by Belle Kayce
Tears spring in my eyes. I sniffle a little. I shouldn’t cry. When will it be okay though? Will I never see them again?
I sigh and throw my phone on the side of the bed. I get up and go out into the balcony. It overlooks the training grounds. The moon gives enough shade to see everything outside.
A flash of movement to my right catches my attention. I look up and see a person standing on the ledge of another balcony. I can tell when someone is a werewolf, like any werewolf can. However, this guy’s entire demeanor and pale skin in the moonlight just sends red flags all over. My entire body goes into alarm mode. The panic rises up in me as I try to make out what it is.
Vampire.
There is such certainty in my gut.
Our eyes meet and he gives me a strange look before he grins, gives me a two-finger salute, then disappears into the night as if he was never there.
***
Sleep evaded me last night. I was tossing and turning all night even though the bed and the room was bigger than my entire living room back at my old pack house. I probably slept for only an hour straight earlier in the morning.
Waking up in the morning, I come up with a decision.
I have to run away because two alphas want to kill me. Because I know their secret. Because life sucks for me. But wait! I found my mate so everything should be going well, but nothing is going well. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
My instincts tell me, he wouldn’t hurt me. He hasn’t yet. But there is only one solution I have in my mind. I have to leave him, make him just forget about me. I can’t be selfish and cause a war. Lance might want to protect me, which would cause strife with Alpha Trent and Alpha Steven. Someone will have to die.
I can’t let anyone die for something I mistakenly found out.
What do I tell Lance? ”Hey! So two alphas want my head, and I don’t want to bother you, so I’m just going to make my merry way into being a hermit.”
I haven’t come out of my room for breakfast even though Bo knocked on my door. I am thinking of an escape plan.
There is a knocking on my door again.
My plan immediately springs into action. I stay quiet for a few moments.
“Meredith?” Lance asks through the doorway, almost hesitantly. “What’s wrong?”
Okay, it’s now or never. I have to get out of here. Make a scene. See if he will actually believe me and buy into it. In my head, it sounds better but whatever. We’ll make do.
This is life and death for me.
I look at the tears that are running down my cheeks in the mirror next to the door. Perfect.
I open the door and when he sees me, there is a flash of pained expression on his face for a second. “What’s wrong?” he asks again softly.
I swallow, shaking a little for added effect. Gosh, where’s my Oscar? “I j-just need to go to the mall. I can’t live without clothes.” I sound like a spoiled little girl, but if this will get him to play along, then it is perfect. “This is such a hard transition for me, and I don’t even have clothes.”
“You need clothes? We can go—”
“I-I’d rather go with a female for shopping,” I cut him off. If he comes with me to the mall, then there will be no way that I can actually execute my plan of running away. “I’m away from my best friend, and I can’t even go shopping with her!”
Lance, for his part, kind of looks like he will do anything to make me stop crying. Feeling only a twinge of guilt, I stare desperately at him.
“Meg can take you then,” he responds easily.
Anyone but Meg.
“That’s so great. Can we go today? I need to feel . . .” I trail off, looking away, “normal.”
“Of course,” he says and I feel almost guilty because he is being so nice to me. He is being nothing but nice to me. Maybe in another life, I would have a happy life with him.
My escape is almost too easy. Getting away from Meg will be the hard part.
CHAPTER FOUR
The great thing is, no one knows what I’m up to. The bad thing is, no one knows what I’m up to.
So, let’s say I will die during my escape from Meg, no one will know. Lance will probably hate me and not care. My parents and sister will think I’m dead. Julia will probably hold the funeral for me. She knows exactly what I want.
Lance, being true to his word, had told Meg to take me to the mall.
Currently, I am in the car with Meg. I think the awkward silence is going to kill me, so I turn on the radio.
“If you even think about putting country music on the radio, I will kick you out of the car,” Meg warns me when we get on the road.
