Chapter 3: The Escape

Aria's POV.

I had been packing for three hours, and I still couldn’t believe I was doing it.

Everything I owned fit into two suitcases. Three years in that mansion, and I had almost nothing to show for it. Most of my clothes were simple, cheap things I had brought from my father’s pack. The expensive dresses Luna Margot had forced me to wear for pack events stayed in the closet. I didn’t want anything from them.

My hands shook as I folded another shirt.

Downstairs, I could hear voices. Kyril and his mother were still talking. Probably planning the wedding. Probably celebrating getting rid of me.

I should have felt angry, but I was too numb.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Clara: Luna Margot is having the pack doctor come tomorrow. She told me to make sure you’re here. Don’t know why, but be careful.

My blood went cold.

The pack doctor. Why would they need him unless...

Unless they knew.

Had Luna Margot somehow found out about my pregnancy? Was she planning to force me to terminate it?

My hand instinctively covered my stomach.

No. I wouldn’t let that happen.

I texted Clara back: Thank you for warning me.

I had to leave that night. Right then.

I grabbed my mother’s grimoire from the hidden compartment in my closet. It was the only thing I had left of her. The leather cover was worn, filled with spells and potions she had never gotten to teach me. My magic was weak, but maybe there was something in there that could help me.

I flipped through the pages until I found what I was looking for—a concealment spell. It wouldn’t make me invisible, but it would hide my scent. Make it harder for wolves to track me.

I had never tried that spell before. My magic was unpredictable at best.

But I had to try.

I lit the candle on my nightstand and read the words carefully. My hands glowed with a faint purple light: my hybrid magic, weak and flickering.

The purple light flared brighter for just a moment, then faded.

Did it work? I had no idea.

I blew out the candle and finished packing quickly. I took only what I needed: clothes, my mother’s grimoire, my father’s old watch, and the small amount of cash I had been secretly saving. It wasn’t much, but it would have to be enough.

I also took the divorce papers. I would sign them and send them back once I was safe.

Once I was far away from there.

I checked the time. 2:47 AM. The mansion should have been quiet by then. Kyril was probably in his room—not the one we were supposed to share, but his private suite on the other side of the mansion. The one he had always kept locked.

Luna Margot stayed in the west wing.

If I was careful, I could make it out without anyone noticing.

I grabbed my suitcases, took one last look at the room that had never really been mine, and slipped into the hallway.

The mansion was dark and silent. My footsteps were soft on the carpet runner. I avoided the marble floors—they were too loud.

I was halfway down the stairs when I heard a door open above me.

I froze.

Footsteps. Someone was walking down the hall.

I pressed myself against the wall, barely breathing.

“Clara?” It was Luna Margot’s voice. “Did you hear something?”

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

“Just the house settling, Luna,” Clara’s voice responded. She sounded closer than Luna Margot. “You know how old places are. Always creaking.”

“Hmm. Well, make sure everything is locked up. We can’t have that hybrid girl getting any ideas.”

“Of course, Luna.”

I heard Luna Margot’s door close.

Then Clara appeared at the top of the stairs. She saw me immediately, and our eyes met.

She put a finger to her lips, then waved me forward.

I crept down the remaining stairs as quietly as possible. Clara met me at the bottom.

“The kitchen door,” she whispered, pressing something into my hand. “It’s unlocked. There’s a car in the staff parking lot, the old blue sedan. Keys are in it. It’s mine, but I never use it anymore. Take it.”

“Clara, I can’t—”

“You can and you will.” Her eyes were fierce. “Those babies deserve better than what this family will give them. Now go, before someone else wakes up.”

Tears burned my eyes. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Just live a good life.” She squeezed my hand once, then turned and walked away.

I hurried to the kitchen, my heart pounding so hard I was sure someone would hear it.

The kitchen was dark and empty. I could see the door that led to the staff parking lot.

Almost there. I was almost free.

I reached for the door handle—

“Leaving without saying goodbye?”

I spun around, and my heart stopped.

Kyril stood in the kitchen doorway.

He was wearing sweatpants and nothing else. His hair was messy, like he had just woken up. But his golden eyes were sharp and alert.

“Kyril,” I whispered. “I didn’t... I thought you were asleep.”

“Clearly.” He looked at my suitcases. “Running away in the middle of the night? That’s your solution?”

“You wanted me gone. I’m leaving.”

“I wanted a civilized divorce, not for you to sneak out like a thief.”

“There’s nothing civilized about what you did to me!” The words came out louder than I had intended. “You humiliated me for three years. You’re marrying another woman who’s pregnant with your child. You want me to just sit here and smile through it?”

“Where will you go?” he asked.

“That’s not your concern anymore.”

“Aria—”

“Don’t.” I held up my hand. “Don’t pretend you care. Please. I can’t... I can’t take it.”

He stepped closer, and I stepped back.

“You think I don’t care?” His voice was low. “You think this was easy for me?”

“Yes, actually. You made it look very easy.”

We stared at each other across the dark kitchen.

“Sign the papers,” he finally said. “Do it properly, with lawyers present. Don’t just run.”

“Why? So you can control this too?”

“So you get what you deserve! The settlement, the support—”

“I don’t want your money, Kyril. I never did.”

“Then what did you want?”

The question hung in the air between us.

You, I wanted to scream. I wanted you to love me. I wanted to be enough.

But I didn’t say any of that.

Instead, I picked up my suitcases. “I wanted to matter. But I never did. So I’m leaving.”

I walked past him toward the door.

He caught my arm.

“Aria, wait.”

The touch sent electricity through me. Even then, even after everything, my stupid heart still responded to him.

“Let me go,” I whispered.

For a long moment, he didn’t move.

Then his hand dropped.

“If you leave like this, I won’t come after you,” he said quietly. “You understand that? You’ll be on your own.”

“I’ve always been on my own.”

I walked out the door and didn’t look back.