Ronan

Chapter Thirty-Two

That was when the panic ensued.

Ronan swept her up, dragging her back to his office as a swarm of warlocks disturbed their privacy. She wished she knew what they were saying—that they'd project their messages in her mind too. Instead, they communicated with their King in an eery silence.

Hell, even Ronan had defaulted back to silence.

"What's happening?" She asked, finally snagging his attention.

Warlocks were still coming and going. Sat in his chair, she watched them cautiously, having never actually spent this much time in a room with them before.

"Someone's been in your house," Ronan reaffirmed. "I'm assessing them for a threat."

Her brows raised. "You know where my house is?"

"Are you forgetting I picked it out for you?"

Twenty years—their lives had fallen out of touch. Ronan had only caught up on their time together. He'd never seen her recent updates.

She waved her hand flippantly. "Oh, panic averted. I don't live there anymore."

"What?"

"Yeah, I haven't lived in that house in twenty years. You know, since that memory of us you watched?"

"It's all in your name. Everything paid for. Why would you ever move?"

Because seeing his face in every room was hard. Knowing that he'd once left his things scattered around her house was hard.

Hell, after their fight that day, she hadn't even bothered to right the furniture. She'd packed a bag of clothes and left.

She didn't have valuables or keepsakes. Relocating had been easy.

"Well I live in the Lupine Territories now. They have a portal to the Common World that I take for work and... yeah, it's nice. I moved there to be closer to my only friend in the world, but it's really beautiful. I live in front of a duck pond." It wasn't super luxurious or huge or fancy—but it was home. Somewhere she could return to and feel comfortable at the end of a long day. It was nice. "I considered Veneficus when Chronos relocated, but I can't really live with the heat so..."

"You moved?"

"I needed a clean break. Chronos suggested Veneficus, but I did consider the Common World again after he left. But I... ultimately, I looked at it from a safety angle. The monarchs in the Territories are on the constant lookout for you."

And back then, she'd assumed he'd kill her if they ever crossed paths again.

"You're smart."

"I thought you'd be angry."

"I've been keeping tabs on you."

"And you never noticed me going to the Territories all the time?"

"Sometimes you stay in your pub."

"And you just assumed I was going to see Chronos every other time." She grinned up at him, pretending she couldn't see the swarm of vampires in her peripheral. "Someone's getting bad with their research. It's a pity you'll never get to see my house."

"Won't I?"

"You'd enter the Territories? Knowing a werewolf would bite your balls off on sight."

"That's the beauty of the cloak."

Huh. She'd never thought about it that way. "No one knows what you really look like without it."

"No one but you."