Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Daphne's Point of View

As I was getting out of the shower, I could hear Hannah's bubbly voice calling my name. I poked my

head out of the bathroom and let her know that I was only going to be a moment. I hurried and

dried off and threw my clothes on before tying my hair up ina ponytail. Today I was finally leaving,

and surprisingly I had mixed emotions about it. I was happy to be leaving here, that I was no longer

a slave. On the other hand, this place is all I have ever known. I am a little anxious about going to a

place that is completely brand new. I truly wonder what my future holds.

"Are you ready to see your new home?" Hannah is already bouncing around the room, a wide smile

capturing her face. Her energy is contagious, and I find myself getting excited about it as well. “ I

can not wait for you to see the house; I think you are going to love it. Oh, and I can show you

around our little town, and my favorite café and coffee shop.” Hannah is very excited, and I laugha

little at how fast she is rattling off places she wants to go. “Alright well let's go get you all packed

up, because I am ready to get there.”

I lead Hannah out of Caleb's room and take her to the back stairs. There is a comfortable silence

between us. I start getting a little nervous as we get closer to my room. I know that it is not much,

but for so long it has been my sanctuary.

“I do not have much so it wont take long to get it together. I mainly just want to grab the few books

that I have hidden away.” I naturally look at the floor as I tell Hannah this.

“I understand I only had a few clothes to bring with me too when Theo and Caleb bought me.

Daphne I was a slave too, so

I know what it is like.” Hannah puts her hand on my back in comfort. I open the door slowly,

revealing my home for the first time to someone else. Looking at my bedroom after spending the

night in the green room with Caleb I can finally see how low I have really lived. My makeshift bed is

barely an inch above the actual floor. There is no art, or color really in my room.

"Alright well let us get started. Where are your books?” Hannah's bubbly personality is shining

through again, she is trying to put me at ease, and it is working. I walk in and lead Hannah over to

where there is a loose floorboard near the corner. In this little hole is the only treasure I own, my

books. The floorboard is being stubborn today and does not come up as easily as I would have

liked. Finally, it breaks free and I can move it to the side. As I am pulling my first book out Caleb

surprises us both by showing up. Hannah and I had been so focused on the floorboard we did not

hear him approach, and his voice startled us a little.

I am embarrassed that Caleb is seeing my room. I know that it is not much, but it was mine. Having

him here raises my anxiety. I do not know what he is thinking as he looks around the room. He does

not say much but walks over and grabs my clothes. That is all lown, and I am ready to go now.

Caleb, Hannah, and I walk back to the green room and

Caleb grabs his bags, throwing my possessions into his bags. He then calls Theo and too soon we

are ready to go to my new home.

Caleb holds my hand as we walk through the house. It is a bittersweet moment walking through the

halls one last time. I spotted the corner where I got my first broken nose, the place by the steps

where my mother whipped me with a belt. The coffee table that had split my head open above my

eye.

Looking around I realized quickly that I did not have a lot of happy memories here. There were

moments that I shared with Scarlet that were good, secret hugs and small moments in time. Overall

though I realize now that I lived through basically hell on earth. Caleb's thumb is massaging the

back of my hand as if he knows what is going through my head.

What surprises me most though is the lack of activity throughout the manor house. I did not expect

my mother and father to come see me off as they had Scarlet, but I did think that they would show

up to say goodbye to Alpha Caleb.

The hallways were empty through, I did not even see Beta Noah, or Heather. It was eerie to not hear

the bustle that is common. I wonder if it has anything to do with Caleb meeting with my father this

morning. I almost want to ask him what happened, but perhaps it is better if I do not know. ©

Finally, we are outside, and I inhale deeply. Just being outside brings some peace to my soul.

Looking around I can see that a lot of people are gathered.

Hannah is close to Theo, and I see some faces that I recognize from last night. *

“Let's go home pack.” Caleb's voice is booming, and I can hear the excitement in his voice. With his

words I see their faces light up and everyone starts moving towards the woods. I notice that the

younger girls, and some children that I did not notice before are ushered towards the middle of the

group. The men stay along the outer perimeter of the gaggle of people moving.

“Do you want me to carry one of the bags?” I look over at Caleb as I ask him. I do not think that it is

fair that he is carrying everything, and I want him to see that lam useful. He has given mea new life,

and I want to prove that lam helpful. Plus, Ido not know how long we will be walking for and I do

not want him to get tired.

“No, I got it for right now hun.” My face flushes a slight pink as he uses a pet name. In truth it makes

me happy, and I am hopeful for my future. As we reach the tree line, I cannot resist looking back at

the manor house one last time. My eyes float to the second story window where I know that my

parents’ room is and I swear that I can see my mother staring at us. I donot knowif I am feeling

braver because Caleb is holding my hand, or because I know that I am finally free but I tun slightly

and raise my middle finger to her. Caleb chuckles slightly at my act of defiance, and then we

continue with the pack. This is it, the start of my new life, and I could not be happier.