Chapter 49: ⁴⁹: home

Master Mayeel remained silent for a few moments. With every passing second, my anxiety grew stronger.

Please... Let nothing have happened to Romana.

At last, Master Mayeel gave me a gentle smile. "Don’t worry, my child," he said softly. "Right now, your greatest priority should be healing yourself."

He paused before continuing. "As for Romana... she’s safe. Harry didn’t do anything to her."

A wave of relief washed over me. I couldn’t help but smile back. His words were like gentle rain after a long, unbearable drought.

Romana had always been more than just my best friend. She was like the sister I had never had. Knowing she was safe eased a burden I hadn’t even realized I was carrying.

Now I could go to her room in the pack house without fear. She must have been devastated after hearing about my death.

At least once she saw me alive, she would know I was alright. And one day... I would make sure our pack returned to the way it had once been.

I felt a gentle tug on my hand. Turning around, I saw Damian nod toward the door.

I returned the nod before giving Master Mayeel one last look.

Neither of us spoke. There was no need for words. His eyes alone conveyed everything.

Be safe, come back and I silently promised him that I would.

Then Damian and I slipped out of the room. We carefully made our way through the temple corridors, sticking to the deepest shadows. Fortunately, it was already late into the night, and most of the temple had fallen silent.

The few attendants still awake hurried about their duties, while the secret guards disguised among them were easy enough to avoid now that we knew they were there.

One careful step after another, we finally left the temple grounds without anyone noticing our presence.

"Now let me lead the way," I whispered as soon as we stepped beyond the temple ground s. "Just follow me."

"Okay," Damian replied. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "But keep holding my hand."

He obediently moved behind me, making me blink in surprise. He agreed so easily? That was... unexpected.

A small smile tugged at my lips. "Alright," I whispered back. "That way I can make sure you’re safe too."

Without waiting any longer, I led the way down the road through the mountain. As we descended the temple cliff, I quietly observed everything around us.

I wanted to remember every detail. Every tree. Every stone. Every familiar path.

Who knew when I would be able to walk these roads again?

"We’ll go to the Alpha Residence first," I said softly, trying not to let the memories overwhelm me.

"My home." The words caught painfully in my throat. "After that, we’ll head to the pack house where Romana lives."

Damian simply nodded, silently following my lead.

Before long, we reached the bottom of the cliff and stepped onto the familiar road leading into the pack.

Crossing the invisible boundary, my heart began pounding against my ribs. I was home. Yet... It no longer felt like home.

"So..." Damian looked around curiously. "This is your pack."

The streets were quiet beneath the midnight sky. Nearly every house had gone dark, everyone long asleep after the day’s work.

Only the rows of street lamps remained lit, their soft light stretching across the roads and reflecting off the rooftops of the houses lining either side of the street.

The peaceful silence was almost deceptive. From the outside... No one would ever guess that beneath this calm night lay a pack slowly being consumed by fear.

"Yeah," I whispered, my attention completely occupied by the changes my pack had undergone in such a short time.

The first thing that caught my eye was the number of houses. There were far more than before. Almost twice as many.

"Why are half the houses blue and the other half red?" Damian asked, voicing the exact question that had been lingering in my own mind.

"I don’t know," I replied, still staring at the unfamiliar sight.

"The blue houses are the ones that have always been here. They belong to the members of my pack."

I shifted my gaze toward the rows of crimson-painted houses standing among them.

"But those red houses... They weren’t here before." I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully. "Maybe the different colors are meant to distinguish between the two groups."

Damian nodded in agreement. "That seems likely."

A strange sense of unease settled over me as I continued looking at the red houses.

They didn’t belong here. Their very presence made the pack feel unfamiliar.

"Let’s go to my house first," I whispered.

Without waiting any longer, I gently pulled Damian along the secluded path that ran behind the rows of houses, keeping us hidden from the main road as we made our way toward the Alpha Residence. Toward... My home.

The closer we got, the heavier my heart became.

"So..." Damian murmured as the massive mansion finally came into view. "You used to live here?"

