Violet

Bei?

No, no, no.

This made no sense?

How had she known and how had she found me so quickly?

I spun around, my heart slamming against my ribs with enough force that I could feel it in my throat. My eyes scanned the tree line, searching for movement, when Bei burst through the foliage in her wolf form.

A large satchel bag was hanging from her side and her eyes were fixed directly on me with an intensity that made my stomach drop.

She stopped a few steps away from me and shifted, breathing heavily.

I stared at her, my mind racing, my heart still pounding. A dozen explanations and excuses tumbled through my head, but none of them made it to my lips.

"Violet," Bei said finally.

She sounded angry and hurt at the same time.

"Bei! What are you doing here?! You—"

"The maps." She cut me off, her tone clipped. "I suspected you were up to something when you were asking all those questions about the routes. It was just a hunch but turns out, I was right. What are you doing?"

"You should not be here," I gritted out.

"Why?" she whispered, shaking her head. "Why would you just leave like that? Without telling anyone? Without telling me?!"

"You should not have followed," I said, my voice harder than I intended. "Go back, Bei."

"Go back?" She let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. "You sneak out in the middle of the night, leave the safest place you have been in months, and you want me to just go back?"

"Yes."

"Where are you even going?" Bei stepped closer, her eyes searching my face. "What is so important that you had to run off without a word to anyone?"

"Bei—"

She stopped, her jaw tightening. "We had an agreement, Violet. We were supposed to stay in Silverwood. We are safe here, why are you—"

"I need to follow the pull."

"That’s it?!" Her voice rose. "That should not warrant you leaving without telling anyone! Do you have any idea what is out there? You are being hunted—"

"I know that."

"Then why?!" Bei’s composure cracked, frustration and fear bleeding through. "If you wanted to follow that pull of yours so badly, why did you not tell Lord Rowan or me? Why did you not let him help you? He has resources, wolves, protection—"

"I need to do this alone. And I am not going back. So please, Bei. Return to Silverwood. Tell them I left. Tell them whatever you need to tell them. But do not follow me."

Bei stared at me, her chest heaving.

"You are not listening to me," she said, her voice strained. "It is dangerous out there and—"

"I know the risks."

"Do you?" She stepped closer, her eyes blazing. "Do you really? Because from where I am standing, it looks like you are running headfirst into danger without a plan, without backup, without anyone to watch your back!"

Please, stop.

"I can handle myself, Bei."

"Against how many wolves, Violet?" Bei’s voice cracked.

"Yes, I can!" I snapped.

Bei opened her mouth to speak but her frown deepened and she clenched her jaw, her hands fisted at her sides.

I was sure she was likely thinking of what had happened during the summit in Fresna.

I could handle many wolves at once, I just needed to be more alert. Unlike last time with Rowan, I would not hesitate to act.

We stood there, both breathing hard, the tension between us thick enough to choke on.

Bei closed her eyes for a moment, visibly trying to compose herself.

"Please," she said quietly. "Please, Violet. Let us go back together. We can figure this out. We can make a plan. You do not have to do this alone."

"I do."

"No, you do not! You are just being stubborn!"

"And you are wasting your time." I turned away from her, shouldering my bag. "I am leaving. You cannot stop me."

"Violet—"

"I mean it, Bei." I looked back at her, letting her see the resolve in my eyes. "Nothing you say will change my mind. I have to do this. I have to find where this pull is leading me. And I have to do it now. I understand the dangers, I really do. But I can handle it. I feel... I feel like I will die if I don’t get the answers I am looking for, and I do not want to wait."

Bei’s expression shifted. The anger drained away, replaced by something sadder. Something resigned.

She saw that I was not going to back down.

I really wasn’t lying. I couldn’t tell her the other reason, but I did feel uncomfortable not knowing what laid at the end.

"I can’t just sit around doing nothing, Bei. Go back to Silverwood," I said, softer now.

Bei let out a bitter laugh.

"You think I can just go back?" She shook her head slowly. "You think I can just walk into that castle and tell them I let you slip away? That I knew something was wrong and did nothing?"

