The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 69

Uneasy Silence-3

+25 Points

“I am in a lycan prince’s apartment,” Iva murmured, almost laughing from disbelief. “A few weeks ago I was hiding scraps of food in my bag and counting coins for bread… and now…”

Her fingers curled into the sheets.

“What if this is a mistake? What if this is some cruel twist of fate before everything collapses again?”

Silence answered.

Her chest tightened suddenly – the now-familiar hollow ache, deep and persistent.

She pressed her palm over her heart unconsciously.

“It hurts more tonight.”

“Distance,” Avalon explained softly. “Awareness. Recognition.”

Iva swallowed.

“So he feels this too?”

A pause.

“I do not know.”

That uncertainty hurt more than any answer.

She turned again, staring into the dim ceiling.

Images chased each other relentlessly through her thoughts.

Nick’s cold eyes.

Her mother’s sad smile.

Lori’s laughter.

The pack borders disappearing behind her.

The thread of fate glowing between her and Caleb.

His voice.

His aura.

The way he had opened the car door without hesitation.

The way he had told her to stay.

The way he had looked at her – not with desire, not with rejection… but with something she could not decipher.

Confusion settled heavy in her chest.

13

< Uneasy Silence-3-

“Avalon… what if this bond is only real for us?”

“Bonds do not exist alone.”

+25 Points

“But what if he chooses to ignore it? In the end he is the freaking Lycan Crown Prince… and we are the runt of the pack.”

Her wolf did not answer immediately.

“Then we endure,” Avalon finally said.

Tears gathered silently in the corners of Iva’s eyes, though none fell.

She had endured before.

She could endure again.

But the thought of feeling this pull… this connection… this fragile thread… while standing unwanted beside

it-

That terrified her more than exile ever had.

Hours passed in fragments of restless half-sleep and waking awareness. Every small sound from the penthouse made her heart leap. Every shift of air reminded her she was not alone here.

At one point she sat up abruptly, convinced she felt his presence closer.

Nothing.

Only silence.

Only the faint glow of the city beyond the glass.

She lay back down again, pulling the blanket closer around her shoulders like a shield.

“I am safe,” she whispered.

The word felt unfamiliar.

Not because she doubted his protection…

But because safety had never lasted long in her life.

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