43: Darius' POV

Three days had passed in what felt like a blink of an eye. 

Ada had spent the vast majority of her time with my brothers and I, planning our trip to her home pack to almost the second. Aiden came and went, really only appearing when summoned. There was an odd tension between him and Ada— one that made my wolf itch to tear into his throat. He would reach for her and she would shift just slightly out of his reach, her eyes full of something akin to longing. Like they were star-crossed lovers that my brothers and I were simply standing between. 

It didn’t matter because the other non-soldier passenger on this train was Lady Elizabeth Jane, my future *wife* and *Queen.* Even if the thought made me gag, I didn’t want it to get back to my father that I treated her poorly or didn’t make an effort while on this journey to include her in whatever way I could. There was also the flip side: as much as any of us detested being around her, she knew the inner workings of social circles more intimately than any of the rest of us. We did need someone to attend meetings with Ada’s father and keep him occupied while others investigated the territory. 

We wouldn’t make a move against him without foolproof evidence of his traitorism. So far, we had a lot of unfortunate coincidences that made him look guilty, the testimony of a beta we weren’t sure we could trust, and the whisperings of shadows. None of these would hold up with other packs if we planned an attack and wiped out the Midnight Pack. 

I’d spent several hours alone with Elizabeth, ensuring she knew the people of the pack and what was required of her. My skin had crawled when she ran her fingers down my arm and assured me she would do her duty for me, her future husband. I’d managed to keep my composure and feign thankfulness in the moment, but had emptied the contents of my stomach right after leaving her small sleeping quarters in the middle train compartment. 

It wasn’t that she wasn’t beautiful. She had grown into a rather beautiful woman on the exterior with her golden locks and feminine, mousy face. Her taste in clothes was impeccable, living up to every expectation of the court at Oberon Castle. It was everything *else* about her that left a lot to be desired. Her sneer made her face as vicious as it was beautiful, her sharp tongue took away any softness left to her. And her cruel hatred of anything she viewed as lesser— which was just about anything and everything— made my stomach churn. She was not fit to be queen of the Kingdom of the Moonglade. But my father, as always, was thinking with his cock and not his head. 

Never mind that the man was her uncle— he wanted her. Since he couldn’t claim her for a multitude of reasons, his plan was to stick her with one of us. No doubt he would want recounts of every sordid encounter I had with her, as if the initial act of laying with her wouldn’t be enough to make my wolf and I want to end ourselves in the first place. 

I was thinking of possible ways to avoid the future that seemed to be laid out for me when the train screeched to a halt. The station for the Midnight Pack was at least a half days ride to the packhouse and normally we would have been greeted by the Alpha and escorted, but we had lied to Alpha Bryant and his Luna Francine. We’d told them we would be there an entire three days later than we actually were arriving so that we would have a chance to explore some of the pack territory with Aiden and even Ada. 

Which is why I was surprised when I stepped out of the train and onto the platform, intending to join my brothers and our three companions, and instead found just Lady Elizabeth Jane and Alpha Bryant conversing quietly. It took me only half a heartbeat to recover from my surprise and put on a soft smile, stepping over to the pair. 

Elizabeth lowered her head to me as she finished her sentence, “—engagement. Isn’t that right, dear?” I took the cue and moved closer to her than I normally would and offered my arm while arching my eyebrows. She giggled slightly, “I was just telling Alpha Bryant about how wonderful it is that he was still able to greet us since we are rather early for our engagement tour,” she smiled wide, eyes darting to me nervously, “Beta Aiden is grabbing our bags. We made much better time here than I thought we would,” Elizabeth motioned to the train behind her as she rambled, “The accommodations were *much* nicer than I expected, so I didn’t need to stop nearly as often as I thought I would.”

“I see,” Alpha Bryant shifted his feet, glancing down the tracks beyond where we were, “I just wasn’t aware any of the princes would be accompanying Aiden back to the pack,” he cleared his throat, his heartbeat pulsating in his jugular quickly, “You see, my daughter Georgina is expected back from her travels today and we’ve been busy preparing for her return. I’m just not sure we have accommodations fit for the two of you,” he gnawed on his bottom lip, thick brows furrowing.

“Any accommodations will do,” I spoke firmly, “Unless you plan on turning one of your Alpha Princes away?”

His eyes widened and he gave a quick shake of his head, “N-n-no, I wouldn’t dream of it. Prince Darius, I will simply have a few of my guards give up their horses and follow us back to the packhouse on foot,” he bowed his head to Elizabeth, “That is if your betrothed can ride.”

