I was met with a feeling of despair when Angela came back to get me, her eyes told me something was wrong, but she kept quiet and led me towards the building. When I entered the cozy atmosphere of the house I was only met with the frightened stare of a young girl. A servant I knew as Jenny. She had been hired not long ago and was barely fourteen years old.

"Are you the only one here?" I asked and she nodded with teary eyes.

"Miss Gabby told me to run, to stay here until you arrived," she mumbled, fumbling with her clothes. "Can you please tell me what's going on Lord? I was about to go and clean the fireplaces as I usually do and then I was told to flee."

"Our enemies have taken control of the castle," I said gently and took a step forward, "you've been very brave Jenny."

Her eyes lit up as I spoke her name, "you know who I am?" she asked puzzled and I snickered.

"I know your father, and he told me your family struggled," I began and thought back at the many men who sat outside the brothel day in and day out, drinking and gambling away the money I gave them to feed their families. "When he told me he had a daughter I said I had a job for her at the castle, and a few days later you arrived."

"I'm thankful," she mumbled and peered down at her toes.

"We can't stay here," Angela interrupted, "do you know if there's any provisions in the house Jenny?" she asked the young girl before she began to search the house.

"Yes, mostly dried meat," she told us and showed us where it was hidden.

"Me and the King have to leave, he's not safe here," Angela continued to explain. "You need to run home to your parents and tell them what's going on in the castle. Tell them it's not safe in the city anymore and that your king will be back to help you, as he always has."

The young girl nodded, peered at us both and then walked to the door. "You are a great king Lord Adrian," she said shyly and just before she left she added, "remember that your people love you. So please come back and fight for us." I gave her a faint smile and a nod, but we all knew the odds were not in my favor.

As soon as we were alone Angela told me to get some rest while she prepared our bags. We were too close to the castle and it wasn't safe for us to stay here. I removed my boots and laid down on the simple hay bed, telling myself I would only close my eyes for a moment. But the exhaustion from our run overwhelmed me and I instantly fell asleep.

Vivid dreams haunted me, I dreamt of Roland's bare chest, how he'd looked at me with desire in his eyes when he hovered over me on the bed. Old feelings tormented me, doubt and the pain of deceit, memories of when I found out he had lied to me played before me. But then the scenery changed to the training ground, and I felt the urge to attack him. I wanted to kill him, so I launched forward with my sword. I was closing in on him, but as I prepared my sword, his face changed and suddenly Mathew was in front of me and I instantly gasped. He was smiling, a loving smile. The morning sun caught his hair and it glowed like a golden halo around him and I stopped in my tracks and threw the sword to the ground. "I love you," I whispered as I stood before him, but he only smiled and as soon as I stepped closer he vanished, and I was left alone.

I felt someone's hands on my body and I woke up to look into Angelas concerned face. "Nightmares?" she asked gently and I nodded. "It's time to leave," she continued and helped me to get out of the bed.

"Did you rest?" I asked but she chose not to reply. "Take a quick nap, Angie," I insisted, "I'll keep watch."

She turned to look at me and shook her head, "there's no time. I'll rest later when we find a safe place."

It had only been a few hours, not even a day since she'd entered my chamber and told me the news about Rolands betrayal, and now we were walking through the forest knowing the protective trees would soon end and we'd have farmlands and fields in front of us. It would take us weeks to enter the Farian woodlands, and even if we reached them we had no idea where to go.

"Do you think he's okay?" I asked for the hundredth time as my feet crushed dry leaves and tiny branches underneath them, and she just sighed at me.

"He's a Lycan, he can take care of himself, hun," she answered yet again. "I'm more afraid for Gabby and the humans to be honest," she continued and glanced over her shoulder with a worried expression.

I pulled my coat tighter around me, the air was chilly but that wasn't the reason. No, I felt lonely. Angela was good company and a good friend, she knew what she was doing and I should have felt safe around her. But so many of those close to me had been lying to me lately and I had trouble trusting anyone at this point. Dark thoughts were making themself known as we walked further. How come she was the one who woke me up? How could I trust her? What if she was taking me to the enemy? I peered at her cautiously where she walked a few steps ahead of me. She had been helpful, but so had Roland.

"Angela," I began, "why did you decide to save me and no one else?"

She stopped in her tracks and looked back at me with a hurt expression, "there was no time to save the others," she muttered. "Are you really going to blame me for leaving them behind?"

"I'm not," I sighed. "I'm just wondering... why me?"

She sighed and rolled her eyes before she shook her head. "You can't be serious."

Annoyed, I picked up a handful of dirt and threw it towards her, which she dodged without effort. "Of course I'm serious! We left a lot of our friends behind, am I really worth it?"

She turned from me and continued to walk in silence, her back telling me not to say another word about it. But my head was spinning and my heart was beating faster for each new step we took. Did she regret saving me instead of her best friends? I know I would have. I regretted leaving the castle in the first place. Maybe we should have stayed and tried to free the others, free my husband and talk to the soldiers to stand on my side against Roland.

"You are the king," she said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yes, that I am," I chuckled. "A king without a country or people to care for."

She sighed again, "that's not true, they're still your people, they adore you and they will wait for your return."

I sighed and quickened my pace to walk up beside her. "A king without an army? It might take years for me to find an ally to help me. And even if we go back to save Mathew and the other captives I won't be able to save the whole country from Rolands tyranny, will they still wait for me after years of abuse?"

"You're getting ahead of yourself Adrian," she said with a dry tone in her voice, "we're off to find your husbands people, let's see what they have to say. Then we can plan your distant future."

We walked in silence for the rest of the day, made camp for the evening as soon as we entered the end of the forest and spotted the never ending fields of wheat and corn that spread out in front of us.

"We'll sleep for a few hours and begin our walk at night, we'll be safer in the dark," Angela muttered as she threw me a piece of dried meat before she sat down with her back against a log.

"You sleep," I told her, "I'm not tired, I'll keep watch."

She gave me a nod and pulled up a blanket from her bag, "don't walk too far, and don't make a fire," she ordered and I couldn't help but chuckle at her.

"I'm not an idiot."

"Yes, you are," she muttered, then instantly fell asleep cuddled up in her blanket, and I couldn't help but wonder how long she'd been awake before she came to my room.

Once again my thoughts drifted to my husband and his warm and strong arms. How I missed him, his smile and the feeling of safety I always felt around him. He was my everything now, and deep inside I knew that saving him, his pack and my friends were my first priority. Nothing else really mattered. 

A/N - I've been fighting a terrible writers block trying to finish this chapter :) But finally I managed to write something!