CHAPTER 3: HAILEY SNEAKS OFF TO WORK WITH HUMANS

HAILEY

My ceiling cracks had become a constant map of pain. Time really runs fast and if there's one constant feeling I have it is the feeling of nothingness in me as I stare into nothingness while feeling the constant pain/gash left on my body by Marissa with no hope of anyone stepping up for me I've come to the conclusion that if I didn’t find a way to get out of this pack I'd simply be killed for existing since I can't reveal my wolf to anyone and so I planned and revisited plans in my head as I checked various scenarios and realities into the rest of the night alone in my dark space.

The packhouse had never been home. It was a cage which looked like an option for freedom from afar yet it's all lies-pack elders,mothers, fathers, everyone stayed quiet and have somehow joined in the trend of bullying the wolfless orphan but I've had enough. Running off was not enough. I did not simply want to escape—I wanted to live, to be free to make my own choices without interference.

Whispers came back to me. Gossip that I had heard months before when nobody thought I had been paying attention: the human world outside the pack border. It is said that the humans employed strangers to do their laundry, wash their plates, cook for them and pay in cash without asking questions so I made plans in my head on how to cross the border without suspicion and for three days I kept deliberating but by the fourth night I was done with theories and probabilities, it was time to act or stay a victim forever.

Immediately everyone went to bed at night, I stayed up surveying the whole place as I checked my clothes and came up with almost nothing to wear but a faded and worn out Jean with a rumpled and frazzled tee shirt that looked ridiculously old but having no other option, I quietly straightened it as I placed it under my head and slept a little while on it hoping the weight would help straighten the shirt.

Early in the morning while everyone was still asleep, I gently changed my clothing before approaching the border. The silence bothered me hence I called my wolf "Amenia?" She answered me calmly "Don't worry Hailey, I'm always with you, I'd keep watch, you have my strength and my presence, you are unstoppable, they are all asleep let's go now.

After hearing her reassurance, I felt so much better and so I walked, and walked, gently walking through lonely paths as I watched the pack warriors asleep with drools in their mouths but these people have been protecting us? Absolutely ludicrous- they never once lifted their heads as I walked by them, making lite noises but the only concern I had was emotional fatigue that later manifested itself as physical tiredness because for the first time in my life I was leaving the pack, walking into an unfamiliar territory and I couldn't even let down my guard as I looked all around me searching for any incoming threat but I found and encountered no one but daylight was fast approaching but suddenly I realise I was finally out of our territory and now in the human world and even the air smelled different, addictive- the smell of freedom and I loved every moment of it.

Why did I wait until now before finally running away? I have no idea but maybe it was the fact that my wolf recognised Thomas long ago and couldn't bear to part with him until the rejection. I had no idea but I am thankful that finally I've experienced freedom for myself and I could finally have a say on a part of my own life.

As I moved closer and looked around, I noticed people minding their business here, no one looked at me like a crazy person nor did they quite frankly care, they simply did their thing and moved at their own pace. I saw a diner and walked in, I stuff my hand in my pocket nervously as I sweat and feel distress as I notice a kind middle aged woman struggling with a food tray and serving people, she looked so tired and uncomfortable so I summoned courage and walked up to her "Hello ma'am, I'm in need of work, I can help out around here and make your work load less".

She pauses and stares at me for a while then clears her throat "Are you a criminal on the run?"

"No ma'am."

"Will you bring me trouble?"

"No ma'am I'm just here for work to make ends meet."

" I promise."

Another silence stretched between us before she finally agreed. "Name's Helen. You start tonight."

Relief struck me so strongly that my knees trembled. She led me to the kitchen, a clang of banging pots, sputtering fryers, and piles of dirty dishes. She handed me an apron.

"It's not pretty, but it's honest," she said. "Stick with it, and there'll be no trouble."

I will," I promised, my voice thick with gratitude.

The dish washing was never-ending. Hot water scalded my hands, steam clung to my skin, and my muscles screamed with the constant scrubbing but I didn't mind. For the first time in years, I wasn't useless. For the first time, I was doing something I found myself. Every plate I washed, every counter I cleaned, was proof I could make a life the pack couldn't touch. Hope flared in me. There's hope for tomorrow.

Later, after hours of furious clatter in the kitchen, Helen slipped an envelope into my hand.

"Good work tonight," she said, gently now. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes," I said quickly, clinging to the envelope as if it were a lifeline. "Thank you."

As I took a step back into darkness, the cold of the air bit into skin, but pride smouldered within me like fire. I had done it. For the first time in my life, I'd walked my own path.

A low laugh rent the stillness of the night as I walked and my heart froze.

Two shapes appeared out of the darkness, their outlines taking form beneath the silver light of the moon. Pack warriors.

"Where do you think you're going?" one taunted, his voice dripping with contempt.

The envelope trembled in my palm. Fear overflowed, scratching at my breast. How did they find me?

The second warrior grinned with malice. "The Alpha will be glad. If you can escape, you can accept the punishment."

Amenia roared in my head. "Run" Immediately I ran, covering the envelope in my fist, lungs burning as the woods engulfed me again. I couldn't shift—not here. No one could discover Amenia. If the pack discovered my secret, they'd kill us both.

Branches tore at my sleeves, and roots tried to sweep me away, but I never stopped. The money held in my fist was not mere paper—it was promise, hope and freedom.

But they were faster. They were more powerful. Their pursuit thundered behind me until one of them tackled me. My cheek cracked into earth, pain flashing over my face. The envelope snatched from my grasp.

"No!" I screamed, clawing at the earth, reaching for it.

A fist full of my hair was grabbed by a warrior, yanking me back. Blazing pain shot through my scalp.

"You thought you could get away?" The warrior growled, his hot, bitter breath in my ear. "You thought you could leave?"

The other pocketed the envelope, shaking it like a prize. "All this, for bits of human money. Pathetic."

I wept, rage and desperation fought within my chest. I had risked everything, and with a brutal moment, it was all lost.

Yet below the terror, something untamed stirred to life. Amenia's tone was quiet and unmoving. "This isn't the end, Hailey. They haven't crushed us yet but the moon goddess has plans that must be respected."

I stood frozen. Tears still in my face, but a fierce anger fuelled my eyes. They thought they had won. They thought returning me would be enough.

But I had felt freedom tonight and once felt, it could never be taken away.

Even if they punished me and jailed me. I would escape this hell.