“Would you look at that? We have something in common,” I say, patting my jean pocket to make sure the two hundred dollars the nice taxi lady gave me is still there.
Also, my fully-charged iPhone is in my pocket too. I’m using Uber this time to get out of the mall. There are literally eighty-five missed calls from my parents; my sister, Lisa; and my best friend, Julia. Also, a ton of text messages about how they are fine but worried about me a lot. I send out a group text message to all of them, saying I’m alive and fine. Julia responds in code that I shouldn’t call anyone because they can track me. That’s some human police crap right there, so I’m not doing it even though I want to hear their voices and see if they are okay.
Also, that was the last of my data, so I need some free WiFi now.
“Any person with a brain should hate country music,” Meg says and I stop at a station that is playing the latest hit song.
The rest of the car ride is enjoyed in silence.
I hate awkward silences. It makes me want to fill in the empty air, but there is something about Meg that just shuts me up.
We are never going to be best friends anyways.
“Welp! Here it is,” Meg says and I turn to look at her side where a huge Macy’s is located. “It’s decent. Doesn’t have anything fancy.” Meg turns and looks for a parking spot. She parks in the middle of the huge lot. There are a lot of cars here, so . . .
“It’s a Saturday,” I exclaim as we get out of the car. Meg just gives me a curled-up face like, “are you stupid?”.
“Oh yeah.” Meg digs into her expensive-looking tote purse. “I was told to give you this.” She gives me a credit card that is black. Like those really fancy credit cards you can only dream of having. She just hands it to me nonchalantly. Causal. Normal.
“I can’t take this,” I say, gawking at her.
“You’re the luna. There’s no way Lance is going to make you pay for anything,” Meg says matter-of-factly.
This can’t be serious. Like this is not really another kind gesture from Lance. The mate of mine I am running away from. The one who showed me nothing but kindness. It would have been easier if he showed behaviors of a normal alpha. That way, I will be more than willing to leave.
Thinking about what I should and shouldn’t do doesn’t matter. I should head to a place where no one knows me or is involved.
“I-I have money,” I tell her.
“Can you just take it? Lance said if you don’t, I’ll have to wrestle you or something.”
I grin a little. “You’d win.”
“Heck yeah, I would.” Meg juts out her hand. “Take. It.”
I hesitate when I reach over and take the sleek black card. Lance’s name is simply put on the card. Lance Stryder.
Stryder. Mrs. Ava Stryder.
Pause. Rewind. Where did that idea even come from? I am not going to see him again anyways.
Getting out of the car and going with the plan is a little unnerving, especially with the way Meg is looking at me. Like she expects me to make a run for it. Which . . . she isn’t wrong. It just makes it harder for me.
“Are you going to shop at all?” I ask Meg, filling in the void of the awkward silence.
“I do need some shopping therapy.” Meg shrugs. “Who knows what I’ll find.”
We go through the main entrance. The food court is right
there—where I will begin my plan. When we almost get past the enormous food court, I say, “Meg, I’m actually really hungry.”
Meg stops and gives me a glare. “You seriously couldn’t—”
“That Italian pizza looks really good,” I say, pointing to the longest line in the court. Also, the furthest from the exit. “You can order and I’ll find us tables.”
“I better get a flippin’ raise babysitting you,” Meg grumbles but she walks towards the pizza line, phone in her hand.
My heart speeds up as I walk quickly towards the exit, thanking the crowded mall day. And Uber. I requested one right away when we parked.
It’s already outside the mall.
The man looks old. He raises an eyebrow as I open the car door and say, “I’ll pay you in cash instead of the app. Let’s get outside of the city and we’ll see where I go from there.”
Relief sweeps over me. Getting far away from Trent as possible is my plan right now. Involving my mate is not part of it. It will only be a burden on him. In years to come, he will thank me for doing it. I have to save him and myself. Trent is also going to be there soon. If he sees me, who knows what will happen? I don’t want to find out.
