Chapter 398: Chapter 398

398 Her Home?

The prince started his journey feeling his wolf’s enthusiasm towards this mission. It was refreshing to run through the woods in pursuit of something so wholeheartedly again without the feeling of his energy being constantly drained from him.

This, however, was different from his usual hunts that involved a lot of blood lust. This hunt was for something he was not used to looking for at all. His mind projected thoughts of hope and happiness like nothing he’d felt before.

He’d almost given up on this journey, but one look from Rana wiped all his doubts away from him. The beta alpha had never encouraged him to do anything so independently before. It almost felt like the goddess had visited him in his sleep, but that would have been obvious considering he could feel the faint remnants of her divine energy if that had been the case.

Wiping the conspiring thoughts from his mind, he let his thoughts wander and was almost shocked by what he had to think to himself. ‘I wonder what she’s like. What her life has been like? What the... ugh, perhaps I can dream as well... Albeit restrained,’ He continued to rush through the woods, searching for something his wolf yearned for... a little more than he himself did if he was being honest with himself.

Cirrus knew what it was like to deny one’s wolf’s desires. It escalated from a little mental discomfort to excruciating irritation that wouldn’t let one sleep regardless of how soft the bed was.

To Cirrus’s surprise,(one of many surprises he’d witnessed that day) his wolf retraced his tracks with deadly accuracy. It didn’t matter if it had rained the day before or if he’d been weak on the way to the palace. The wolf simply knew where to go. The black starry wolf behind him followed diligently, keeping up even when the prince’s wolf ran at top speed.

The sun eventually set and with the approaching darkness, they had to bring their journey to a pause. Fortunately for them, they had been prepared and set up camp in the forest. They hunted, had a warm meal and spent the night in nature. The next morning, the Cirrus was up before dawn, “Get up, Rana. We are almost there,” Cirrus nudged the beta alpha awake.

Cirrus, who was still sleepy, lazily lifted his eyelids and felt the sensation of the sleep draining out of him. Sometimes the power of his alpha’s commands fascinated him instead of scaring him. If the orders were acceptable, he could work tirelessly until the work was done. The beta alpha’s blind loyalty made it impossible for him to see the effects of being overworked. Either that or there really was something magical about the prince’s absolute orders.

After packing their belongings, they started the journey once more. Cirrus followed his instincts to the letter, more than he’d ever trusted them in his life. Not like he had a choice, but because he’d never felt his wolf vividly participate in a hunt like it was doing today. He practically had no reason to deny his senses.

.....

Sooner than Rana had expected, they reached the town Cirrus had run from a few days ago. He stopped at the spot it had happened. The place he’d watched the most beautiful girl cry and reject him after he’d been nothing but cruel to her, ‘I-I... I’ll need to apologise about that.’

He shifted back into his human form in a swirl of blue divine energy, his clothes materialising and settling back on him. Rana shifted back into his human form as well and the two walked into the small town. There were murmurs from those that recognised his eyes, but nothing he wasn’t used to.

Soon enough, Cirrus stood before the inn where he’d met her, taking a moment to breathe... and entered it. They were just opening up when he entered. The man at the counter was wiping it when two men entered the inn, dressed in expensive tunics that screamed royalty. The man that had returned was nothing like the rugged royal they’d witnessed a few days prior.

“Your highness,” panicking, the man bowed to the highly-respected wolf that had just entered the little inn, “I wasn’t expecting someone of your status ever to grace this small establishment with their presence. What’s mine is yours, your highness?”

“I have no need for anything of yours. I only seek one of your employees. A woman by the name of Jane Riverwood. Have you seen her?” the man was shocked by the mention of the woman’s name.

“Jane, sir? I’m afraid Jane quit her job yesterday, your majesty,” the man quickly answered.

“Explain yourself,” the prince demanded, masking the pang of guilt that involuntarily made its way to his heart.

“After a strange royal she claimed to be her mate a few days ago left her, she hasn’t been the same since. She was always jolly and kind, but that spark of light in her eye had completely vanished from her. She quit, claiming there was something else she had to focus on and needed to dedicate her life to it,” the man rushed his explanation.

When he recalled the royal, however, he looked up from the ground and regarded the prince for a second, trying to discern the face of the royal before him and that of the one he’d seen that night. ‘They can’t be the same, can they?’ the innkeeper kept his thoughts to himself.

“What do you mean by ‘quit’?” the prince asked the man before him.

“Exactly that, sir. She quit her job. I could show you the way to her home if that’s okay with you?” the innkeeper offered.

Heaving a deep exasperated sigh, the prince allowed him to show the way to the woman’s home. Knowing the woman had quit her job rubbed him the wrong way, ‘Did she quit because of me or is there another reason? He said something about her focusing on something else. I wonder what that’s about. Maybe it’s an excuse she was using.’

They finally reached a small cabin at the edge of town. The innkeeper knocked at the door and bowed before leaving the two gentlemen at the door to the woman’s house, “Thank you very much for your help.”

The prince flashed the man a smile and fished a gold coin from his pocket which he offered the man his thanks. The man was stunned by the prince’s token of gratitude and shook his head in denial. Suddenly, he was more willing to offer more information to the royal. ‘This is not the same cruel man,’ he convinced himself before adding to his story, “You might want to go easy on her. She wasn’t the same after the man left her days ago. Either the man was actually her mate or she was embarrassed for claiming he was. I don’t know which is which or if any of this is helpful to you, but...”

“I understand, kind sir. I will keep it in mind,” the prince was slightly glad the man hadn’t recognised him from the last time he was in the town. His clothes were so rugged at that time and he was in a weakened irritated state that would explain why the people couldn’t recognise him. With that said, the innkeeper left them at the doorway of the small cabin. Despite the location of the cabin, it was well-taken care of. All the wood was masterfully polished and without a sign of termites.

The prince knocked at the door once more and this time, the door slowly swung open by just a slit to allow the person inside to peer out at them from the inside. On the other side, a pair of amber eyes stared back at them from behind the door. Normally, werewolves with this colour of eyes would be frightened by the blue-eyed royals, but this amber pair only narrowed its eyes at him in detest.

“So you finally return,” a hoarse voice came from behind the door.

“Do you plan on letting us in? I know those aren’t the eyes of the person I seek,” the prince replied, his wolf having confirmed this was someone else in the span of seconds. While there was the lingering faint scent of the person he was looking for, the one before him was not Jane. ‘Why is her scent faint? Isn’t this her home?’ Cirrus wondered.

“No, I don’t plan on letting you in. If you’re looking for Jane, she’s not here,” the woman spat back.

“Then simply point me in the right direction,” the prince commanded.

“With a rotten attitude like that, I’d rather she took her chances with a toad,” the woman on the other side scoffed, letting the door open wider and casually walking back into the cabin. There was no use arguing with a royal loose canon. That was only a recipe for death and any sane wolf could easily realise that.

The prince entered the small establishment and took a look around. There wasn’t much in the house, but what caught his attention was the slightly stronger scent of his mate. She was not in the house, as the woman had said and from how faint the scent was, it was as though she’d been gone a while.

Even then, however, the prince was fairly sure this is where she was supposed to be. ‘Was this... Jane’s home?’