Chapter 6: A Time To Break or Escape

Kade’s broad shoulders stood tall, his chest pumped up, but it was not as frightening as his robust six foot frame that guarded my doorway like a fence. 

My heart thrummed rhythmically while I watched the torchlights shed dark shadows across his scared face, that Sun Pack tattoo, a sun split in the middle by a claw, sketched boldly like a caution on the side of his neck. 

One eye, cloudy and pale, fixed on me like a rooted tree, while the other glows with a bloodthirsty delight. 

“Jason has ordered that every step you take is being closely watched,” he grumbles, his voice raspy like stones scraping against a dry bone. 

My heart pounded heavily against my ribs, the dagger I gripped so tightly trembled in my strong hand, its blade glinting in the light yet seeming too little against his towering menace. 

He moved two steps nearer, leather squeaking, and something slips from his grasp, clattering to the ground, my Father’s pendant, the crescent moon now broken, tainted with a streak of dirt. 

My heart jolts, a piercing pain swelling in my chest, how did he come by it? Days ago Gabriel's boot crushed it right before my eyes, or at least that’s what I believed. 

I lower my gaze, pretending to be submissive, my swollen hand vibrating as I grip it behind my back. 

"I am not fleeing," I whisper softly, yet my thoughts swirl like a tempest. I have just three days before the trade, and they’re already inside my space, pulling apart what’s left of Father. 

Kade smiled ear to ear, teeth shining like a hunter’s, as he leaned closer, breath warm and pungent. “Good girl,” he replied, yet his voice oozes with threat, hinting at suffering if I ever dare challenge him. 

As he pivoted to exit, his heavy boot deliberately fell on the pendant, crushing it into tiny pieces. I could hear the sound echoing within me. 

Three days, and I’m being watched so closely, by him, by Jason, by someone else? 

I can't remain like this, like a statue waiting to be pushed to the ground. As evening falls, I’m sneaking along the line of the pack, heart racing as I move to the armory, a low stone structure almost hidden by pines, its door distorted from years of rainfall. 

I need a real weapon, something keener than Father’s blade for the escape I'm hesitantly considering. 

The air is dense with sap and metal, the forest’s murmur concealing my movements, yet my throat feels constricted, Kade’s caution pressing heavy on my chest. 

Beneath a slice of moonlight blades glimmer softly, yet voices bring me to a halt, two guards, just past the racks. "Gabriel is hurrying up the trade," one whispers, his tone anxious and uncertain. 

“Rumor is that she already knows too much.” A chill courses through me, a tremor traveling along my back, what am I aware of? The passing of my father? Evelyn’s quietness? 

I squat behind a box, breathing faintly, my strong hand shaking as I clutch a tiny knife, its handle icy and smooth against my palm. 

The other guard mutters, “It’s best for us if she disappears.” Footsteps draw near, loud and intentional, and I push further into the darkness, heart beating so fast I’m certain they’ll hear me. 

The blade’s sharpness cuts into my thumb, a slight pain anchoring me as I hold my breath, hoping they move on.

They walked away yet their words remain, what do I possess that justifies hurrying me to Jason? 

Gray and chilly dawn arrives, the pack square buzzing with wolves that have forgotten my presence. 

I navigate carefully, hooded, the tiny knife concealed beneath my cloak, yet their animosity cuts like a knife. 

A stocky hunter pushes by, his shoulder hitting mine, growling, “child of a traitor.” The words hurt more than the swelling bruises, and I bite my lip, savoring blood, to prevent myself from retorting. 

A child rushes ahead, throwing a stone that brushes my cheek, a sharp sting spreading as blood flows warm down my face. 

Laughter spreads among the pack, spurred on by Gabriel’s fabrications, his effort to wipe me out. 

“Leave now disgrace,” a she-wolf snaps, her eyes shining with contempt. My strong hand grips the knife's hilt, concealed yet firm, and defiance burns fiercely in my heart, I will not surrender, not now, not for them. 

Three days, and they're all against me, yet I remain, still battling. I clean the blood off my cheek, spreading it over my knuckles, and continue forward, their murmurs a symphony of disdain I won't allow to shape who I am. 

At high noon, I was steps away from the pack's ine, picking up small pieces of wood and twigs to hide my anxiety, when I saw her, Evelyn, weaving between the trees, her dark fabrics a silhouette against the pines. 

She passed a note to a figure camouflaged in a cloak, and he stretched out his hand to collect it, but I noticed their gestures were swift, discreet, and very suspicious. My breath halts as I crouch behind a stump with a racing heart. 

Their gazes connect, hers keen, and assessing, devoid of any sign of the mother I once recognized, and then the figure tucked away the note, but my eyes caught sight of something, a sun split in two by a claw glittering on the seal, a Sun Pack symbol.

My stomach churns, bile swelling with each breath, Evelyn, allied with Jason? Since when? . ,  

I looked forward curiously but the silhouette had disappeared into the woods, quicker than a ghost, and without hesitation Evelyn turned away, her icy blue eyes scanning the branches to spot me. 

No affection, no remorse, only that frigid, evaluating gaze, as if I’m a pawn she’s controlling on a board I can't see. 

I clutch the stump, its splinters piercing my palm, and the question sears: is she handing me over to Jason herself, or is Gabriel merely her pawn? 

The atmosphere feels denser now, laden with mysteries I’m not supposed to know. Darkness envelops my space, the stillness a burden as the floorboards groan beneath my feet while I walk.

Three days until the trade, and Kade’s warning; every step you take is being closely watched, played like a drum in my head. 

I drop to the ground, the knife and Father’s dagger lying in front of me, their silver edges gleaming in the candle glow. 

My plans begin to take shape, still crude but realistic: I'll take a horse from the stables, ride up to the neutral hills where no pack claims territory, and flee until the Sun Pack’s howls diminish. 

Yet I know I'm always watched, Kade’s cloudy eye torments me, his smile a vow of shackles if I slip . 

I buried the knife under my bed, placing it beneath a loose plank, and whispered, “I’ll escape when they don’t see it coming....it won't be long.” The words were like a weapon, fighting for hope within my heart.