Too Late Alpha The Mate He Never Wanted (Iris and Eric) novel Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Iris’s POV

The moment we passed the guards and I couldn’t feel their eyes on my back, I finally released the breath I had been holding. My heart was still pounding as we walked even further away.

Jasmine walked with me till she reached the edge. I could see the worry written all over her face. When she finally stopped, I stopped too.

“This is as far as I can take you,” she whispered. Her voice was steady, but her eyes were flooded with several emotions. I could see fear, worry, regret, but there was another emotion that I couldn’t quite read. Jasmine was holding back something. I shook my head. I was probably just seeing things.

I nodded. “I’ll be fine,” I said, but the words sounded unconvincing, even to me.

Jasmine reached for my hand briefly, squeezing it. “I mean it, Iris. Be careful.”

I forced a smile. “I’ll try my best.”

Her lips parted like she wanted to say something else, but she stopped herself. She simply gave me one last nod before turning back toward the packhouse. I stood there, watching her until she disappeared into the woods.

And just like that, I was alone.

My chest ached slightly, and I frowned. I had wanted this, hadn’t I? Freedom. A chance to leave and never look back, so that I could start afresh somewhere else. So why did it suddenly feel like I was making a mistake?

I swallowed hard, pulling my bag closer to my body, then I pulled out the map I had been using before.

I stopped under a tree and pulled it out, my hands trembling slightly as I unfolded it. The paper was squeezed, because it had gone through a lot these past few days.

My eyes scanned the map carefully, trying to trace my steps.

But my heart stuttered when I realized something strange.

The Blood Moon Pack wasn’t on it.

I blinked rapidly, thinking I had missed something. I turned the map sideways, and even upside down, tracing everything, desperate to find what I might have overlooked. But no matter how long I stared, it wasn’t there. The forests I stood in now weren’t marked anywhere on Eric’s map

Eric’s map didn’t have Rowan’s pack marked on it like the others packs.

My breath caught. How had I not noticed this before?

Confusion washed through me. I had talked about leaving for so long, but I hadn’t actually… planned. I thought I had been ready, but standing here now, staring at the map, I realized I had no direction. I was walking blindly into the forest by myself.

I released a frustrated sigh, running my hand through my hair.

My mind flashed back to a memory of Eric. I remembered him speaking with his Beta in his office. They had

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talked about the Blood Moon Pack. Its location was so well-guarded that they couldn’t even mark it on the map. At the time, Thadn’t cared enough to listen closely, but now it finally made sense.

Maybe I should have accepted the guard’s help. Maybe Jasmine should have come further. Maybe Rowan- No.

I cut the thought off before it could fully form. No. I shook my head sharply. I couldn’t think of him right now.

I folded the map back up and shoved it into my bag. Maybe if I walked long enough, I would find a part that matched something on the map. Then I could figure out where I was, and how I could move forward.

I kept walking, enjoying the cool night air, when suddenly, a tingle ran through me.

I slowed down, then I glanced around. Something in the air had shifted. The forest was too silent now.

A prickle ran down the back of my neck, and my stomach tightened.

I stopped walking, my body tensed instinctively.

A weird feeling crept over me slowly. Someone was watching me.

I turned sharply, scanning the darkness. My heart pounded in my ears. Nothing moved, but I swore I could see the faintest flicker of eyes between the trees.

I swallowed hard. “It’s just nerves,” I whispered to myself. “Just nerves.”

But I didn’t believe it.

I forced my feet to move quicker this time. Every few moments, I glanced over my shoulder, but there was nothing there. There were no footsteps behind me, no sound of branches breaking.

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