The Great Escape

Kiarra

I watched him walk out. He’d ripped the bedroom door clean off.

I wasn’t scared of him; I was sad for him. None of this would have happened if I’d never stopped here on the train that night.

He’d have been living his life as usual, not swamped with the bullshit I brought to the table.

I couldn’t stand this anymore. It was a steady stream of conflict that even making love didn’t fix.

~That scared me.

The prospect of losing Aidan in every way was torture. The one thing that I had gotten used to was being able to rely on the bond we had.

Sure, we bickered, I gave him a hard time almost ~all the time~, but it was our dynamic.

He knew I was a smart ass, and he got it. He knew I was independent and pushy, but he got those things, too.

That familiar urge was back, and this time, there was no use in fighting it. Maybe I was destined this whole time to spend my life running.

Maybe it was a delusion to think there was any chance of a normal life for me.

I stared at the closet. Just a moment ago, my back was held there by my lover, who had given me all of him. I tried to hold my tears. I was fucking sick and tired of crying, too. Back in the days I was alone, I never cried.

There was no point because I felt nothing.

This was a whole new world for me. An experience that I honestly never saw coming. I didn’t regret it. When I met Aidan, there was a spark, an unavoidable friction between us that I couldn’t escape.

I loved that.

I loved him.

That would never change, but no matter how hard I tried to work out a solution to this problem with the Kendricks, it kept getting worse.

They weren’t entirely off the hook either, though.

If they hadn’t meant to cause this much strife, why did they practically ~demand~ my return to the Apex Pack?

Maybe Aidan was right about that, but how ~he~ possessed me was too much.

I needed space. I needed to think. But that didn’t mean I didn’t need him. It killed me that he would think he wasn’t my world.

I felt stupid for coming out with family matters after our little romp.

It was the worst fucking timing, and I should’ve waited.

I ruined the one shot we had at calming the tension between us.

~Way to go, Kiarra!~

If Aidan and I had no solid future because of stupid rules the werewolf council had established, then what was the point?

If I couldn’t explore who I was and where I came from, how could I move forward?

What was worse is now that I knew I had living parents, I couldn’t forget it.

It didn’t mean I wanted that happily-ever-after with them, I just wanted to know who I was and where I came from.

I glanced again at the closet and took a deep breath. I made my decision. I grabbed a small duffel bag and whatever small items I needed.

I was good at packing light.

There was nothing that couldn’t be replaced.

Chances were Aidan had gone to sulk at Sam’s over a beer, so I knew I had a small window for escape. I knew he would be devastated and extraordinarily pissed off once he realized I was gone.

I also knew he would try to find me and bring me back. I didn’t want this any more than he did. I felt downright shitty for what I was about to do, but I needed to do it.

There was no way I could stand to watch Aidan hurt the way he was. If I was the problem, there was only one decent thing to do.

Fix it.

I crept downstairs and kept my eyes peeled for anyone who could blow my cover and sound the alarm. I wanted to make this quick and painless. It was nearly 4 p.m., so many members would still be working or occupied.

Though not everyone ate dinner in the great hall, many guards did.

I remembered that Aidan’s truck was always parked behind the pack house during the day and he kept a spare key under the visor.

The coast remained clear, and I wasted no time exploiting that.

I slipped out of the back door to the kitchen. From there, it was ten steps to the truck and my ticket out of there.

The door was open, so I flung my bag onto the passenger seat and hopped in. I turned the engine and navigated toward the main road.

I had passed a few wolves, but they were busy doing Aidan’s bidding. They were hardly worried about what I was doing.

It suited me fine.

I liked being invisible.

Once I reached the dirt road that led out of the pack territory and toward the highway the rest of the world used, I paused.

I wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing for the right reasons.

I scanned the road behind me. No wolves, trucks, or cavalry were in Aidan’s arsenal coming to find me.

He hadn’t mind-linked.

No one had. They’d made it clear how they felt about me. From what I could tell, I was free and clear. No one even noticed I was gone.

With a deep breath, I floored it, kicking up dust behind me. It was a smooth ride. I had the windows down. The wind whipped through my hair.

For once, I had nothing on my mind. I felt freer than I had in the last few weeks.

I was hurt. I had no idea where I was headed. I just knew I needed to put some significant distance between that pack bullshit and me.

I hoped the best for Aidan. It would take time, but he’d move on.

They always do.

Suddenly, my moment of peace was abruptly crushed.

An incessant honking was coming from a sleek black sedan that had come out of nowhere and was riding my ass.

I squinted as I tried to figure out who the hell was chasing me down.

Then I saw them.

The two least likely people to be in a car together.

James and Aidan.