Chapter 12: Sicko

Oh, Mark was very, very, very sick. Natalie could see it as clear as day. She took in a deep breath and gave him a smile of her own as she spat,

"It will never happen, loser, and I'm not sorry to disappoint you."

"I'll remind you of this conversation in a year. It will be interesting to know what you make of it then."

With that, Mark strolled back toward the enclosed garden, leaving her standing there gaping.

Talking to Mark was like talking to someone who couldn't hear a thing. He had a hard-on for the “Lord and Master” lifestyle and intended to take it to the extreme. The idea of taking her chances with the world by just packing a bag right now and leaving suddenly seemed like a brilliant idea. In the face of being Mark's slave, being a lone wolf was beginning to look palatable as hell to Natalie. She had to physically stop herself from just going for it because she didn't want to break her word.

Five more days until I meet up with Dominic, she reminded herself.

In five days she could be free of her father, his pack, and that freaking sicko called Mark.

Almost as if her father, or Mark, or maybe even both, had suspected she was a flight risk, it was decided that evening that her whereabouts for the entire twenty-four hours of each day up until the mating ceremony would be monitored. If she was at home, one of her dad's enforcers was to accompany her around the property. If she left pack territory for any reason, she was to be tailed by two of his other enforcers.

Protection, they called it.

Yeah, right.

After only one day of being spied on and followed wherever she went, Natalie knew she couldn't take it anymore. She was a bomb waiting to go off. She couldn't even relax in the knowledge that she had her arrangement with Dominic. There was still a chance that it could fall through, and she needed a backup plan.

The constant surveillance had made it hard for her to get into her dad's office to hunt down her aunt's address and contact number. Even if she didn't end up seeking refuge with her aunt, she still hoped to contact her at some point. Mo's constant surveillance didn't stop her, though. Eventually, she was able to get into her father's office, but what she found was an address. Her phone number was nowhere to be found.

Natalie didn't mind. Although it would have been best if she could just call ahead, she was still grateful for the address she found. If Dominic's plan fell through, she was prepared to drive to that address and beg her aunt's Alpha to give her sanctuary.

Anything could happen. He could reject her in a heartbeat, and if she was lucky, he could take pity on her.

But if that happened, she would have to convince him not to hand her over to Mark or her dad if they found her and decided to start a war.

Knowing that she would never be able to come back here no matter what happened, Natalie packed a large duffle bag complete with clothes, a passport, and a few sentimental objects with the plan that she could stash it in her car ready for Saturday night. If things didn't go well at the Spring Solace, her things would be ready at the back of her car—which would be safely parked by the forest close to the Solace camp.

Natalie didn't have a lot of stuff, so it wasn't too hard to sift through what little she did have and only take the things she liked or needed. Her dad had forbidden her from getting an actual job that paid wages, wanting her here at all times due to being the pack fixer. The only times she ever had money to buy herself things were when he gave her some, which wasn't often. Thankfully, Natalie had learned from her mom the importance of saving money.

Natalie swung the duffle bag around her shoulders and proceeded to plan B, which was getting the duffle bag to the car without her constant companion seeing. She figured that her best chance of getting Mo to relent his watchful eye was if she looked like she was dying of boredom. Of course, that wouldn't be enough because she was considered a flight risk. She had to ensure she appeared to be angry but drained of the will to fight.

The general aim was for her to pass as someone resigned to her fate.

And in so doing, get him to also be resigned and less watchful of her.

With that thought in mind, Natalie hid her duffle bag and proceeded to being the perfect captive. After another two days, Mo became less vigilant, and she took that opportunity to stash the duffle bag in the trunk and sneak back to her room.

With that accomplished, Natalie began to work out the details of her escape from the Solace if things went badly. Her best option would be to blend into the crowd during the chaos Dominic's plan would definitely cause. All she needed was a few minutes to get to her car, and she would be free from them all.

Finally, Saturday morning came.

To Natalie, it felt like she'd been waiting her whole life for this and not just five days. And now that the day was here, she couldn't help the nervous energy racing through her. She remembered that Dominic had advised her not to do anything out of the norm, so she decided to do something she usually did on Saturday. Natalie was glad that something as special as her visit to Ava and her mom's graves was considered normal.

Her heart tugged at the thought because she knew that everything was about to change.

She went to her mom's grave first and, as usual, spent a few minutes tidying it up by replacing the decaying flowers with a fresh bunch. Silently, she apologized to her for this being the last time she would ever be able to visit and for not being able to have the kind of loving relationship with her dad that she would have wanted.

Her eyes filled as she gave Ava's grave the same treatment as her mom's. She then sat in front of it and began to silently speak to her:

"Hey, baby. I don't know how much you guys up there know about what goes on down here, but there's been some really weird crap going on. Remember I told you last time about that weird-ass alpha my dad is trying to force me to mate with? Well, it turns out he's also a very sick son of a bitch and my dad doesn't even give a shit. What do you say about that, huh?"