CHAPTER THREE

I wake the next morning filled with dread.

I have barely slept.

My eyes are sore from crying.

I can't believe my parents won't help me.

I can't believe I am being forced to marry Lucius.

There is a knock at the door. It is my mother.

"Are you ready?" she asks.

"I'll never be ready."

She comes in and sits down on the bed next to me.

She is calm, but I can tell she is trying to hold it together for my sake.

She takes my hands in hers.

"Your father and Lucius will be here soon," she says. "We need to get ready."

"I don't want to get ready," I say. "I don't want to do this."

"I know," she says. "I know."

"I'm scared."

"I know," she says. "I am too. But it will be fine. It will be fine. We will get through this. We are strong. We are strong."

"I'm not strong," I say. "I'm not strong at all."

"Yes, you are," she says. "You are very strong. I know you are. You'll see."

"What's going to happen to me?" I ask.

"You'll be all right," she says. "I'm sure you will."

"How can you say that?" I ask.

"Just give it time," she says. "You will be happy."

I roll my eyes. "If you could read my mind, you'd see how happy I am."

"I know it seems bad now," she says. "But things will get better."

"They will not," I say.

She pulls the blankets back. "Come on. You have to get ready. It's almost time."

I don't reply. I lie there, motionless.

At last, she starts to cry.

"I'm sorry," she weeps. "I'm so sorry."

Finally, my stubbornness fades. Seeing her sadness breaks me from my mood.

Because now I know she cares. That she does not want this for me either.

"Will you let me say goodbye to Sebastian?" I ask.

She looks at me, worried. "I don't think that's a good idea. Lucius will be here any moment."

"Please," I say. "I just want to say goodbye."

She hesitates. Then gets off the bed. "I'll see what I can do."

She leaves the den.

I jump out of bed. If she can help me with this one thing, then I can forgive her.

I press my ear to the door and listen. It is quiet, but I can just make out voices. She is talking to someone.

"She wants to say goodbye to Sebastian," she says.

"No," comes my father's voice, blunt and harsh.

My stomach drops. I press closer to the door to her better.

"She is upset," my mother is saying. "If we give her this, she will relax. She will stop fighting."

"I'm not going to allow it," my father says. "It is too dangerous."

"Just let her say goodbye."

"I can't let her do that," he says.

I heave heard enough. My father will never let me say goodbye to Sebastian, so I will have to take matters into my own hands.

I throw open the window.

It is a long jump, but not for the wolf in me.

I jump.

I land hard on my feet.

I look around. The forest is just beyond the clearing, a few trees and then it all opens up. I could run. Get get lost in there.

It's not safe.

And I won't be able to run forever.

Just then, I hear a noise.

I look ahead.

It is Lucius, coming for me.

I am running out of time.

I have to find Sebastian now or I will never get to say goodbye.

I watch Lucius approach the door. As soon as I can, I run.

I look back and see my father standing at the door, looking at me as I race away, his face red with rage.

He will have to find a way to stall.

I run hard and fast, my mind on Sebastian.

I pass the fields of wheat and the fruit trees where we fell for one another.

I don't stop. I can't stop.

I don't know where I'm going.

I just keep running.

I run until my lungs are burning and my legs are throbbing and my heart feels like it is going to explode.

I reach his door and pound my fist on it.

His mother answers.

"Sebastian," I pant. "Where is he?"

She frowns. "He's gone."

"Gone? Where?"

"He left the village," she says. "Last night. I thought you knew."

My world comes crumbling down.

I collapse to the ground with a moan.

Tears stream down my face.

It is all over.

I will never see Sebastian again.

"What's the matter?" his mother asks.

"I...I...I have to marry Lucius," I sob.

She gasps.

"What's going on?" asks Sebastian's father.

I look up to the door. He has come to sound of my crying.

"She's upset," his wife says. "She needs water."

He heads inside and returns with a large pitcher of water. She hands it to me and I drink it down.

She helps me up.

"There," she soothes. "That's better. Now. Start from the beginning. What is this about Lucius?"

"I have to marry him," I sob. "My parents have made me. I didn't want to. I didn't want to. And I don't want to."

Sebastian's father looks confused, but his mother nods. "I see. Come inside. You should sit."

I go inside and she asks me to sit on a chair.

"I wouldn't marry him either," she says.

At last, someone understands me.

I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and take a deep breath.

"Maybe I should speak with your father," Sebastian's dad says. "And Brock. Talk some sense into them. Maybe there is a way."

"I doubt it," I say.

"When will you leave?" she asks.

"Now," I reply. "Lucius just arrived."

She cups my face in her hands. "I'm sorry, Kayla. You were always like a daughter to me."

Coming from outside, I hear my father's voice, calling to me.

My stomach drops.

It is time to go.

I stand.

"Think of it as a great adventure," Sebastian's mother says hurriedly.

I leave the house.

It is time to meet my new husband.