My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 154: Unravelling

Violet

I shoved the rest of the things inside without even organising them and slung the heavy bag over my shoulder with more force than necessary. The weight pulled at my back, but I welcomed the discomfort. It was something to focus on besides the hollow ache in my chest.

I needed to get away from him.

Rowan stood near, watching me.

"Don’t follow me."

I glared at him as I passed, daring him to say something. To try to stop me.

He didn’t.

I headed back toward the lake. My skin felt sticky with dried sweat and the residue of last night’s panic.

When I reached the water’s edge, I dropped the bag and checked to see if he was close before I started stripping off my clothes. Thankfully, he wasn’t.

The water was cold when I waded in, shocking against my overheated skin. I dunked myself completely, letting the chill steal my breath for a moment before surfacing.

But the hollow feeling settled deeper with each passing second.

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

I had wanted to do this journey alone before. And I had wanted the chance to go where I pleased without anyone deciding my path for me.

But not like this.

Never like this.

And I hated that he was right about the danger. By some strange luck, I hadn’t encountered any wild animals or rogue wolves yet. But that luck wouldn’t hold forever.

I waded back to shore and dried off quickly with one of the cloths from my bag, then pulled on fresh clothes. The clean fabric felt better against my skin, though it did nothing for the knot in my stomach. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

I wrung out my wet clothes and stuffed them into the bag, then hoisted it onto my shoulder again.

When I glanced back toward the camp, I could sense Rowan was still there. Exactly where I had left him.

Good.

I turned and headed in a completely different direction while still following the pull.

I wanted to avoid crossing paths with him while still heading roughly in the right direction.

The trees closed in around me as I walked, their shadows providing relief from the sun. My steps quickened and within minutes, the heavy weight that had been on my back nearly felt weightless.

My feet found a rhythm on the uneven ground, and for a long while, I let myself believe I had actually escaped him.

I sensed the bond before I even sensed him.

"Violet."

I stiffened.

His voice came from behind me, closer than I expected.

I turned around.

He stood a few paces back, not even out of breath. His expression held something between confusion and concern.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I frowned and immediately continued moving.

"Walking," I said flatly. "What does it look like?"

"You just... left."

"Leave me alone."

Behind me, I heard his footsteps mirror mine. Slower now. Farther back.

It infuriated me.

Why wouldn’t he just leave me alone? Did he think that following me from a distance made this somewhat better?!

I tried my best to ignore him and force my attention forward, to the pull was taking me while another subtle one from the bond tried dragging me back to him.

I quickened my steps as the terrain began to change gradually.

The ground sloped upward, subtle at first but grew steeper. The trees thinned, letting in more light. And underneath the normal forest sounds, I started to hear something else.

Water.

It was distant at first, then it grew louder.

I stopped to strain my hearing. The sound was still a great distance away. Even if I continued walking at this pace, it would take me until the end of the day to get there.

The pull in my chest still tugged forward, insistent as ever, but something felt wrong.

It wasn’t just water. I heard a crashing clapping sound.

Was that... an ocean?

The pull still tugged forward, as if expecting me to somehow walk across the water. But that wasn’t possible.

"That way leads to the ocean."

I spun around.

Rowan stood several paces back, his expression carefully neutral.

"I can see that," I grumbled, setting the bag down to look at the map.

Something I should have done earlier.

’I feel so silly.’

I pulled the crumpled paper before I pulled out other things, and my chest tightened as I rushed through the mess and ultimately pulled out even more things from the bag, sprawling it out onto the ground.

’Stop... just stop...’

He drew closer. "Let me—"

"Don’t come near me!" I let the words out with a frustrated shriek that made him stiffen.

I slapped one of the papers to the ground in a painful groan and knelt there, panting.

My hands were shaking.

"Will they keep running like that till they get to your territory? Without stopping?"

The question slipped out of my mind, surprising me.

I didn’t know it had been there.

"No... No, they’ll rest. All I really did was just override their command to pass mine along. They have all their critical reasoning and rational thought. They will take breaks when they get tired."

I gripped the soil. "They acted as if I wasn’t there when I tried to stop them."

"I promise you. I swear, they are safe—"

"They will encounter rogues—"

"They all have talismans of Fresna’s symbol. I am sure you have noticed it. It also has an inscription of within the symbol indicating they were on a special mission. If they were interrupted, the rogues will be hunted down. It is a rule even the lawless would not dare break," he breathed, his words rushed.

My nails dug into the sand and I pressed my lips tight, not knowing what else to say or ask.

My body trembled and I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to compose myself.

The soft crinkle of paper made me open my eyes. My vision swam a bit before coming into focus.

Rowan was crouched down in front of me, sorting through the maps, other things, and arranging them.