323: DEPARTURE

DEPARTURE

The kiss on her hand made Iris blushed, she nodded absentmindedly. It was either because of the way he kissed her hand, or how happy she was to have a breakfast with him tomorrow. She would look forward to it. 2

After their brief conversation inside the carriage, Cane had to return for another meeting and met with Koda.

It was already late at night and they met at the East gate. This was the exit that Cane used to get out of the palace through secret door, since the guards there were his father's people in the past.

Koda was wearing thick black cloak and hoodie, which covered his entire face and hid his identity, but of course, Cane knew. Hiding his appearance, didn't hide his scent.

"When will it happen?" Koda asked him straight to the main topic, once he saw Cane approached him. He didn't waste his time and his voice filled with tension.

"This is a delicate plan, you can't be careless." Cane didn't even bother to hide himself, though he was in the king's turf. He knew his men and he knew what he needed to do.

"I need to make sure that bastard crown prince will pay for what he had done and my grandson will be crowned as the next king," Koda hissed. He looked around, just in case someone was listening.

It was unsure what Cane said to him when he handed princess Osana's ring to him, but Koda was under the idea the crown prince was part of the reason why prince Vemion was being taken away by the lycan. He was sure his grandson had died by now and he wanted his great grandson to be the next crown prince, though nobody knew what gender the baby that Laluna was carrying.

Vemion wouldn't have a chance, but his great grandson, would have the whole Red Claw pack to be his supporter and with the fact that would be unfolded later, it could be the leverage to press down the king.

"You will get what you want." Cane didn't talk much like usual.

Koda narrowed his eyes. "What do you get from this?" He took a step closer to look at the young alpha intensely. "You gain nothing from this."

Cane looked at the old man with the same intensity. "Revenge."

The word was simple, but it carried a lot of reason behind it and strong enough to make Koda believed him. After all, you would be so gullible if you thought, the king didn't have a roll in the fallen of the Howling Wolf pack a decade ago.

And for someone like them, the word revenge was way more believable than anything else.

They talked about a few more detail of what would happen and Cane gave him a cursory of what he needed to do and what to feed the alpha of the Red Claw pack. Albeit, Koda was no longer the beta of the pack, but he was a trusted and respected man for the current alpha.

"I will meet you again in a few days. Be prepared to be out of the city."

Cane left with that statement and went straight to his bedroom. It was only three hours before morning came, which meant, he only had that precious three hours to be with his mate.

Once he was inside the bedroom, he saw how Iris slept on the couch, seemingly trying to stay awake, so she could meet him before bed, but unfortunately, she slept like a baby when she was sleepy. She literally could sleep anywhere without problems.

Recently, her nightmare had reduced and she could sleep better.

Gently, Cane carried her onto the bed and tucked her in before he cleaned himself and ready for the bed. He pulled her closer and fell asleep almost immediately. Her body was so soft and she felt right in his arms. Her curls felt so soft, as Cane tangled them between his fingers. Feeling the softness of her hair.

The next day, Cane told Iris during their breakfast that he would go out for more than a week.

"Where?" Iris asked, she stopped eating when she read that.

"Ash city and Drein city." The two cities took two days to be reached. "The scouts said they got clue about the lycan's whereabouts."

Iris pursed her lips, while Cane simply pretending he didn't see that.

She didn't believe it. If she didn't know any better, she would believe what he said. What clue? That must be Leros, who had spread such rumor and misled those poor scouts, since those scouts were under Leon Dmitri's control, Nala's father, who would appear more believable in the eyes of the king.

"You will not take me with you, right?"

"I will not take you with me, yes."

Iris shouldn't be dejected when she read Cane's answer, because she realized she wouldn't be much of a help if she tagged along, more so, they would look Cane funny if he brought his mate with him in this mission.

"More than a week…" Iris mumbled, as she chewed her meal slowly. She lost her appetite.

She had gotten used with Cane to be around her and even when they only had less than an hour to meet or only saw each other in the morning, she knew he was nearby and she didn't realize how reassuring and comfortable it was until Cane told her he would be a few days away.

It would be the first time for them to be parted ways for such a long time ever since they arrived in the capital city.

"What about the new moon?" Iris just remembered this. Somehow, she felt thrilled to realize Cane needed her to be with him during the new moon.

"I will return before that."

"Okay."

New moon. The only time when Iris knew he would be with her.

And with that, the next day, the entourage had gathered. Cane would go to the nearby cities with a few royal warriors, Koda and a few warriors from the Red Claw pack, continuing his pretense to look for prince Vemion and gave assurance to the people that the lycan would be caught, without them knowing he was the lycan itself.

This morning, Iris and Hanna went to the main gates to accompany Cane and wish him a save journey, since he would be away for long time. And for Hanna, once she knew Will would come to the palace for preparation, she came along with Iris, but it seemed, there was nothing she could get, aside from staring at him from afar.

"Be safe…" Iris said to Cane, she looked around and realized he only took Will and Aderan with him, while he left the rest in the palace or in the orphanage.

On the other hand, Hanna had been stealing a peek at Will, but the man didn't look at her way at all. their last meeting didn't end well and she couldn't catch up with Will in his beast form. There was no way she could outrun a warrior like him.

Even from afar, Hanna could tell how gloomy he was, the aura around him was so dark, as if he would snap anytime.

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