Chapter 18

Chapter 18 Her lost n*ecklace

CA SSANDRA

Much to my excitement, when Amalia brought me to my intended room, Finnick was waiting for me on the other side of my door. His little face lit up with. excitement, and his normally serious gray eyes widened as he grinned at me.

“Mommy!” he exclaimed, and he rushed over to meet me. I’d half-expected him to look a little rough around the edges after our encounter with the bear in the woods, but Finnick looked perfectly healthy.

He threw his arms around me, and I fought back a sound of pain as he squeezed.

“Careful, baby,” I said softly as tears welled in my eyes. “I’m still a little sore.

“Oh,” he realized, and he let go and took a step back. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I a*sured him, and then I gave him a look over. “Are you doing okay, sweetheart? I’ve been so worried about you.”

SVANGE

“I’m better now, Mommy,” he a*sured me, and he gave me a tiny smile. “I was a little scared at first, but after I took a warm bath and got some new clothes, I was feeling better.”

Suddenly, a strange look crossed his face, and he noticed my bandages.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, and he gently touched my arm.

“I’m okay,” I a*sured him, and I carefully lowered myself down to his level. “Can I tell you a secret?”

Finnick nodded.

“I was a little scared too,” I admitted. “But Marley patched me right up and gave

me some medicine. I should be just fine in a little bit. I’m just going to need some rest and a lot of love from my favorite person,”

“Me?” Finnick asked excitedly, and when I nodded, his smile grew wider.

“You’re my favorite person, too,” he said.

After we shared another careful hug, I rose to my feet, and Finnick gave me a tour of the room. It was incredibly sp acious and painted a lovely deep green. The floors were a rich dark wood, and two canopied beds rested in the corner, just next to a floor-length window. The curtains were drawn, and the beautiful light of the sunset danced on the ground.

My stomach rumbled a little.

“Are you hungry, Mommy?” Finnick asked.

“A little,” I admitted.

Amalia cleared her throat.

“Alpha Gareth was inquiring if you’d like to join him for dinner?” she asked, and I considered the request for a moment.

“Would it be alright if I ate here with my son?” I asked. “My b*dy aches pretty badly, and I haven’t seen him since last night.”

“Of course,” Amalia replied. “The Alpha will be fine to accommodate you. I will bring you dinner here.”

“Thank you, Amalia,” I said.

The maid smiled at me and then disappeared from the room. Once the door had closed behind her, I gestured to the pair of armchairs in the room.

“Finnick, can we talk?” I asked. My son’s eyebrows creased together and then. he nodded.

He followed me over to the chairs, and once we were seated, I took a deep

breath.

“Honey, we’re going to be going with the King to Anemond,” I revealed.

Finnick’s eyes sparkled for a moment, but he managed to keep calm. “Really?”

I nodded. “Yes. We leave in a couple of days.”

“Okay,” he remarked simply. I could tell he was at least a little excited. Every child was curious about the capital of the werewolf empire. I’d often heard him and Dominic, Sofia’s son, talking about it when they played.

Finnick began to ask me all kinds of questions. He wanted to know all about it, what it looked like, how the people there lived, and what kind of clothing they wore so that he could blend in. He seemed so thrilled by the prospect of seeing a new city, and I didn’t want to burst his bubble, so I answered him the best I could.

After a while, Amalia returned with some food, and I was relieved to have a break from the questions. Above all else, I was glad Finnick hadn’t asked me why I’d -had a change of heart. He also hadn’t brought up the Alpha King, and I was thrilled

to sk ip that subject entirely.

We ate quietly together, and then Finnick ran off to go play with Dominic before bed. I knew Finnick was probably bursting with excitement to tell his best friend all about going to Anemond, and admittedly, I was relieved to have a second to breathe. All of this talk of Anemond had me feeling stressed beyond belief, and I was still recovering from my injuries.

I rose from my seat and decided to check the backpack I’d left behind in the woods. It was tucked in the corner of the room, and covered in mud. I was surprised they had gone to the effort of returning it to me.

I sorted through the pack and double-checked to see if everything was there. All seemed to be in order… except for one thing. I rifled through my things again, but it was definitely gone.

I’d placed a moonstone pendant in the pocket of the backpack and sealed it

tightly before we’d left for the forest. It had belonged to my late mother and was the only thing I had left of her. She had died when I was very young, and the pendant was the only keepsake I’d kept from my old life.

It was a beautiful thing, white gold, with a shimmering silver stone ringed by tiny white diamonds. It was small, but not too small, and the most gorgeous thing I owned. It was the kind of n*ecklace worn by someone of high rank, as I’d been before the inferno. It’d been gifted to my mother by her mother, and I’d intended to pa*s it along to my children one day just as they had.

Emmett had told me to get rid of the n*ecklace years ago. He’d told me the pendant was a liability and that if it was discovered, my identity could be as well. I understood what my husband had meant, but I couldn’t get rid of it. It was the only thing my mother had left me, and the only thing I hadn’t lost in the fire.

And now it was nowhere to be found.

Panic began to set in.

Had it fallen out of my backpack during my fight with the bear?

Perhaps in the fight, he’d scratched at the pack and it’d fallen out.

For a moment, that seemed like the correct answer, but there were no scratch. marks, and the pocket had been completely sealed. So, where had it gone?

I thought about it for a while. Had my mind deceived me? Had I actually forgotten to pack it in the first place? Maybe with everything going on, I’d meant to pack it but actually forgot it at my house.

Then it dawned on me. A realization crashed over me, and my hands began to

shake.

Asher Collins had sent his guards to pick up the rest of my belongings.

My chest heaved as I fought to catch my breath.

If he or his guards found the n*ecklace, it could mean the end of my life, as well

as Finnick’s.