[7]

Elena

“Going somewhere, Luna?”

I froze.

For one terrible moment, I was certain Aiden had discovered me. My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as I slowly turned toward the voice.

A woman stood beside the laundry room door, holding a basket of folded towels against her hip. She was in her early forties, with dark hair tied into a loose bun and an expression that suggested she had already decided I was trouble.

It took me a moment to recognize her.

Martha Evans. She worked in the packhouse laundry and occasionally helped in the kitchens. We had spoken only a handful of times, usually when I thanked her for delivering clean sheets.

“I’m going for a walk,” I answered.

She glanced at my bag, then at the dark corridor behind me.

“With your belongings?”

I lowered my eyes.

“I need to leave, Martha.”

Something in my voice must have convinced her I wasn’t joking. She put the basket down.

“Does the Alpha know?”

“No.”

“Does he want you to leave?”

I almost laughed.

“He wants me to stay.”

Martha studied my face for several seconds. Her gaze lingered on my trembling hands before moving to the bag on my shoulder.

Then she sighed.

“Come with me.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Unless you’d rather stand here until someone finds you.”

She picked up her basket and walked toward the laundry room. After a moment’s hesitation, I followed.

Inside, she closed the door and pointed toward a narrow passage at the back.

“My shift ends in twenty minutes. There’s a delivery vehicle parked behind the staff quarters. I can take you as far as the eastern road.”

I stared at her, struggling to understand.

“Why would you help me?”

“Because I’ve watched you spend five years making yourself smaller to fit beside a man who barely looks at you.” Her expression softened. “And because you look like you’re about to collapse.”

My throat tightened.

I had expected suspicion, questions, perhaps even a warning that I was betraying the pack.

I hadn’t expected kindness.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

She changed into a plain coat, collected her keys, and led me through the service passage. We moved carefully, stopping whenever we heard footsteps. Twice, Martha pulled me into storage rooms until the corridors were quiet again.

My heart pounded throughout the journey.

At last, we reached a small parking area behind the staff quarters. A dusty grey car stood beside a delivery van.

Martha unlocked it.

“Get in. Keep your head down until we’re past the outer checkpoint.”

I climbed into the passenger seat and placed my bag between my feet.

As she started the engine, I glanced toward the packhouse in the distance.

Five years of my life were contained within those walls.

I had loved Aiden there. I had cried there. I had spent countless nights wondering what was wrong with me, what I needed to change, and how I could become someone he might finally want to mark.

Now I was leaving without even saying goodbye.

The thought hurt more than I expected.

Martha reached across and squeezed my hand.

“Don’t look back, Elena.”

I turned toward her, startled by the use of my name.

She gave me a small smile.

“Just for tonight, you’re allowed to be a woman who wants to live.”

I looked away before she could see my tears.

The drive to the eastern checkpoint felt endless. Martha greeted the guards casually, explaining that she was taking supplies to a relative’s house outside the territory.

One of the guards leaned toward her window.

“Out late, Martha?”

“Someone has to keep this pack fed,” she replied dryly. “Unless you’d prefer to cook for yourself tomorrow.”

He laughed and waved us through.

I didn’t breathe properly until the trees swallowed the checkpoint behind us.

We had made it.

I was outside Blood Moon territory.

For the first time since rejecting Aiden, I allowed myself to believe escape might actually be possible.

Martha drove for another twenty minutes before pulling into the parking lot of a small roadside café. The sign above the entrance flickered, and only a few customers sat inside.

“I can’t take you any farther,” she said. “If I’m gone too long, people will start asking questions.”

“I understand.”

She turned off the engine but kept her hands on the steering wheel.

“Do you have somewhere to go?”

I hesitated.

There was one person I could call. One person who had known me before I became Aiden Conner’s neglected Luna.

“A friend,” I answered. “I just need to reach him.”

Martha nodded.

“Then let’s get you a phone.”

Inside the café, she ordered tea and bread while I sat near the window. The warmth made me realize how cold I had been, and the smell of food stirred a hunger I had ignored for hours.

When the waitress brought our order, Martha explained that I needed to make an urgent call but had lost my phone.

The young woman didn’t ask questions. She simply handed me hers.

I stared at the device.

I had no idea whether Alec still used the same number. We hadn’t spoken properly in months, and the last time I saw him, I had been too embarrassed to tell him how miserable my marriage had become.

Still, I dialled.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

My stomach twisted.

Then a familiar voice answered.

“Hello?”

My eyes filled with tears.

“Alec?”

Silence.

Then, cautiously, “Elena?”

I pressed the phone against my ear.

“It’s me.”

“Where are you? Is something wrong?”

The concern in his voice nearly broke me.

For years, I had learned to hide my pain because Aiden treated it as an inconvenience. Now, one question from Alec was enough to make my carefully maintained composure crumble.

“I need your help,” I whispered.

“Tell me where you are.”

“I can’t explain everything over the phone. I’m at a café outside Blood Moon territory. I need somewhere safe to go.”

His voice changed immediately.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m not sure.”

“What does that mean, Elena?”

I closed my eyes.

“I’ll explain when I see you. Please, Alec. I don’t know who else to call.”

“You don’t have to explain anything right now.” His voice softened, but there was steel beneath it. “Send me the name of the café and stay there. I’ll come for you.”

Relief swept through me so suddenly that I had to grip the edge of the table.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. Just stay where you are, and don’t leave with anyone else until I arrive.”

The call ended.

I returned the phone to the waitress and sat back down, clutching my hands together beneath the table.

Martha watched me quietly.

“He’s coming?”

I nodded.

“Good.”

I glanced toward the road. “You should go back now. If you’re away too long, someone might become suspicious.”

“I’m not leaving you here alone.”

“Please.” I reached for her hand. “You’ve already risked enough for me. If anyone discovers you helped me, Aiden might punish you for it.”

Her expression hardened at the mention of his name.

“He won’t know unless someone tells him.”

“Exactly. So go back before anyone notices you’re missing. I’ll be all right until Alec arrives.”

She studied me, clearly unconvinced.

Finally, she stood.

“Keep the door locked if you decide to wait outside. And if anyone asks questions, you never met me.”

“I won’t forget what you’ve done.”

Martha squeezed my shoulder before leaving.

Through the café window, I watched her car pull onto the road and disappear into the darkness, heading back toward the territory I had escaped.

I was alone now.

But not entirely helpless.

I wrapped both hands around my cup of tea and waited for Alec, praying that the first person I had chosen to trust in years would arrive before the Alpha I had left behind discovered I was truly gone.