Chapter 4: Running Away

The night was silent except for the distant howl of a wolf echoing across the desert. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the darkness outside my window. My heart thumped with fear and determination.

 

I had to leave.

 

I pressed a hand to my stomach, feeling the faint flutter of life within me. Tears burned my eyes, but I blinked them away. Crying wouldn’t help me now. I needed to be strong, for my baby and for myself.

 

I packed quietly, shoving only what I needed into a small leather backpack – a water bottle, a few protein bars I’d hidden from training meals, a flashlight, and a hunting knife I had stolen from the kitchen days ago. My hands shook as I tied my hair back and pulled on my old ripped jeans and black hoodie. The smell of grease and metal still clung to it, a piece of my old life I couldn’t let go of.

 

My chest tightened painfully as memories flooded my mind – the smell of oil and dust in my garage, Liam’s loud laughter echoing off the walls, my little cot in the backroom where I fell asleep to the sound of engines cooling. A life that was mine. A life that felt so far away now.

 

I closed my eyes, and another memory surfaced, one that made my stomach twist. I was nine, living with a foster family in El Paso. The father was kind at first, then one night he came into my room reeking of beer, his rough hands grabbing at my thin shoulders. I fought back, clawing and biting until he threw me against the wall and called me worthless.

 

That was the night I learned that people could hurt you and call it love. That was the night I learned to run.

 

And I would run again.

 

I slipped out of the room, careful not to let the door creak. The hallway was dark and empty. My bare feet padded silently across the cold wooden floors as I made my way to the back staircase. I pressed myself against the wall as Blaze walked past in the main corridor, his golden eyes scanning the shadows. My breath caught, but he didn’t see me. When he turned the corner, I exhaled shakily and continued down.

 

The kitchen was empty. I moved quickly, pushing open the back door. The cold desert air hit my face, making me shiver. I stepped out, closing the door softly behind me. The courtyard was quiet. Wolves slept near the stone walls, their ears twitching as they dreamed. I stuck to the shadows, moving between the parked bikes and old crates, until I reached the far gate.

 

I knelt and pulled out the lockpick set Liam gave me for my nineteenth birthday. “For emergencies,” he’d joked. I never thought I’d use it to escape from a place like this. My fingers moved quickly despite trembling. The lock clicked open, and I pushed the gate just enough to slip through.

 

I was free.

 

But the world beyond was dark and wide and dangerous. My breath misted in front of me as I started walking. The desert stretched out for miles, bathed in silver moonlight. Cold wind bit into my skin, but I kept moving, clutching my backpack straps tight.

 

I didn’t know where I was going. All I knew was that I couldn’t stay.

 

Third POV 

 

Back in the mansion, Jaxon stood by his office window, staring out at the night. Something cold and sharp twisted in his chest, though he didn’t understand why. He turned away, annoyed at the emptiness pressing against his ribs.

 

“Alpha,” Felix’s voice came from the door. “She’s gone.”

 

Jaxon’s head snapped up, his amber eyes glowing faintly in the dark room. “What did you say?”

 

Felix shifted uncomfortably. “Reese. She’s escaped.”

 

Silence exploded in the room like thunder. The papers on his desk fluttered in the cold breeze as Jaxon’s rage filled the space. His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. Without a word, he stormed past Felix, his heavy boots echoing down the hallway.

 

“She won’t get far,” Felix called after him with a smirk. “It’s the desert. She’ll die out there alone.”

 

But Jaxon didn’t reply. His mind burned with images of Reese – her storm-gray eyes filled with defiance, her trembling hands pressed to her belly, her scent lingering in every room she touched. Fury and something darker clawed at his chest as he barked orders to his men.

 

“Find her,” he growled, his voice sharp as broken glass. “Bring her back alive.”

 

Reese's POV 

 

Meanwhile, I stumbled across the dunes, my feet sinking into the cold sand. Tears blurred my vision, but I kept going, one step after another. The moon lit my path, casting long shadows behind me. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. If I did, I might turn around, and there was nothing left for me there except chains.

 

But after an hour of walking, my legs gave out. I sank to my knees, clutching my stomach as nausea rolled through me. The wind howled around me, lifting my hair and chilling my bones. I looked back once, just for a moment.

 

The mansion was a dark shape in the distance, glowing faintly with golden lights. My chest tightened painfully. Part of me wished things had been different. That he had been different. That the bond pulling at my heart hadn’t been tied to a man who saw me as nothing.

 

But wishing was useless.

 

I wiped my tears and forced myself up, turning my back on everything I had known these past weeks.

 

I was on the run, pregnant, alone, and scared. But for the first time since this stupid situation happened to me, I felt free.

 

I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, or if I’d even live to see it.

 

But one thing was certain.

 

I would rather die in the desert than live as his prisoner.