves, but they grow louder, curling around me like a noose.
“It’s time,” they whisper, their voices cold as ice.
“How is this possible?” I narrow my eyes at the wolf. “Go. Be careful.” I command, my tone is hard enough to cut through the rising whispers. The wolf dips its head in acknowledgment before melting into the shadows.
I exhale slowly, but tension coils in my chest as I look up. The swirling blues of the sky are streaked with a lavender haze that pulses with strange energy. It should be beautiful, but instead, it fills me with unease.
A scream slices through the air and my heart slams against my ribcage. I move instinctively toward the sound, but before I get far, the sound gets cut off, leaving only a suffocating silence in its wake.
“Raven?” Her name is a growl on my lips. She’s on the ground with her face twisted in pain. Everything about this feels wrong. Urgency spreads through me like wildfire as I rush over.
The second I reach out, her eyes meet mine, and she vanishes.
“Princess!” I shout, the word echoing into the emptiness as I spin around, searching the darkness. But she’s nowhere.
I spin around again, and I’m in my office. The walls feel taller, and the energy in the room hums with something dark. I turn and Cam’s sitting at the desk with a drink in his hand and he looks infuriatingly calm.
“She was there,” I snap. My voice has a dangerous edge. “And then she was gone.”
He looks at me, but his face is unreadable. “I know.” He sets the glass down, and the sound is loud in the suffocating silence. “It’s time. And I really hope everything’s ready.”
His words are meant to reassure me, but they do the opposite. The detached calm in his voice only fuels the fire simmering in my veins.
A low growl rumbles in my chest, carrying the weight of everything spiraling out of my control. The windows rattle in their frames, and I can feel the vibration echoing through the room like a warning. The sharp sound of shattering glass slices through the tension, and shards scatter to the floor.
Cam doesn’t even flinch. He just leans back in his chair, rolling his eyes. “You done?” He asks dryly. I can see the amusement in his eyes.
I wave a dismissive hand, clenching my fists. “Forget it.”
I don’t have time for his sarcasm, and I sure as hell don’t have time to figure out what the hell is happening in this nightmare. I know I'm dreaming, but I still feel like I'm actually angry.
I grab a drink from the desk, and drop into the chair across from him. My eyes land on an open book in front of me. The pages are worn and yellowed, and the ink is faded but I can still read parts of it. The handwriting looks familiar, but I can’t explain why.
My eyes shift to the shattered window behind him, except it’s not shattered anymore. The glass is whole. There's not a single crack or shard out of place.
The hair on the back of my neck stands on end.
I sit upright in bed and the first thing I see is the shadows stretching across the walls. The storm claws at the windows and the wind pounds a hollow rhythm through the room and I drop back against the bed, staring at the ceiling, but sleep doesn’t find me again.
Reaching for my phone, I tap the screen watching the dim light cast a soft glow through the room. I have a message from Raven.
Your Royal Highness: If I can help, let me know.
And please let me know what I owe you.
I won’t let you help if you don’t at least let me pay for it.
I stare at the screen, rereading her text. Stubborn little shit. What she owes me? I should wait until morning to respond, but I’m annoyed enough to reply.
Me: This stuff is basically a game. And you’re not paying for anything. Ever. End of story. Also, you’re not helping either. But if you need to talk, I’m here.
I hit send and toss my phone onto the nightstand, laying back against the pillows. The ping is immediate, pulling my attention right back to my her.
Your Royal Highness: You know, you’re sweet when you aren't glaring at everyone.
Why are you even awake right now?
It's 3 in the morning.
I laugh at her messages, shaking my head. Again with all the questions.
Me: Sweet? Careful, Princess. You’re going to ruin my reputation.
Me: Why are you awake?
I hit send, settling back into the pillows. I'm more alert than I've been all night.
Your Royal Highness: Couldn’t sleep, so I finally gave up.
I was about to head outside. I just have a lot on my mind.
My smile fades and it's replaced with a frown. Outside?
Me: Raven, if you need air, crack a window. Don’t go wandering around outside in the middle of the night.
The silence stretches and I can almost picture her sitting there, debating what to say back, when my phone vibrates again.
Your Royal Highness: You’re such a control freak.
Do you ever sleep?
Me: I sleep like a baby. You, on the other hand, clearly need more practice. Get some rest, Princess. If I hear about you going outside, I’ll personally come over and lock you in.
Your Royal Highness: You wouldn’t dare.
Me: Try me.
There’s a pause, and I swear I can feel the shift in her mood before her next message comes through.
Your Royal Highness: Want to know something funny?
Turns out I wasn’t even born where I thought I was.
Not even sure my parents' names are real.
These birth certificates? Completely useless.
One of them says my birthday is on a date that doesn’t even exist. Are you sure these are real?
So yeah, might as well be searching for a needle in a haystack.
Cheers to that, right?
Fuck.
I stare at her message and the weight of it hits me harder than I expected it to. She didn’t know? I never even considered that to be a possibility. My grip on my phone tightens.
Me: Shit, Raven. I’m sorry.
And hey, I know it feels impossible, but if anyone can figure this out, it’s Cam. He’s the best at this kind of thing…
And if you tell him I said that, I’ll deny it with my dying breath.
I hit send and my jaw tightens. The thought of pulling her deeper into my world makes my chest ache. She doesn’t belong in this chaos, but if it gets her the answers she needs, I’ll make it happen. Hell, I’d burn down the whole damn haystack if it meant finding her needle.
There’s this other part of me that wants to do more than just protect her. This need to comfort her is almost maddening. I’ve never felt this way before over someone I barely know. It’s unsettling as hell, and yet… I can’t shake it.
Your Royal Highness: I'm absolutely telling Cam you said that. And you better believe I’m holding you to it.
And I thought you were in security?
Me: I told you I don’t make promises I don’t keep. You might be stubborn as hell, but lucky for you, I’m worse. Try to relax for once.
After tossing and turning for another hour, I give up. Laying here is pointless when my mind is a shit storm I can’t control. I throw on a shirt, and head downstairs with only one goal in mind, to burn off this energy before it turns into something reckless.
When I get down there, I find Cam already in the gym, leaning against the counter with a glass of water in his hand. He looks up, lifting a brow.
“You’re awake.”
“Couldn’t sleep.” His answer is casual, but the tension in his posture says otherwise. “I’ll go a few rounds if you want, but after yesterday, I’m not really in the mood to coddle you.”
I let out a humorless chuckle, cracking my neck. “Fair enough. I’m not feeling particularly restrained, so if you're worried about that pretty face of yours, I'll stick to a solo workout.”
Cam’s lips curl into a grin. “Nah, let’s do this. Just don’t cry when I make you eat the mat.”
I roll my eyes, stretching my arms. This should be fun. “No promises.”
We face off on the mats, and the second I move, I know something’s off. His form is solid, but it's missing the usual weight behind it. He’s holding back and that pisses me off.
“Thought you weren’t in the mood for gentle?” I taunt, as I dodge his next swing and land a sharp jab to his ribs.
He grunts, shaking his head. “You’re not as good when you’re cocky.” He follows up with a right hook that snaps my head to the side, hard. That felt more like his usual. Spoke too soon.
“I found something.”
I roll my jaw, tasting the sharp tang of blood. “You throw your punches like you’re trying to prove a point,” My tone is ice-cold, as I circle him. “Wanna tell me what it is?”