this new home

norella pov

He opened the passenger door with a chivalrous flourish, yet his brow was furrowed in a frown. As I settled into the seat, Alpha Lowell emerged, his voice laced with caution. “Think about what you’re about to do, Your Majesty,” he implored King Jason. But Jason might as well have been alone for all the attention he paid, sliding into the driver’s seat, igniting the engine, and accelerating away with a determination that rendered the world outside a blur

The drive was a silent movie, with me playing the mute damsel in distress. Words failed me, lodged in my throat by the intensity of his gaze—so stern, so unyielding. It was a look that spoke of storms and battles, of a man who had seen too much yet dared to hope. His belief in me was a novel sensation, a fragile gift no one had ever bestowed upon me before. My gaze was drawn to the trees whipping past, their forms melding into a green streak as we sped on. The urge to plead with him to ease his pace was there, but fear he