Chapter 2:

~Jane~

•••Present Day•••

Over the past two years, I've tried to be brave. I've tried to hold onto the strength Sara told me I had- the strength she believed in, even when I didn't.

Tonight, as I sit on my bed with my parents in front of me and see the fear in their eyes... that strength Sara once believed in feels like it's slipping away.

"Dad," I whispered, trying to keep my voice from shaking, "Please... What's going on?"

He hesitated, holding my hand a little tighter before taking my other one. "Jane... Something's happening."

The weight in my chest tightened.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He glanced at Mom before continuing. “Beta Oliver came to see us tonight. He came with a warning.”

"Warn you about what?" I asked, my heart pounding.

“It’s Zander.”

The room suddenly felt too small.

Dad’s voice broke.

“He’s chosen his next mate.”

My stomach dropped.

“It’s you.”

My world froze.

Just like Sara.

The thought hit me so hard I could barely breathe.

This was how it started for Sara too.

First the warning.

Then the fear.

Then Zander came to take her away.

"What?" I breathed. "Me? No-no, I don't understand. I'm only sixteen! I'm not even of age yet. He can't- he can't do this."

Fear crept in fast. It was like that night all over again. The night Sara was taken. The night everything changed.

"I can't be his," I whispered, shaking my head. "He's a monster."

"We know, sweetheart," Dad said gently. "We're not going to let that happen."

I looked up at him, my throat tight.

"We talked to Oliver," he continued. "He's doing everything he can to protect you. Zander is planning to come here in the morning."

"What?" I gasped, panic surging in my chest.

“He’s already started to put a plan in place,” Dad said. “Oliver knows someone who will help.”

“Someone from the Moonlight Pack,” he added.

My stomach tightened. “They’re supposed to be our enemies.”

They aren’t our enemies. That’s a lie Zander wants everyone to believe.

“They’ll meet you at the border,” he continued. “That’s all we know for now. But it’s our only chance.”

The idea of leaving didn’t feel right.

Leave my home.

Leave my parents.

Leave everything I’d ever known.

My fingers from my other hand tightened around the edge of my sheets without me realizing it.

The thought hurt almost as much as the fear of Zander.

This could be the very last time I get to see or be with my parents.

The reality of it hit me so suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

I wasn’t just being asked to run.

I was being asked to say goodbye.

I continued to looked at my parents as they sat here in my bed with me.

Mom’s grip on my hand tightened slightly.

Dad looked exhausted.

Older.

Like the weight of the last three years had finally become too much to carry.

A lump formed in my throat.

What if I left tonight and never came home?

The thought hurt more than anything Zander could do to me.

I had already lost Sara.

I couldn’t lose them too.

My chest chest tightened so hard it hurt. "I can't just leave... What if Zander finds out? What will he do to you? To mom?"

He reached out, brushing a tear from my cheek. “We’re willing to take that risk if it means you’re safe.”

“We couldn’t save Sara.”

His voice cracked completely.

He looked away, unable to meet my eyes.

“I failed her.”

The words were barely a whisper.

“But I’m not going to fail you too.”

I wanted to argue, to scream, to tell him this wasn't fair- but the words died on my lips. He was trying to protect me. I saw it in his eyes- the guilt of not being able to save Sara still lived there.

BANG.

A fist pounded on the front door downstairs.

"Open this door!" Zander's voice. The sound of it sent ice through my veins.

Dad stood, squeezing my hand. "No matter what happens... You stay here."

He walked to the bedroom door, paused, and looked back at Mom and me as we continued to sit here in my bed together.

"Everything's going to be okay, Jane." He then stepped out of my room into the hallway. The door clicked shut behind him.

The sound of his footstep out in the hallway faded out.

Leaving only silence.

Mom didn’t speak.

I didn’t either.

We just sat there, listening to the silence stretch thinner and thinner.

But then the sounds continued from the man who destroyed our lives, now demanding to take me too. I could feel it again- that familiar numbness. Like my body was trying to protect me from what was coming.

"I'm scared, Mom," I whispered. "What's going to happen?"

She scooted closer and took my hands. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. Your father and I love you so much. We're doing everything we can to protect you. You might not understand it now, but you are strong Jane.”

“I don’t feel strong.”

Mom’s eyes softened.

“Sara knew it too.” She said.

“She said that same thing to me.” I whispered.

For a second, I could almost see Sara kneeling in front of me the night she left.

“Be strong, Jane.”

The memory squeezed painfully around my heart.

Mom nodded. “Your father and I… we’ve always known.”

She brushed my hair back gently, like I was still small enough to need it.

“When you were born, there was something about you.”

Her voice softened.

“Something strong… powerful.”

She placed a hand gently over my heart. "You have everything you need right here."

The banging downstairs grew louder- more furious.

"Open this door, Foster!" His voice bellowed again, each word dripping with power and rage.

I could hear the front door rattle under his fist. The sound shook me to my bones.

Mom stood and brushed my arm. "Stay here, Jane. No matter what you hear. Don't come out."

"But-" my voice cracked.

"No matter what," She repeated, her eyes locked on mine. "You stay here."

She stepped into the hallway, closing my door softly behind her.

Alone.

My heart pounded like it wanted out of my chest. I curled into myself, arms tight around my legs, breath shallow and shaking.

I could barely breathe as I listened to the muffled sounds below.

Every second felt longer than the last.

I strained to hear what my parent might be saying.

But then silence.

It felt like the entire house was holding its breath.

Then- CRACK

The front door slammed open, the force echoing through the house like a thunderclap.

“Where is she?” He commanded.

The sound of his voice made my stomach twist.

I could hear my father speaking calmly- too calmly. "Zander, you can't be here. Jane isn't of age. You know that."

"I'm the Alpha of this pack," Zander snapped. "I decide when a girl becomes my next mate. What I want becomes law. And Jane will be mine.”

"No," Mom's voice trembled. "You will not take our daughter, not again, Zander."

"I wasn't asking permission," he growled. "She will be my mate. That is final."

I sat frozen in place... listening to my mother cry out below- her voice full of fear and desperation. His threats echoed through the house like thunder, crashing into me, shaking every part of who I was.

But something inside me snapped, and before I knew it, I threw back the covers and rushed to my bedroom door.

the moment my fingers touched the doorknob, a strange sensation shot through me.

Warm.

Powerful.

Alive.

The sensation raced through my chest and down my arms like liquid fire.

I gasped.

For the first time in my life, I felt something answer from deep inside me.

Not a voice.

Not exactly.

But something was there.

Waiting.

Awakening.