Chapter 27 The Promise 2

Chapter 27: Chapter 27 The Promise 2

Talia’s POV

I knew Piper cried when I left, because I saw her face as they pulled me away. Her cheeks were wet, and her lips were shaking.

She reached for me, but the guards pushed her back. I wanted to tell her it would be okay, but I honestly did not know if it would be. So I said nothing, and let her cry.

I thought about the contract that I did not sign. The same one that bonded me to Kaelen.

I did not know who signed it, and I did not know why. I did not know how two strangers could be bound together without their permission.

But I knew one thing.

That contract was the only reason I was free.

Without it, I would still be in Cresswood scrubbing pots, sleeping on a thin mattress, and waking up every day to Vivienne’s cruelty and Celeste’s mockery.

Without it, I would never have a better chance to find my mother too.

I did not know who to thank for that contract, and I did not know if I should thank anyone at all.

But one thing was certain. That contract was the only reason I was not still sleeping on that thin mattress, listening to Celeste laugh outside my door.

I touched my necklace, and the glamour charm was still there, still hiding me.

I turned my head and looked at Kaelen.

He was lying on his side, with his back to me. His breathing was still slow and even.

He was a stranger to me, and he was cold, distant, and unreadable.

But he had given me a blanket when I was cold, he had bought me clothes I did not ask for, and he had brought me hot chocolate because he probably saw me holding my body together most mornings.

He said he did not know why he cared.

Maybe that was true, and maybe he did not know.

But he cared. And that was more than anyone in Cresswood had ever done.

I did not know if I could trust him, and I did not know if I should.

But I knew one thing: he was not my enemy.

I thought about the way he looked at me when he said my scent did not match my face. He had not accused me of lying, and he had not demanded answers. He had just stated it, like a fact, and then let it go.

I knew he was waiting.

I did not know what he was waiting for. Maybe my trust, or my confession, or just for me to stop running.

I did not know if I could give him any of those things, but I knew I could not keep running forever.

The trials were coming, the pack was watching, and somewhere in this pack house, Serena was waiting for me to fall.

I needed someone in my corner. Even if that someone was a cold, distant Alpha who did not know why he cared.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I would figure out Kaelen later. But right now, I needed to focus on surviving.

I turned back to the ceiling and made a promise to myself.

A strong promise I would not break.

"I am staying in this pack for two reasons," I whispered. My voice was so soft that I could barely hear it. "To find out what happened to my mother, by using the resources I found here, and to make the Cress family pay for every year they abused me."

I closed my eyes.

"I promise I will not break, I will survive."

The words hung in the air, so quiet and heavy.

The words felt heavier than I expected, and saying them out loud made them real, and made them a promise I could not take back.

I thought about what would happen if I failed, if I broke, and if I let Vivienne and Celeste win.

They would smile, they would laugh, and they would say they knew I was worthless all along.

I could not let that happen.

I thought about what would happen if I succeeded, if I passed the trials, and if I became Luna.

I would have power, I would have a pack, and I would have resources I never had before.

With all those resources, I could find my mother, I could make Vivienne pay, I could make Celeste regret every cruel word, every stolen meal, every night I cried alone in that storage room.

The thought made my chest burn.

I wanted it so badly. I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything.

So I would not break, I would not fail, and I would survive.

Kaelen shifted on the floor and I froze.

But he did not speak, and he did not move again.

He had not heard me. Or if he had, he chose to pretend he did not.

I lay there for a long time after that, staring at the ceiling, listening to the fire crackle.

The trials would come, the pack would judge me, and Serena would try to tear me down.

But I would not break, and I would not waste this chance.

I had survived fifteen years in Cresswood, so I would survive this too.

I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.

But sleep did not come, so I lay there with my eyes open.

The ceiling stared back at me, and I counted the designs on it again as I waited for morning.