"You did not know—"

"I suspected." Her voice was heavy. "I suspected and I did not say anything because I thought... I thought you would come to me if you were planning something. I thought you trusted me enough to tell me."

The guilt twisted in my stomach.

"Bei..."

"Do you have any idea what this means for me?" She looked at me, and for the first time, I saw real fear in her eyes. "Lord Kael trusted me to watch over you. My duty is to keep you safe. If you disappear on my watch, if something happens to you out there—"

"You wouldn’t have been aware, and the note I left behind with Rowan would have covered for you to," I interrupted. "I am stronger than you. It would have been impossible for them to believe you could monitor my every move and stopped me when the patrols here could not!"

I sighed and shook my head, still frowning as I tried to control myself. "What I am doing might seem foolish, but I need to get to the bottom of this. Maybe what I am even looking for might help us."

Bei was silent for a long moment, her jaw working as though she was fighting some internal battle.

Then she straightened, squaring her shoulders.

"I am coming with you."

I stared at her.

"What?!"

"I said I am coming with you." Her voice was steady now, determined. "If you are going out there, I am going too."

"No." The word came out sharper than I intended. "Absolutely not!"

What was she doing?!

"You do not get to decide that."

"Bei, listen to me." I stepped toward her, my heart pounding. "This is not a simple journey."

"I understand."

"No, you do not!" My voice rose, panic clawing at my chest. "I watched Rowan nearly die because of me. I will not—" My voice cracked. "I will not watch that happen to someone else. I will not let you die because of me."

Bei’s expression softened, but she did not back down.

"Violet—"

"I am serious, Bei." I was shaking now, my hands trembling at my sides. "This is not worth your life. I am not worth your life. Go back. Please, I am begging you."

Bei’s eyes flashed. "Do not say that. Do not ever say that." She stepped forward, grabbing my arm, forcing me to meet her gaze. "My life is mine. My choices are mine. And I am choosing to go with you."

"Bei—"

"Stop." Her grip tightened. "Just stop. You do not get to decide what risks I take. You do not get to decide what I am willing to sacrifice. That is my choice. Mine. And I have made it."

I stared at her, my throat tight.

"Why?" I whispered. "Why would you do this?"

Bei was quiet for a moment.

When she spoke again, her voice was softer. Gentler.

"Because I would feel terrible," she said quietly, "letting a friend go out there alone. Knowing what waits for her. Knowing I could have helped and chose not to."

I stiffened.

I did not know why that surprised me.

She sighed. "Will you come back with me. You really should not go—"

"No, I am going," I said.

Bei let go of me, stepping back. "Then all the more reason for me to come with you... especially since I cannot drag you back."

"Why not just go back to notify the others I was gone?" I asked her, but she saw through my plan immediately.

She let out a short laugh. "So you can get a longer head start? Besides that, I already left hints and maps detailing the direction you were most likely to take, and me seeing you here means I was right."

I let out a shaky breath.

I had severely underestimated her. I couldn’t believe this...

"Fine," I whispered, resigned.

Bei’s shoulders relaxed slightly, some of the tension draining from her frame.

"Good," she said quietly. "I guess we should move start moving now."

I wiped at my face with the back of my hand, trying to compose myself. My hands were still trembling.

"How did you even catch up to me?" I whispered. No matter how much I considered it, it was impossible.

She paused, glancing at me.

"I can get through vast distances in short bursts. Though, I don’t use it all the time," she answered as if she wasn’t describing something I have never heard before. "It helps a lot with what I do."

"I don’t think I understand that."

"It’s not something I can easily describe." She averted her gaze. "Let’s just say it takes less energy than full on running."

The words felt inadequate. But they were all I had.

Bei’s expression softened.

"Hopefully, we do not have a long way to go," she said gently before shifting into her wolf form.

Her dark fur gleamed in the morning light

As I took in her bag, I knew she had planned for this, along with the possibility that she was going to follow me.

I did not know whether to be angry or grateful.

Maybe both.