Page 4

Emily

It takes another two days before an opportunity to get out of Blood Moon arises.

I overhear Aidan talking to his Beta, Elijah, about a meeting for ‘The Keepers’ and they both leave soon after to prepare.

I don’t know what ‘The Keepers’ are, but there's an event once per month that takes up most of the warriors’ attention and energy. It’s my best shot to get a head start.

During these events, Elijah oversees the pack, and border patrol thins out, focused elsewhere.

Elijah isn’t as cruel as Aidan—he doesn’t seem to take pleasure in violence—but he’s still complicit.

He didn’t say a word any of the times he saw Aidan beat me black and blue.

Elijah is the only one who Aidan allows into our home to check on me when he is out of the pack.

He never speaks to me, and I never ask him for anything.

He’s not there to check on me and make sure I’m okay, but to keep tabs on me.

I pack a small waterproof bag of essentials: clothing, a decent pair of boots, protein bars, and the money I have been putting aside for the past year.

It should be enough to catch a bus and pay for accommodation for a couple of weeks, maybe find a human town and lie low while I work and earn enough money to leave the country entirely.

Far enough away that, if the mate bond snaps into place on my twenty-first birthday, Aidan won’t be able to trace me through it.

I slip out my back door, but before I head for the woods, I pause and gaze toward my parents’ cabin.

Can I really leave without seeing them again?

I want to maximize the time before Aidan knows I’m gone, but I’m also worried that this might be my last chance to say goodbye.

An unsettling mix of anxiety and anticipation churns in my stomach, creating a knot that refuses to untangle.

I don’t think I can leave without seeing Mom one last time.

My palms are clammy, and a tingling sensation creeps up my arms, making the hair stand on end.

My wolf encourages me to try to steady myself by tuning into my environment.

Drawing my attention to the woodsy scent of the nearby pine trees, the sound of birdsong in the distance, the warmth of the sun on my face.

It’s a huge risk, but I can’t imagine not saying goodbye. I’m an only child and while Dad and I have never been close, Mom was my best friend when I was growing up.

She has been the person I’ve missed most over the past couple of years.

Her kindness, how she always thought food was the answer to every issue life presented, and the way she had a million different pet names for me.

I tuck my bag behind a tree at the edge of the forest and dart back towards the residential cabins.

I keep myself in the shadows and run between the warrior cabins until I make it to my parents’ place and slip inside the back door.

“Mom, Dad,” I call out as I rush through the cabin searching for them before her scent leads me to Mom in my parents’ bedroom.

She’s in the middle of putting away laundry that she drops when she sees me.

The look in her eyes as she gazes at me guts me.

She has lost weight, and her beautiful face has lines that were not there when I last saw her.

“Emily, sweetie, have you come home?” Mom asks, with tears in her eyes.

She lunges towards me with her arms stretched out.

Logically, I know she is going to hug me, but I can’t help flinching at the sudden movement before I return her embrace.

“Oh, my baby girl.” Her words are a gentle whisper as I relax and melt into her arms.

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

Tears roll freely down my face. I don’t know how to tell her I need to leave, but sometimes moms know you better than you know yourself.

She grasps my hand and pulls me into my old bedroom.

Still frozen in time; the pink walls and frilly white bed sheets remind me of the girl I used to be.

Back before I knew how harsh my life could truly be.

Mom roots in the wardrobe before handing me a backpack.

As I look inside, I take in its contents; a phone, bank card in my name, and a wad of cash.

“You won’t be safe here, honey. I’ve wanted to come to you and help get you away from that sorry excuse for an alpha.

” Disgust paints her face, but her eyes hold only heartbreak.

“I tried, but he used his alpha command to stop me. I couldn’t reach you.

But I’ve had this ready to go, waiting for the day you’d come back to me. ”

I swallow the lump in my throat, realizing I wasn’t alone after all. Mom has always been here for me. If only I had arrived earlier, maybe I wouldn’t feel so emotionally shattered. Because physical injuries might heal fast for me as a shifter, but emotional wounds are very different .

“Come with me?” I ask, hearing the desperation that laces the barely audible words I choke out.

She shakes her head, eyes brimming with sorrow.

“I can’t. I wish I could, angel. So much, but your father’s loyalty to Aidan…

it runs too deep. He could track me through the mate bond, and they’d find us both before we ever made it anywhere safe.

” Her eyes shine with unshed tears as she grips my arms and stares into my eyes, letting me know how serious she is.

“What if Aidan is my mate?” I ask, voicing my fears as a shiver runs through my body.

“Then you have to get out of the country,” she answers grimly. “As far as you can. The further away you are; the harder it will be for him to trace you through the bond.”

I nod, letting her words sink in and mentally calculating how far I will need to travel.

South to Mexico is still too close, and north to Canada is a long way to travel.

The safest option would be to work and save up until I can fly further away.

My mind races; weighing up the possibilities.

Maybe somewhere in Europe. Now that Mom has given me more money, I might even have enough already if I can get a passport.

“You can’t ever tell me where you are, my love. It’s the only way to keep you safe.”

Bile rises in my throat as I see my mom in a new light. How much does she know and why is she so sure that my own father wouldn’t want to keep me safe?

“What about you, Mom? Will you be safe?”

“I’ll be fine my love, I’m old and mated. They aren’t interested in harming me.”

“I don’t understand. What aren’t you telling me?”

“There’s no time, darling. Go now, get as far away from this place as possible, and never come back. My number is in that phone, but don’t tell me where you are. Even if I ask.”

The next thing I know, my mom is pushing me out the door as tears roll down her face.

