CHAPTER 260: CHAPTER 260 HOW CLAIRE RAN AWAY

Now, for the first time, she truly knew fear. Claire felt herself teetering on the edge of breaking as her gaze locked on Addison standing beside the Alpha King.

Her face drained of all color, and a chilling cold spread through her body. If Addison revealed the truth of what she had done, execution would be swift and certain. Not even Zion could shield her now, especially since he already knew she wasn’t the real princess, her only leverage over him before.

Worse still, she had failed to win Zion’s heart, failed to secure her place as his Luna. With no safety net left, only one outcome loomed before her. Her chest tightened as she spotted Zion and Levi pushing their way to the front of the crowd, and dread coiled inside her. Her heart sank lower with every step they took, and it felt as though ants were gnawing relentlessly at her nerves.

"MATE!"

"MATE!"

"MATE!"

’What the hell does this mean?! Why?!’

Claire’s mind reeled, her thoughts screaming in disbelief. Not only had Addison turn out to be the true, long-lost Princess of the werewolves, but now she even had three fated mates?

Three! How was such a thing even possible?

Claire stumbled back, her breath catching as the people around her turned to look. Suspicion glimmered in some eyes, mockery in others—each glance cutting into her pride like a slap across the face.

It was as if the crowd itself was telling her she had been delusional, daring to dream she could pass herself off as the Princess. After all, what did she really have? A passing resemblance, hair that only vaguely matched, and murky honey-brown eyes that could never be mistaken for true gold.

Humiliation burned through her, but fear clawed at her even harder, urging her to run, run as far and fast as she could. Yet how could she, when her body refused to obey, frozen stiff under the weight of terror?

Her mind was blank, unable to grasp a single thought of escape. Then she saw them, the Midnight River Pack’s elite warriors cutting through the crowd, heading straight for her. Claire didn’t need anyone to tell her whose command they followed.

Zion had sent them, making sure she wouldn’t slip away. Her fate was sealed, carved in stone long before she could even move a step.

’No! Why would I give up?! I didn’t endure three years of torture at the hands of vampires just to die here!’

Claire bit down hard on the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood, forcing her trembling body to obey. Summoning every shred of will, she bolted, shoving through the crowd and sprinting into the maze-like garden. This was her only chance to lose them.

The shift in the air told her she’d been spotted. The Midnight River Pack’s elite warriors immediately broke into pursuit, their presence closing in behind her like a storm. Her body felt like it was on fire, a strange surge of power flooding her veins.

Whether it was adrenaline or sheer survival instinct, she didn’t know. But it pushed her past her limits, weak as she was compared to them, her legs carried her faster than she ever thought possible, just barely keeping ahead of her hunters.

As Claire tore through the maze-like labyrinth of hedges, a hand shot out from the shadows and yanked her aside. Her mind lagged, unable to process what had just happened, leaving her frozen in stunned silence.

Before she could react, the figure who had dragged her into the dark corner was already uncorking a vial. With practiced speed, he sprayed the masking mist over her body and then himself, shrouding them both in its concealing scent.

"I think I saw her come this way!" one of the Midnight River Pack’s elite warriors called out in the distance.

Claire’s chest tightened as panic surged through her again. Her eyes darted wildly, searching for an escape route, only for the stranger in front of her to raise a finger to his lips in a sharp ’shush’ before tugging her toward a hidden path woven into the garden, a passage she knew only the royal family should have access to.

With no time to question or resist, she stumbled after the stranger before her, the sound of pursuit closing in behind them. The stranger glanced back several times as they ran, before suddenly leading her into what appeared to be a dead end among the towering hedges.

Claire’s heart dropped. Fury and fear tangled inside her. If the Midnight River Pack’s warriors found them here, there would be no escape. But before her rising panic could spill over, she noticed the stranger press their hand against the hedge, feeling along its surface.

Then, there was a sharp ’click’ that echoed through the still night, followed by the grinding shift of heavy metal.

A hidden door slid open within the hedge wall.

"Come on, follow me," the stranger whispered urgently, their voice low enough to avoid carrying to the warriors hunting her.

Claire hesitated only a heartbeat before nodding. She couldn’t afford to wonder who he was, why he was helping her, or what he might want in return. None of that mattered now. All that mattered was her survival, one more step, one more day. As long as she lived, she could fight for the next.

She slipped inside after him. The door shut swiftly, the sound of interlocking mechanisms echoing behind them, sealing them in. Darkness swallowed her whole; she couldn’t see a thing.

Then she heard the man’s hands moving along the wall, searching for something. Instinctively, Claire stepped back, her every muscle coiled tight. If this stranger tried anything, she would strike first.

But instead of danger, a sudden burst of light flared before her, forcing Claire to squint her eyes against the brightness. The stranger had been feeling along the wall for a torch fixed near the entrance. Beside its metal holder was a small crevice containing flint, an old mechanism meant so that anyone using the hidden passage could light their way.

Now illuminated by the torch’s glow, the stranger gestured for her to follow closely.

Claire hugged her arms around herself as they stepped deeper inside. A strong draft swept through the passage, chilling her to the bone. Maybe it was just the cold air, or maybe it was fear crawling across her skin, but either way, her teeth wouldn’t stop chattering.

"Why are you helping me?" Claire asked at last, her voice low, guarded, laced with fear she tried to hide.

The stranger ahead gave no answer.

Her eyes narrowed. "You’ve got your back to me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll stab you and run? Kill you to silence you so I can escape safely?" she pressed, suspicion thick in her tone. Trust didn’t come easily, especially now.

For all she knew, this stranger was leading her straight back into the hands of her pursuers... or worse, into a dungeon, lulling her into lowering her guard before striking.

"If you kill me, you’ll never make it out of this passage. You’ll rot here until you starve," the stranger said evenly. "Besides, it’s not like you have another choice right now."

Claire understood the truth in his words, yet the realization only made her feel as though she had leapt from the chopping block straight into the frying pan. Fear of the unknown gripped her, her whole body rigid with tension. But no matter how much she wanted to fight back, there was nothing she could do.

Thanks to the stranger’s intervention, the warriors of the Midnight River Pack lost Claire. They scoured every corner of the garden’s maze-like hedges, but there was no trace of her; her scent had vanished out of thin air as if erased.

With no trail to follow, they had no choice but to begrudgingly report back to their Beta that they had failed. Still, fear gnawed at them. None dared return without exhausting every possibility, knowing what awaited them if they disappointed their Alpha.

Just the thought of Zion’s merciless methods made their stomachs churn and their hair stand on end. Driven by dread, they redoubled their search, desperate to avoid his wrath.

While Addison, her three fated mates, and her family were discussing her past, Claire was still weaving through the underground passages beneath the Royal Grounds. Nearly two hours had passed, and the longer she followed the stranger, the more it felt as though he was leading her in circles. Her suspicion deepened with every step, and her body was coiled, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Though she couldn’t shift because her wolf remained unresponsive to her call, she still carried her wolf’s strength. One well-timed move could take him down. She’d been rehearsing the thought for over an hour, yet hesitation kept her hand.

The stranger had been right: she knew nothing about the layout of these passages. If she killed him too soon, she risked trapping herself in this labyrinth with no exit. And even if she screamed until her throat tore, no one would ever hear her through the thick stone walls.