Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

~~FREYA~~

I made it home after all of the humiliation, sank into my bed and buried myself under the sheets, hoping not to get noticed by mother. I’d already gone through hell ând it’ll be a matter of time before she scolds me. 

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing for the memories to go away.

Slowly, the exhaustion from the night occurrence began to take over ând I drifted off to sleep

Suddenly, I felt hands gripping my shoulders tightly, violently jolting me back to the waking world. 

.

"Freya! Wake up!"

"Get up, useless child! Now!" she hissed, yanking the sheet off me.

I scrambled up, my heart hammering against my ribs, instantly terrified she was about to resume her scolding.

"What is it, Mother?" I whispered, rubbing my sore eyes.

"No time for tears or questions. You are leaving. Tonight."

My blood ran cold. 

"Leaving? Where?" I stammered. In the depths of my heart, I know where I was leaving to. 

“You are going back to the Crescent Pack. No more my responsibility!”

I shook my head in panic. “No!”. The word screamed in my mind. Not now. 

She yanked me to my feet, hitting my back so I fall in my knees. “Pack your bags, Freya!”

I did. 

My hands started to tremble so violently I could barely fasten the zipper on my old backpack. 

"Mother," I tried, clutching the bag to my chest. "I... I can't. I need to stay. Something happened tonight, I…"

"Silence!" She cut me off "Don't you dare try to cause any more trouble! You think you are worth keeping? I heard how you made a show at the banquet” her eyes ran over my scrawny figure in one swift move. “Or what? Have you found him? Your unfortunate mate? It’s your only means to escape”

I almost busted out laughing at the irony of it all. I couldn’t tell her I found my mate. He would’n’t be my means to escape, he’d only be the drive that pulls me into a pack I want nothing with. 

I knew better than to say any more words. 

Mother didn't offer a hug or a goodbye. She simply shoved me down the back stairs, across the yard, and toward the large,  black vehicle idling silently by the tree line.

I shivered, my vision got blurry by the second. 

I didn’t want this life for myself. 

"Get in," she spat, pushing me roughly towards the back passenger door.

I obeyed but stopped just before I opened the door. Without giving it too much thought, I sprinted into the night. 

I heard her yell my name, mutter cuss words for being such a pain in her ass but I didn’t stop. 

I wanted to be given a choice. I wanted to have a say, for once! And that’ll be No, to going to the crescent pack. 

I never was much of a runner but with the adrenaline busting in my veins, my legs carried me quite well…. 

I soon found myself in the woods, different from the one where I’d been attacked earlier.. 

I slowed down, cautious of my steps. I can’t afford a clumsy fall right now. 

I risk a glance behind and everywhere was still very much quiet. 

“Where do you think you are running to?” A deep, smoldering voice inquired 

I froze, heart slamming against my ribs hard enough to bruise. It wasn't Mother’s voice.

I turned slowly, every muscle tense, ready to spring sideways or drop to the ground.

Standing less than ten feet away was my mate or do I say, stepbrother? 

His eyes raked over my trembling form and his lip curled in a grimace. 

“Running,” I managed to speak the lame word.

.

“So I see” he replied. He took a single, slow step forward. The air crackled with his impatience. “But from whom, and to what, Freya?”

“From everything” I spat 

He closed the distance between us in three long, strides. I instinctively backed up until my spine hit the rough bark of a tree. 

He caged me there. His scent filled my senses ând the mate pull worsened. My wolf whined at the back of my head.

“The Crescent Pack,” I murmured, my voice shaking uncontrollably. “I will not go to the Crescent Pack.”

His expression hardened. “You think that it is still your decision to make?. You will come with us. You will stop this act of escapade. It’ll be the last time you ever try to run from me… from us”