Wystan stood before the gathered pack and delivered the announcement with the kind of composure that made the whole thing sound entirely believable.
The newly married Alpha and Luna would undertake a traditional pilgrimage to the ancient Moonstone Shrine, a blessing meant to honor the union that had joined both packs together.
The reaction was immediate and warm.
People smiled, some clapped, someone near the back called out something about symbolism and strengthened alliances.
Hazel stood beside Aldrien, both of them wearing bodies that weren’t theirs, and forced herself into a smile she hoped looked at least somewhat natural.
Aldrien, in her own body, had to manage the same thing, and she caught him glancing sideways at her with an expression that clearly meant we are absolutely terrible at this.
Nobody seemed to notice.
A woman near the front congratulated them warmly on strengthening the alliance, and Hazel thanked her while Aldrien nodded along beside her, and the whole crowd appeared entirely convinced that they were watching two people genuinely in love.
An older man from the Black side even remarked that he hadn’t seen a shrine pilgrimage announced in decades, and that it spoke well of the new Alpha’s respect for tradition.
Hazel had to bite back the urge to laugh, mostly out of nerves, and settled for squeezing Aldrien’s arm instead, which only made his expression go more rigid.
Evangeline found Hazel almost the moment the announcement ended, pulling Aldrien aside with tears already gathering in her eyes.
“This is such a beautiful sign,” she said.
“I know the wedding was complicated, and everyone expected things to be tense, but this feels like you two are actually finding your footing.”
Aldrien didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply let her continue.
“You don’t have to pretend everything is perfect for everyone else,” Evangeline added, quieter now, more sincere.
“I just want you happy. Whatever that looks like.”
Something in that landed harder than Aldrien expected, hearing exactly how deeply this woman cared for someone he’d spent years dismissing as nothing more than a rival’s daughter.
Then Evangeline hugged him, and he froze completely, arms hanging useless at his sides for a second before he managed to hug her back, awkward but genuine.
It gave him another glimpse into a world he was only just beginning to understand.
Packing turned into its own kind of disaster once they finally got back to the residence.
Hazel discovered fairly quickly that Aldrien’s idea of preparing for a journey consisted of exactly three things: clothes, weapons, and whatever documents he considered important. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Nothing else.
No spare boots in case one pair wore through.
No thought given to what the weather might do somewhere between here and the shrine.
Aldrien, meanwhile, opened Hazel’s collection and stared at it with open confusion.
“Why do you need this many outfits?” he asked.
“We’ll be traveling for days,” she said.
“Things get dirty. Weather changes. And I’m not wearing the same dress into a sacred shrine that I wore hiking through mud.”
“We’re going to a shrine, not opening a clothing store.”
She threw a folded scarf directly at his head, and he caught it without much effort, clearly unbothered by the insult buried inside the gesture.
He held it up afterward, studying the embroidery along the edge like he hadn’t expected something so delicate to belong to her at all.
The real complication became apparent once they realized exactly what packing meant given their situation.
Hazel would need to dress Aldrien’s body for the road ahead, and Aldrien would need to dress hers.
She picked out something practical for him, sturdy boots, simple layers built for walking long distances without slowing them down.
He, on the other hand, pulled together something elegant but comfortable for her, a deep green traveling dress she recognized immediately.
“How do you know I like this?” she asked, surprised.
He paused before answering.
“I’ve seen you wear it.”
A small silence followed that admission, neither of them quite sure what to do with the fact that he’d apparently noticed things about her long before any of this had ever happened to either of them.
Wystan met them before they left, running through his final instructions with the same brisk efficiency he’d used for everything else.
Don’t reveal the swap to anyone, no matter how safe the situation seemed.
Don’t separate from each other in public, not even briefly.
Don’t cause a political incident that either family would have to clean up. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Send word back regularly so the pack knew they were safe.
“I’ll manage things here while you’re gone,” he said, and then turned his attention to Aldrien with a particular look.
“And, Alpha?”
“What?”
“Try not to kill your wife.”
“No promises,” Hazel said immediately, entirely serious.
Aldrien gave her a look.
Wystan simply sighed, like he’d already accepted this was the best outcome he was going to get from either of them, and handed over a small pouch of coin for the road before stepping back to let them go.
They finally stepped outside with their bags, the pack watching them go with warm expressions and quiet well wishes, everyone entirely convinced they were sending off two newlyweds on a romantic journey together.
Hazel knew better.
They were two enemies wearing each other’s bodies, pretending well enough to fool an entire pack, walking toward a road neither of them fully understood.
Hazel looked out at the path stretching ahead of them.
“We’re really doing this.”
“Apparently,” Aldrien said.
Then Wystan mentioned, almost as an afterthought, that no one else would be accompanying them.
No Evangeline.
No family.
No pack members trailing behind to smooth things over if anything went wrong.
Just the two of them, alone, for however long this journey took.
They looked at each other, and neither one said anything for a moment.
This is either going to bring us closer, her wolf said quietly, or kill us.
Hazel wasn’t entirely sure which outcome frightened her more.