Chapter 204: A Dangerous Escape

Zande stepped off the bus, her faded blue jeans and form-fitting V-necked cotton shirt a sharp contrast to the wild emotions swirling inside her. Deliberately, she had avoided feeding that night, keeping hunger at the forefront of her mind. It wasn’t by accident—Dedari, her brother, might scan her mind from afar. He had gone off to feed himself, but that wouldn’t stop him from checking on her occasionally. His lectures had been long and severe, weighing heavily on her, pushing her into a corner. Despite his words, she was feeling defiant, a sense of rebellion rising within her. She had promised Jacob she would meet him, and that promise hung over her like a dark cloud. She knew that if she didn’t keep her word, Jacob wouldn’t just let it go. He would come for her, and that terrified her more than anything Dedari could say. There was a sense of danger in it all, a foreboding she couldn’t shake, but she couldn’t turn back now. As Zande moved through the dimly lit streets, she searched