Elizabeth’s lips twitched up at the corners and I watched as she winked at the Alpha before me, “Oh, I sure can,” she released my arm and stepped toward Alpha Bryant, “Darius is always a bit grumpy after he’s woken from a nap. Would you mind showing me around the station while he goes and finds his *other*, more friendly personality?” That earned her a laugh as Alpha Bryant offered her *his* arm, “This station is even more…”

They began walking toward the station building, their voices fading. I debated reaching out to Elizabeth mentally, but decided I should do as she stated. When I turned back toward the train, I realized part of what had happened. Nik had hidden one train car with his shadows. He’d also made the train appear silver instead of the soldier-black we had actually ridden in. As I stepped into the train car, the facade slipped away. Shoulders bustled about freely still, preparing rations and weapons for their assigned duties while we were in the territory. 

Ada and Phoenix were waiting in the make-shift office space. Phoenix sighed as he saw my face, “We had to think quickly. Nik had disguised the train when we got within sight as a precaution,” he rubbed the side of his neck, “Elizabeth stepped out before we could stop her. Honestly her story was so damn good we just ran with it.”

They were lucky I had dressed in one of my navy suits and not my fighting leathers or something casual before stepping out of the train. I snapped, “Why didn’t anyone tell me? I could have used a half second of warning.”

“No time,” Nik stalked into the room, shrouded in shadow, “I was preoccupied getting the soldiers up to speed and cloaking the train. Phoenix was keeping Ada out of sight,” he glowered, looking at the table as if the newly-marked map was still present, “Besides, seeing you fumble slightly made my week.”

I growled, fingers extending into claws, “I did the best I could with what I had. What’s the plan now?”

“You, Aiden and Lady Elizabeth Jane,” Nik nearly gagged on her name, as he always did, “will go with Alpha Bryant to the packhouse. You will spend as long as you can tolerate there while we keep in consistent communication with you,” he nodded at the door behind me, “You’ll have to take a good portion of the soldiers with you to keep up the facade that you’re here as part of an unexpected engagement tour,” I wanted to wipe the smirk the grew right of his face, “Elizabeth stated that Aiden returning home gave you the perfect opportunity to tag along and start it off at the furthest territory.”

“She’s devious but she’s a hell of a liar,” Phoenix scratched the back of his throat, “Bryant seems to have bought the reason we told Aiden to give for his delay in return,” my brother’s eyes flickered to Ada, “I would still be weary. He mostly likely has a target on his back,” he motioned toward the door, “Before Aiden stepped out, he let us know that something is going on. He isn’t sure *what,*” Nik shifted on his feet as Phoenix continued, “but he said that Bryant wouldn’t have just been at the train station for no reason. It’s out of the way.”

“He stated Georgina was returning today,” I rolled my shoulders back, “I think the odds of that being true are slim.”

Nik nodded, the shadows still clinging to his body, “Ada will go with us. Given what we know, we will stay hidden and try and scope out what *exactly* is happening and what is planned.”

“Keep her safe,” I ordered, resisting the urge to reach for her as she sat silently. 

Ada’s eyes shot to me, wide, “I actually think we all need to be far more worried about you,” she swallowed, “and even Elizabeth. I’m not sure I know the lengths my father will go to in order to protect this supposed rebellion and alliance with Fane Rosu.”

The blood in my veins turned icy at the mention of Fane. I balled my hands into fists, “I doubt Fane will come to the packhouse now that I will be there,” I locked eyes with her, “It is more likely you will find him in the woods as you sleuth around in secret. So I think we should all continue to worry more about *you* in this situation. But thanks.”

“I’ll deal with Finn if we find him,” Nik cracked his fingers, the shadows lulling around him momentarily as he corrected, “*Fane.*”

Phoenix rolled his eyes when I made no motion to leave. My youngest brother shot to his feet and stepped right in front of me, giving me a little chest, “We will keep Ada safe. Now go be with your fiancé.”

Ada jumped to her feet, rushing toward me. My eyes widened as she darted around Phoenix and jumped up, using my shoulders as support. Her lips connected with my cheek, her voice soft, “I still want *you* to be safe.”

“I will be,” I whispered, running my thumb over her cheek.

Elizabeth’s high-pitched giggle suddenly sounded through the train car. Nik nodded at me, “You have to go. Make this believable, Darius.”

As I left the train car, I wondered how I was supposed to do that when my entire heart was being left behind with them. How could I possibly make it seem like I was in love with Lady Elizabeth Jane and excited to be with her when all I longed for was Ada? There was no way I could fake it for an hour, let alone days or weeks. 

But those thoughts didn’t stop me from plastering a smile on my face as I stepped back out into the warm sun and walked over to Elizabeth, placing a gentle kiss on her glossy lips, “How was the station, babe?”