My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 106: Underground

Violet

Water ran beside us in a wide channel carved into the ground. The sound of it was constant, a soft rushing that would have been soothing under different circumstances. The smell, however...

I wrinkled my nose and immediately dulled my sense of smell, bringing it down to a manageable level. It wasn’t exactly horribly smelling, but it still smelt bad, and there was a dampness to the air that made my stomach turn if I focused on it too long.

The floor was damp too.

I forced down my disgust and continued moving.

The crawl felt endless. My hands scraped against rough stone. My injured leg throbbed with every movement, and I could feel fresh blood seeping through the fabric where the teeth had torn into my flesh. My breathing echoed too loud in the confined space, mixing with Aster’s softer sounds ahead of me.

I followed as he made different turns that made me wonder how he even knew his way through this space in the first place.

Another gate soon appeared ahead, and Aster pushed against it. It swung outward with a rusty creak that seemed deafening after the muffled quiet of the tunnel.

He scrambled outside and I followed him quickly, emerging into another alleyway.

This one was empty. Quieter. The buildings here still looked luxurious. Older, but not less maintained. It had also gotten darker outside.

I tried to walk when I noticed a limp. Then I winced, as if just reminded of the injuries I had.

The sleeve of my arm, the one the first wolf had bitten, was torn and bloody, but the deep bites in my arm seemed to be slowly healing. The bleeding had at least stopped.

My leg was worse. The fabric of my pants was shredded and soaked with blood, even thought my leg was healing too.

My clothes were filthy. Dirt, blood, and whatever substances we had crawled through in that drainage system clung to my clothes. My hair was rough and I felt I felt unclean in a way that went beyond the physical mess.

I looked like a mad woman.

Aster turned around, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. His eyes found mine, and for a moment we just stared at each other.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "Thank you for helping me."

I opened my mouth to respond, but he was already continuing, his words tumbling out in a rush.

"The wolves... security. They can’t fit through the market’s drainage system." He meekly pointed at the gate. "They won’t follow us. At least not that way. They’d have to come round and round and by then... Anyway, the drainage already masks our smell..." He trailed off, still staring at me.

The water. The damp air. The mineral smell that had made me dull my senses. Moving through all of that would have disrupted our trails significantly. Maybe even washed them away.

I heightened my senses carefully, testing the air around us, then turned my attention to myself.

The faint lingering smell of the drainage system clung to my clothes and skin, but it was there, and I hated it. My mood immediately soured.

"You don’t smell," Aster said innocently, and I caught the faint reassuring smile on his lips.

I briefly closed my eyes.

There was no way he could tell. His senses were not that strong. And I feared the wolves in the streets would beg to differ.

"Please, let me take you to my home," he said firmly and I opened my eyes to find him gesturing at me. "You can wash properly there. Clean your wounds. I have some clothes that could maybe fit?" He lowered his gaze. "I am so sorry you got hurt because of me. This is all my fault."

"It’s not—" I started to protest, but he was already shaking his head.

"Please. It’s very close. You helped me. Let me help you."

I hesitated, my instincts pulling me in two directions. The castle was the logical choice. I could go back, clean up properly, and get some rest while I fully healed.

But how could I move through the streets dressed like this. I would most definitely be pulled aside and interrogated. Even worse, I might not even be allowed entry inside. Even if I was a normal wolf, my tattered state was enough to invite scrutiny.

I didn’t like this.

And if his place was far from the castle, to make my way back would be another—

But wait... he said he lived nearby.

I focused my attention on him.

His clothes were decent, well made. And if he didn’t live far from here, did that mean his family had money?

And he was out in the market trying to get food on his own...

I started feeling a slow sinking sensation in my stomach.

I agreed to follow him and he immediately felt relieved. I followed him out into the street, shame following my every step at my appearance.

The streets here were thankfully more sparse and even quieter than the last one, but we still drew stares from every single person on the road.

And the way their expressions ranged from curiosity to poorly-concealed disgust made me shrivel further inside.

I felt paranoid, convinced they could smell the dirty smell on me.

Some of the attention was on Aster too.

The boy walked ahead of me with his head down, his steps quick and purposeful. Recognition flickered across some faces, and others just watched him pass with that same casual dismissal I had witnessed at the market.

We turned down another street, this one lined with fenced houses. The structures here were nice. Not as elaborate as the residential district I had walked through earlier, but well-maintained.

Aster didn’t stop at any of the main gates. Instead, he followed the wall of one particular fenced house, moving along its perimeter until we reached a smaller gate in its side. This one was simpler, less decorative, clearly looked like it was meant for service access rather than guests.

He opened it without making a sound and slipped inside.

"Hurry," he whispered, glancing back at me with urgent eyes. "My parents aren’t home, so it’s fine, but I don’t want the neighbours to see."

I immediately stepped through the gate.