I'm No Cinderella

Chapter 12

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What Could Have Been

"We're almost there," Matteo noted from across the deceptively large interior of the transport.

He didn't need to tell me, though.

My eyes had been glued to the window since we'd left the castle. The jagged rock that marked the entrance to our valley had passed a few miles ago. I should have still been feeling that bubble of excitement that I had been riding since the prince had agreed to my request the previous night. Instead, my gut became more of a twisted knot of anxiety with each passing mile. What if they don't want to see me? What if they treat me differently now?

"Luna?" I reluctantly tore my gaze from the passing scenery to meet his leaf green eyes, a strange emotion swimming in them. "Are you alright?"

Perhaps I wasn't doing a very good job disguising my nerves. I deflected, "Last time I tried to go home, I got very ill on the way. Why is that not happening now?"

That emotion disappeared from his eyes before I could place it as he smirked at me, "Because this time, Luna, you intend to return to him."

I frowned, but didn't have time to come up with a response before the transport rolled to a stop. As my eyes landed on that familiar overgrown lawn and tilted mailbox, my heart plummeted, "I'd like to do this alone, if you don't mind."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Your mate wants me near you to keep you safe."

"I am perfectly safe in my own home," I pointed out, "I've managed to survive eighteen years there without incident."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he reluctantly nodded, grumbling under his breath too low for me to hear. I took a deep, steadying breath and climbed out the door the driver held open for me.

From the front steps, I could hear the sounds of pans knocking together through the door to the house. I opened it without knocking, taking tentative steps inside.

My mother's voice drifted from the kitchen, "Lily, sweetie, is that you?"

I smiled. Just hearing my mother's voice took all of the tension from my body. It's going to be alright. "N–no," I stammered, "it's me, mom."

I heard the clank of a spoon against metal. My mother's blond head popped around the corner in an instant, relief flooding her features, "Rosalie?"

I ran to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. She pulled away, gripping both of my cheeks to search my face. "I thought that I'd never see you again. How are you here?"

"It's only for a few hours," I told her, pulling my face from her grasp to frown down at my delicate slippers. Despite my pleading to be put in normal clothes, Eden had dressed me in another fine day dress, this one lilac. My hair, at least, she had allowed to flow in natural waves down my back. I still couldn't bring myself to wear the alpha's necklace.

"He let you leave?" She asked, incredulous.

I looked up from my feet to give her a sad smile, "Yes."

She grabbed my hands in hers. "Then you need to run away while you have a head start." Her voice was urgent, "You could be hours away before he even knows you're missing."

Her optimism nearly broke my heart, but I shook my head with another sad smile. Even while she had spoken, I could feel the unease beginning to build in my gut and knew that I would not make it far. "I can't run," I sighed, "he would know the moment I decided to leave him."