***
I tell my driver to drop me off a hotel near a fast food restaurant because I am feeling hungry. From there, I will see what my next move will be.
I thank my Uber driver and hand him some cash, which he gladly takes.
Trying to see how much money I have left, knowing full well I can’t use a credit card because that’s how people track you, I only have a hundred and fifty dollars.
Enough to stay at a hotel for a night or two. Hotels have WiFi and I will tell my parents or Julia about what I can do. Be on the run forever?
The thought makes me frown as I enter a McDonalds. Losing my appetite again, I tell the cashier I just want large fries.
“Who are you?” the cashier asks, looking behind me. I’m grabbed by the shoulders and pulled away. The cashier just looks at me like this is normal.
I am let go and is forced to stare at two burly bald men.
Oh my gosh. Here it is. I am going to be assassinated.
“You’re clearly a she-wolf rogue. What brings you to the Maroon Pack?” One of the men growls.
“Uhh,” is my great response. How did they find me so fast? Do I smell that bad?
“We’re taking you to our alpha. He wants any unknown wolf to meet him,” the other wolf says.
I gulp. “Who’s your Alpha?”
“Alpha Dylan.”
I purse my lips, trying to remember if I knew any alpha by that name, but I don’t recall. Probably a smaller pack.
One of the burly men pushes me. “Come on and get in the car nicely.” He grabs me and puts me inside a black SUV.
After a few minutes, we arrive at the pack house, then they put a blindfold on me.
“Alpha Dylan would like to see you,” one of the burly werewolves grumbles. He places his meaty hands on me and leads me to wherever. Probably my death. Who knows how this alpha will be? I wish I paid more attention to when my dad was giving my lectures on the alphas. This is all I know about alphas: my former Alpha Trent is an accomplice to a murder, and his cousin, the murderer, Alpha Steven, is a sleaze, especially with how he got his alpha position. Something about overthrowing someone and a huge scandal and betrayal. This wasn’t too long ago either. It’s easier to know about an alpha when they’re full of drama, so don’t judge me.
“Here she is, Alpha.” The wolf let me go and took off my blindfold.
He has a set of dark brown eyes. His eyebrows are raised as he sits on a chair with an official-looking desk in front of him. Alpha Dylan, I’m guessing. He didn’t try to be intimidating and had an air of friendliness to him. He has black hair that is a little spiky, and he has tan skin. He doesn’t look to be too old either. Probably around my age.
“Please, take a seat.” Alpha Dylan gestures to the chairs in front of his desk. I walk over to the chairs, wondering how I’m going to get out of this one. Alpha Dylan leans back in his seat. “You know, there are rumors going around with rogue wolves. And here you are, a rogue wolf.”
I give him a bright smile, hoping I don’t look suspect. I mean, here I am, a rogue wolf of all things.
So, technically, I am a wolf because both of my parents are, but since my wolf hasn’t come out or I haven’t blossomed yet, I’m not really one.
“I-I’m not a rogue,” I say. Even though I am currently one since I am packless, my mate is an alpha, so I do kind of belong in his pack. He even said so himself. Not a lie. Rogues are, unfortunately, treated like they are criminals for no reason.
“I’m from the Noctis Luna pack.”
Alpha Dylan’s eyes go a little wide. “Really? Lance’s pack. He’s my good friend, or so I think we are.”
“I’m his mate,” I blurt because maybe that’ll help me. It should help me. Typically, alphas respect another alpha’s mate. Not my former Alpha Trent or his cousin, but most do.
“Oh, that’s a relief then. My beta just called him to pick you up,” Alpha Dylan sounds pleased with himself.
“Wait! What?!”
Alpha Dylan frowns. “I don’t think you were running away from him. I mean, he’s not abusive. He’ll never hit you. In fact, I don’t think, in all my years of knowing him, I’d seen him mad.”
I rub my temples. Great. Lance is coming here.
