Chapter 295

At the first bus station, my mother pulls us off the bus and we buy tickets to another destination. This continues through three more bus stations, changing destinations midway through our journey.

When we finally get to a place where she decides we can stay, it’s the middle of the night two days later. I’m exhausted and there is only one motel in this small town. We crash on the bed and | fall asleep immediately. | realize, somewhere in the back of my mind, that my 12th birthday present was escaping from my father, and | know it’s the best present that I’ve ever been given. For today, my mother and | are safe..

Mom decided that we could stay in this small town. She said that we were not on any pack territory and although there are packs around, in this part of the Appalachian Mountains, they stay to themselves.

My mother enrolls me in school and she gets a job at the only diner in town. She finds a place for rent, what the humans call a mother-in-law apartment. It isn’t much, but it is safe and | don’t have to wake up to my mother healing from bruises or worse every morning.

It's nearly a year before it starts. Every day after school, | go to the diner and sit at the ice cream bar. | do my homework while |

wait for my mother to finish her shift. She works double shifts every day, so that we will have enough money in case we ever have to run again.

On this particular day, everything is normal, until suddenly, my mother drops. her tray and doubles over in pain. Her initial cry alerts the owner, who is also the cook. He comes running out and sees her on the floor, writhing in pain.

“What happened?” He asks.

| am already at her side. “I don’t know, she just doubled over and cried out.”

“I'll call an ambulance, we need to get her to a hospital.” Benny, the owner says.

s of “No!” My mother says. Looking at me, she says, “Sweetie, go get me a glass water, I'll be okay in a minute.” | can see the effort it takes for her to even get those words out.

“Mom, no, Benny is right.”

Benny looks at my mom and something passes between them. “Go get your +15 BONOS mother a glass of water.”

| don’t know what my mother tells Benny, but when | come back, he’s got my mother sitting up. | bring her the water and she drinks it down. “I’m okay. “Paige, | can handle one evening. I'll call someone in. Go home and rest.”

Mom nods and Benny helps her stand up. “Grace, take your mother home and get her into bed.”

| go collect my things and before | leave, Benny gives me a to-go box for dinner.” Let me know if she needs anything overnight.”

He says before | help my mother back to our apartment.

When | get her into bed, my mother takes my hand. “Sit down Grace, we need to talk.”

| sit down next to her on the bed. “Sweetheart, do you understand what happened today?”

rs in her eyes um | shake my head, no. She takes my hand and I can see the important thing is, | think you are safe from your father now. | think that he has stopped searching for us.”

She isn’t looking at me, she’s staring at our hands, clasped together. “But, he has taken another lover.” She looks up at me. “You understand what this means?” | shake my head.

She swallows, fighting tears. “It means that your father is cheating on our mate bond. When that happens in a mated relationship, the person being cheated on can feel it. It feels like you are being stabbed with a knife over and over. From what I've heard, the feeling continues as long as the cheating continues, meaning every time that your father is with another woman, |

will feel it. | can only guess that this will become more and more frequent. | need you to understand because | don’t want you to worry.”

“But what will happen to you?”

She looks down at our joined hands again. “The longer it goes on, the weaker | will become, until one day, my wolf will give up and we will die.”