My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 181: Transformation

Violet

The entry room was even prettier than the sleeping room.

I sat on one of the strangely curved chairs, my legs tucked beneath me as I stared around.

I felt calmer now. The slight headache I had woken up with had faded to nothing and my body no longer felt sluggish. But I felt a bit uneasy.

I couldn’t remember what had happened.

The last clear memory I had was moving away from the drinking stall and watching as everything changed around me shortly after. Then I found a place to sit down and that was that.

At least Rowan had found me and brought me back safely. I was grateful for that, even if the blank space in my memory made me feel uncomfortable.

I had woken up in bed, fully clothed, with no idea how I had gotten there.

I had also been sad about losing the tote bag along with my prizes but when I had mentioned it to Rowan, he immediately offered to go find it.

I had initially refused, especially since the probability of finding it after so many hours would be low but he had just insisted, even further adding that he would also use the opportunity to get supplies and food for our journey.

And now I sat here, waiting, trying not to think about the gaps in my memory.

I sensed Rowan nearby and soon enough he burst inside, a cloth sack in one hand, and to my shock, my bag in the other.

He actually found it.

I stood quickly, crossing the room toward him, but the words of gratitude died on my tongue when I saw his face.

Something was wrong.

His jaw was tight. His movements were sharp, controlled in a way that spoke of barely contained urgency. And his eyes, when they met mine, held a tension that made my stomach drop.

"What happened?" I immediately asked him.

He set the sack down on the carpet and handed me the bag. I took it automatically, my fingers curling around the familiar strap, but I couldn’t look away from him.

"We need to leave. Now. Or within the next hour if possible."

"Is it the Supreme Alpha?" I asked quickly, my pulse quickening. "They have arrived?"

He shook his head sharply and reached into my bag to pull out a folded piece of paper.

He handed it to me and I unfolded it with trembling fingers before going completely still.

My own face stared back at me.

For a moment, I couldn’t process what I was seeing.

It was a drawing. A detailed sketch that captured every detail of me. Whoever drew this had done it perfectly.

"Where did you get this?" My voice came out hollow as I stared at the paper.

"A shop in the market district." His tone was grim. "There was a stack of them on the counter. The shopkeeper said they arrived through their networks weeks ago. And that they have been instructed to post them in the streets and distribute copies to surrounding packs in the nation starting tomorrow."

Weeks?

It had been that long?

A painful realisation came to me the more I stared at my picture. This had been taken during my trial at the Summit.

He moved past me, going for his things.

"I should have seen this coming," he said, his voice laced with anger. "I overlooked it. I was careless."

I wordlessly turned around to stare at his back, my pulse racing.

"If this is posted around, the owner of the inn and—"

"We will be gone at least," he cut in as he was arranging the sack into his bag. "Even if we leave now, they could track us from here. Shaking them off will be tricky, but it is still possible."

"They can still track us without their Supreme Alpha here?" I whispered.

A part of me had hoped they would move maybe when their ruler returned which might or might not be tomorrow.

"Despite how frivolous this nation seems," Rowan spoke up without looking at me, "They have a powerful military force. Two inner districts to be precise. I know one is underground within this cliff, and I suspect the other is somewhere close to the beach. The wolves here are more than capable of tracking us down."

I felt numb.

The poster crumpled slightly in my grip.

"Violet?"

I blinked, forcing myself to focus.

Then I looked up to find him already in front of me.

"Even if I leave now." My mind slowly raced. "I’ll still be recognized outside. This—" I held up the poster. "This is too accurate. And the moment someone sees my face—"

"I know."

"Is there..." I hesitated, grasping for solutions before one quickly came. "Is there a way to change my appearance? Like the way you did back in Orpal?"

His eyes widened.

For a moment, he just stared at me.

"That... that can’t work. And there is no time for me to even teach you. The—"

He suddenly cursed under his breath and dragged a hand down his face.

"Your hair colour," he said after a moment. "We can change that. There are special dyes—" He cut himself off, shaking his head as he turned away from me. "Why didn’t I think of this sooner?"

He grabbed a small pouch from his bag and turned toward the door immediately.

"Wait here. I won’t be long."

"Rowan—"

Without another word, he slammed the door shut.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the closed door.

Then I looked down at the poster again.

My hair.

I set the poster down and moved quickly to my bag in the room, rummaging through it until I found the small knife Mira had given me.

It was still sharp and at least not as large as the ones Ana, Bei, and Corin had left behind. It could work.

Just changing the colour of my hair might not be enough. I needed to do something more drastic, especially if I didn’t want to be recognised from a distance.