His eyes widened slightly as he took in the enormous estate standing proudly in the center of the pack.

Under rhe countless lights that were lit, the Alpha Residence looked imposing, its grand walls and towering structure reflecting years of history and authority.

"Yeah."A faint smile appeared on my lips.

"I used to live here with my dad."

The memories came flooding back. "But after he left for the war, I moved into the pack house with everyone else my age."

I looked toward the front entrance. The smile slowly faded. There were guards everywhere. Far more than I remembered.

Several warriors stood at the main gate, while others patrolled around the mansion in organized groups.

Harry really had turned this place into a fortress.

"We’ll go from the back," I whispered.

"I know a secret way inside."

Damian immediately nodded. Without another question, he followed behind me as I quietly led him around the estate.

After walking for several minutes, we finally reached the rear of the mansion.

"Whoa..." Damian stopped in confusion.

"What is this?"

In front of us stretched a thick patch of thorny bushes, so dense that they almost looked like a natural wall.

"How are we supposed to get through this?"

I couldn’t help smirking. "This isn’t just a patch of thorns. It’s hiding something."

I crouched beside the bushes. "When I was eleven, I read a story about secret tunnels."

A nostalgic laugh escaped me. "I became so obsessed with the idea that I begged my dad to have one built for me."

My smile softened as I remembered how Father had laughed before eventually giving in to my childish request.

"He finally agreed." I carefully pointed beneath the tangled bushes. "There’s a tunnel hidden underneath. We just need to lift these thorn bushes first."

I glanced up at Damian before adding with an amused smile, "Though I should warn you... It was built for an eleven-year-old girl. It’s going to be... a little tight for someone your size."

Damian looked at the bushes before shrugging without the slightest hesitation.

"It’s okay."

"I’ll manage."

I nodded before searching the ground for a sturdy stick. Using it, I carefully lifted the thorny branches one by one until an old wooden hatch hidden beneath them became visible.

Damian stepped forward, gripped the weathered lid with both hands, and quietly lifted it open.

A narrow, dark tunnel revealed itself beneath our feet. Somehow, we managed to make it through the tunnel.

By the time Damian climbed out, his clothes were covered in soot and dirt from scraping against every narrow walls and rough stone crevices.

He dusted himself off with a look of utter disbelief. "What place is this?" he asked as he looked around the room we had emerged into.

The moment I looked at him, all the worries weighing on my heart seemed to lighten for just a second. His usually neat appearance had completely disappeared.

There was soot smeared across one side of his face, his dark clothes were streaked with dust, and a few strands of his hair stood up in every direction.

He looked so unlike his usual composed self that I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing.

"What?" Damian asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes after noticing the strange expression on my face.

I quickly looked away. "Nothing." I cleared my throat, forcing my face back into a neutral expression. "This used to be my playroom."

I glanced around the familiar room.

Although years had passed, it looked almost exactly the way I remembered it.

"We need to go upstairs." I pointed toward the staircase. "My room and Dad’s room are on the second floor."

Without wasting another moment, I turned to leave. Before I could take more than a single step, someone caught my hand.

I didn’t even have to look back. I already knew it was Damian. By now, I had almost grown accustomed to his habit of holding onto me whenever we moved.

Choosing to ignore it, I simply continued walking. Carefully, I peered out into the hallway.

Everything was silent. Normally, guards weren’t allowed inside the Alpha Residence.

Dad had always believed that our home should remain a place where people could live peacefully rather than like prisoners under constant watch.

Still... After everything Master Mayeel had told me, I couldn’t be certain Harry had continued following those rules.

I carefully scanned both ends of the corridor. No one. Relief washed over me.

I gave Damian a quick nod, and together we quietly slipped into the hallway before hurrying up the staircase.

Every familiar step stirred another memory inside me. I had run up these stairs countless times as a child.

Back then... This house had been filled with warmth and laughter. Now it felt cold. Empty. Almost unfamiliar.

We reached Father’s room within moments. My heart pounded inside my chest. I slowly pushed the door open.

The moment I looked inside... My eyes widened. My fingers instinctively tightened around Damian’s hand.