I give her one last tight squeeze before walking away and leaving her behind forever.

I’m in a daze as I move back towards the spot where I hid my backpack, skirting between the cabins that make up the warriors’ homes.

But as I round the last cabin, I see Beta Elijah and two warriors gathered near where I left my backpack.

I swallow my gasp of shock by slapping my hand to my mouth. Stepping back out of their view, I lean back against one of the cabins. A frantic rhythm vibrates in my chest, a wild pulse threatening to explode from my ribs. I clench my trembling hands into fists in an attempt to control their shaking.

Maybe they just happened to be there.

Maybe they haven’t found it yet .

My thoughts race, jumping from one scenario to another as I consider the potential outcomes and consequences of my choice to say goodbye to Mom.

Best-case scenario, they are between me and my bag and I’ll have to leave it behind.

But no—the way they’re gathered, the way Elijah’s nose tilts to the air…

They know.

I’m such an idiot.

Okay, this is it, I tell myself. Time to pull out my big girl claws and make a break for it.

Elijah might have already mindlinked Aidan by now.

The warriors may already be on alert to look for me.

If this plan doesn’t work, I will never get another chance.

I’m sure of it. Aidan promised me what would happen if I ever tried to leave.

Collars. Chains. A lifetime of captivity.

He’ll lock me in the basement whenever he wants to go somewhere without me.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

The constant barrage of thoughts in my head is a relentless mental whirlwind.

Making it nearly impossible to concentrate, leaving me scattered and overwhelmed.

I might have become an anxious mess in the past couple of years, but this isn’t my anxiety talking.

These are the exact promises Aidan made to me when I tried to break up with him two years ago.

My wolf snarls in my mind, letting me know she will help me get away.

She has gotten more and more muted over the years I’ve been with Aidan.

Our naturally submissive omega tendencies and need to be caring and supportive of others have been trampled over too much by him.

He's worn us both down. But now we're ready to break free.

I take a silent step away from Elijah and the warriors until I’m far enough they won’t hear my bones cracking as I shift into my wolf form.

Thankfully, the breeze is coming from the direction they are in, so they won’t pick up my scent.

I strip off my clothes and stuff them and my shoes into the bag my mom gave me before calling on my wolf as I drop into her form.

Bones crack. Fur bursts forth from my skin. My nose and jaw elongate.

The scent of pine floods my sharpened senses.

My small white paws hit the ground, and I shake out my fur.

My vision is clearer and the panic I felt moments ago has morphed into pure adrenaline surging through my veins.

I pick up the bag in my mouth before taking off in a silent trot until I make it to the tree line.

I glance back over my shoulder and scent the air.

No sign of anyone nearby. I exhale a breath of relief, but don’t pause for long .

I sprint into the woods, running in a zigzagging formation and looping back every now and again to make it harder to track me.

The forest blurs past in shades of green and brown.

My goal is to get to the river six miles away.

If I can get into the water, they will lose my scent.

If I can keep my head above water, the phone my mom gave me will survive.

The howls of the hunt rise, urging me to race even faster. The sound that once filled me with excitement as a pup now slices terror along my spine. My lungs scream in protest, but I push myself to my limits. It has only been a minute or so and I curse myself for taking longer by running in loops.

The refreshing, clean scent of water beckons me forward. I know I’m close, but the sound of growling and paws pounding the ground behind me grows louder. I know I’ve run out of time to scale down safely towards the raging whitewater rapids of the ravine.

My plan was to keep to the water’s edge until I reached a safer point, but that’s not an option anymore.

Knowing that I will never get another chance to escape if they catch me, I’m faced with an impossible choice: do I take the metaphorical and literal leap into the unknown or do I stop and return to the devil I know?

Actually, scratch that. It's not a hard decision at all.

I run faster than I ever have in my life.

Right up until the moment I leap into the air and free fall towards the rushing white foam of the river below.

By the time the warriors reach me, I will be gone.

Whether I am safe is irrelevant at this point.

Anything is better than going back to the monster who says he is my mate.

Even death.

I hit the water with a brutal, bone-jarring crash. Pain explodes in my right hind leg. I’m momentarily stunned by the combination of agonizing pain and the coldness of the water. The roar of the river swallows my cries.

Gritting my teeth, I let the current drag me under and away. Wolves cluster at the river’s edge, but none follow. But my mind remembers the severity of the situation and snaps me back to reality. The bag is gone. My leg is definitely broken. And I have no clothes or money.

Fuck. My. Life.

I look back and see wolves in the distance, but they aren’t following me.

So, there’s that at least. Maybe they think I’m dead.

I definitely could have died. As Alpha, Aidan will know I'm still alive but hopefully they haven't told him yet. They were probably trying to get me back to avoid punishment for themselves for letting me get away. Okay, this is good, I assure myself. I allow the current to take me away until I’m long past the point of where they could see me.

Shifting back into my human form, I bite my lip to stop myself from screaming at the pain radiating from my leg.

I swim to the edge of the river and then I drag my aching body out of the water on the opposite bank.

Shivering, I collapse before I can even check my leg out.

I’ve had a lot of injuries since I moved in with Aidan, and I can tell without even looking that this is bad.

I take a few deep breaths before I let my eyes track downwards to take in the damage.

My leg is sticking out at an obscene angle and, oh goddess, my bone is protruding through the skin.

I can’t hold in the contents of my stomach any longer and wretch on to the ground.

I have no idea what to do next. I can’t go into a human town like this.

I won’t even be able to walk in my human form.

But I’ll deal with that tomorrow. Despite the pain. The fear. The unknown. My lips stretch into a small smile.

Because there actually is a tomorrow.