Chapter 24 ~ Leaving
Iris decides to leave very early the next morning. She doesn't want to face her friends and explain to them why she needs to go, so she leaves before they wake up, being especially careful not to make a single sound as she creeps through the house. She left them all notes on their doors, saying that she'll be gone for a while and they didn't need to worry about her. In Kanan's note, she included that they shouldn't be seeing each other anymore.
The car Mr Kingsley left for her is a brand new pickup truck. It's a deep red and clearly more expensive than her old house. She'd never seen anything like it, and she's in love.
She hauls her bags over side of the truck and into the back, careful not to scratch the paint job. She tugs at the door handle and, to her surprise, it's unlocked. She opens the door and slides into the comfortable leather seat.
The key is already in the ignition, so she starts the car and pulls out of the driveway. She feels numb again, like her leaving is a dream. She can't believe she's finally free, not a possession anymore. She can leave.
But does she truly want to? She'll be alone again. She won't have any friends anymore. She just found Kanan again, and she'd just met Hannah, who has slowly gained the title of her best friend.
"You wanted this, Iris. Get over it," she mutters to herself angrily as she drives down to the stables. It's a short ride and she reaches the stables in under ten minutes.
As promised in the note she received from Mr Kingsley, a fancy black trailer is waiting in front of the building. She expertly reverses until the back of the truck nearly touches the trailer.
It's even colder down here, at the stables, than it is up at the house. Iris gets out of the car and hooks the trailer onto the back. She nearly removes a finger in the process, but in the end, she figures it out without any injury.
Unlike the weather outside, it's very warm inside the stable building. She's thankful for the relief as she steps inside. The horses are asleep, not taking note of her as she switches the lights on and makes her way to the tack room.
Theo's saddle and bridle are polished and ready for her to take to her new trailer. She takes a moment to admire the fancy white stitching and the beautiful black leather before finally picking everything up and taking it outside.
Theo is one of the only horses who isn't still asleep. Once she rounds the corner and starts walking back down the isle after putting away his tack, the big chestnut stallion raises his head and whinnies at her. He looks excited, but in a good mood, which means he won't be too big of a problem to load.
"Hey buddy," she greets him, smiling as he nuzzles her face. She opens his stall door, clips his lead rope on, and leads him into the isle. He prances beside her as they walk outside together.
To her surprise, he gets in the trailer on the first attempt. If that isn't a sign that leaving would be better for the two of them, she doesn't know what is. It's dawn when Iris finally gets in the truck again.
A small piece of paper on the passenger seat catches her attention. Frowning, she picks it up, sure it wasn't there earlier. Carefully, she unfolds it.
The GPS coordinates to your house and the stable I've arranged for Theodore is saved on the truck's system.
Drive safe,
Xavier.
***
Xavier doesn't sleep at all the night before Iris is supposed to leave for Canada. He's restless, knowing that she'll leave and be out of hir reach at any moment. He doesn't want her to leave, but she has to. It's for her own safety as much as it is for him to be able to keep sane.
He has an internal debate with himself at one point. One side of him, the side that's selfish and has already fallen in love with the mere idea of a mate, wants him to go and prevent her from leaving. The other side, much more practical and generally more sane than the first, refuses to compromise his soulmate's safety because he can't handle himself.
Having a human mate is dangerous enough for normal supernaturals. For Royals, it's a death sentence for the both of them. If she was hurt or worse, killed, Xavier knows he would go insane. Royals feel the bond even stronger than anyone else. A few have even died of grief after the deaths of their mates.
"Don't go, Xavier," he growls at himself, digging his sharp claws into his palms as he sits on his bed in the dark, trying desperately to keep himself from shifting into his wolf, or even worse, his Royal form. He'd have little to no control over his actions if that were to happen.
"She's safer without you, Xavier. You can't ruin her like you ruin everything else. She's your mate. Stay inside," he reminds himself, even as he feels his body changing into the monstrous form only a Royal werewolf could posses.
Not even a full second later, he's standing at his balcony door, fully transformed. He needs to go to her, even if it's only to see her one last time.
In one fluid motion, he yanks the door open with enough force to make the glass shatter and leaps off the balcony in a large bound. He knows he most likely woke up the whole pack house with the commotion but couldn't care less.
Instinct guides him through the woods, towards an unknown destination. He knows that, wherever he's heading, she'll be there. He can feel her, his senses now heightened to an alarming extent.
He reaches the stables as soon as Iris exits the building with her horse. As soon as he sees her, he calms down. She looks amazing and he wants nothing more than to walk up to her as he watches her lead the horse into the trailer.
She's so fragile and in his mind, he would be the one to break her if he didn't let her leave right now. It's the conclusion he came to not long after he first touched her.
One thing Xavier will never admit to himself is just how terrified he is of this human girl. How scared she makes him feel, even now, when she's not even aware of his presence.
"Like a flower, Xavier. That's how you must treat your mate. Treasure her and make sure she knows how much you love her, for a fliwer can't see how spectacular it's own petals are."
It's what Gerrard had told him when he was eighteen and finally old enough to find his mate. He's sure Gerrard would never have said that if he'd known Xavier's mate was human.
Nevertheless, he plans to treat her like a flower, but one in someone else's garden. Admire it from afar but never come close enough to damage it.
***
After a good four hour drive, Iris finally reaches the Canadian border. Guard posts are set up along the tall barbed wire fencing, a new way to make sure no one crosses that isn't welcome.
There's a whole cue of cars trying to get through the only gate in miles. A lot of people are trying to flee from the soon to be war-ridden country they live in.
When she finally reaches the front of the que, a guard approaches her. Hesitantly, Iris opens the window and leans out slightly to talk to the man. She doesn't have a passport or any kind of identification with her. The guard will probably tell her to leave like he did to most of the people in front of her.
"Good morning, ma'am. May I see some identification, please?" He requests, holding out his hand. Iris' throat runs dry and she feels her heart drop.
"Um, I'm sorry sir but I don't have any form of identification with me. I was sent here with nearly no information at all," she says, avoiding his hard gaze. Instead, she looks down at his shoes, which are already dirty from walking up and down, talking to dozens of different refugees.
"Who sent you, then?" He asks. By his tone alone, Iris can tell he's irritated with her.
"Xavier Kingsley," she answers quickly, hoping his name will mean something to the border guard. A long moment passes before he speaks again.
"Of course, ma'am. You can go through," he says. Surprised, she looks up to find him smiling down at her. Relief washes over her, but the feeling is short lived. Confused, she gives him a questioning look.
"Welcome to Canada, Miss Iris."
*ð*