“No, you’re right.” I don’t want Lance’s reputation to get ruined. It is kind of comforting to hear good things from other wolves about your mate. “It’s just a weird, complicated situation.”
Alpha Dylan laughs. “My whole life is a weird, complicated situation.”
He seems easygoing. I smile then because I can totally relate to that. More than that, I feel a little relieved he isn’t working with my former alpha. Alpha Dylan seems nice and like someone I can trust. I don’t think he wants any real harm to come to me. Maybe he can even help me with getting away from here.
“It’s just so convenient that Lance’s pack is right next to mine. I’m sorry if my beta and gamma treated you rudely. We’re just on high alert because a dangerous wolf that committed treason is on the loose.”
Dangerous? Me? I want to laugh.
“Oh yeah, you should be. Pretty sure this wolf can be anywhere,” I say, playing dumb. Anywhere, like right in front of you.
One of the wolves from earlier busts into the room. “Alpha Lance is here,” he announces.
I feel him before he even enters the room. His presence makes my body react, like a magnet being pulled towards him. I want nothing more to do than just stare at him all day like some sad, love-sick pup.
Alpha Dylan gets up immediately with full admiration for Lance. I stay in my seat, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.
Lance walks right past me, and him and Dylan does a sort of handshake/thing/hug/embrace that is kind of cute.
“We’ll give you guys some alone time.” Alpha Dylan and his beta get out of the office, leaving the two of us alone. I’m still sitting down. Lance’s back is towards me, and I take a second to admire his tall build and his broad shoulders. This mate bond isn’t helpful. I seriously find his back to be attractive.
Silence.
I don’t know what to say. I am feeling guilty as it is. And then I’ve been stupidly caught.
“Why?” Lance turns around. His eyes meet mine, staring right through me. How is it possible for someone’s eyes to be that blue? It seems like it was glowing. “I knew you weren’t really crying. I knew you were planning something.” A foreign emotion flickers in his eyes. “I just didn’t expect you to run away.”
“Can we stay here for the night?” I just can’t deal with the rest of his pack right now. The guilt and shame is just too much.
He does not look at me as he says, “Yes.”
CHAPTER FIVE
After the awkwardness that was the car ride with Lance and I, I have come to the decision that I will
stay in his pack temporarily. It will be nice to feel a little safe, with my mate by my side.
I swallow, thinking about the stiffness and distance Lance gave me in the morning after we left from Alpha Dylan’s. I feel extremely guilty for running off like that and making a fast one. And complete shame. Lance will not even look at me. The tension in the car is almost suffocating, especially since I hated the quiet.
There is no way I am telling Lance to stop at a gas station so I could use the bathroom.
When we get to the mansion/pack house, Lance just straight up disappears after we enter through the door. I can see Cole from my peripheral vision. He is totally following me. Great. The beta is following me.
Meg greets me with a glare at the living room. I hope they didn’t do anything to her because of me. Would Lance have harmed her?
“I can’t believe someone like you would one up me like that.” Meg crosses her arms accusingly.
“Nothing personal,” I tell her, meeting her eyes so she could tell that I mean it.
She steps in front of me and then scoffs. “Seriously though, I can’t believe I couldn’t find you.”
“I hope you didn’t get in trouble,” I sheepishly admit.
“Puh-lease.” Meg waves a hand like she doesn’t care. “Like anyone could do anything to me.”
It doesn’t seem like she is mad or anything. Seriously, I do feel guilty for pulling that on her. That means Lance is not mad at her because of me. A good sign.
I smile a little. “I’m sorry though . . . honestly.”
Meg gives me another are-you-for-real look. “Meredith, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”
I gulp, looking away from her. She’s right of course. Lance is the one that may be hurting right now. I thought Lance would lock me up or something but he didn’t. This is a relief, but now I will always be with Cole. Or Cole is following me around for no reason, and I don’t think I can get out or escape easily with that kind of attention on me. Plus, this guy is like some intense rock, so conversation with him will be awkward.
