Chapter 6

Lucy POV

His question left me speechless. I wish I could explain to him… I wish he could understand too.

I bend to his level, my lips curling out a soft smile as I reply.

“We are going somewhere better sweetheart.”

Then he speaks again. “Mom, what happened to you? You have bruises all over.”

The question left me confused, speechless and didn’t know what else to say but I had to come up with something.

“Sweetheart, it's nothing serious. Mom will be fine okay? Go play with your toy.” I kiss his forehead and cup his cheek and he smiles and luckily, he doesn’t ask more questions. I watch him go to play.

His words keep replaying in my mind as I stand in front of the half broken bathroom mirror and force myself to look.

The bruises on my cheek from Adrain have turned an ugly purple-blue, and my split lip still stings every time.

Adrian expects me tomorrow but I will not be here.

I dig through the bottom drawer and pull out the cheap box of a black hair dye I bought months ago and never used.

My hands shake as I mix it. The chemical smell burns my nose, but I work fast, coating every strand of my long brown hair until it is dark as night. I cut the ends of my hair with scissors, making it shorter, choppier.

When I rinse it out, the woman in the mirror looks like a stranger.

Next comes the scent. My wolf is already weak from years of suppressants, but the mate bond still leaks my true smell. I crushed more of the bitter pills between two spoons and swallowed the powder dry and added some into my necklace pendant.

My wolf whimpers low in my chest, half-asleep. This is the only way. We cannot let him find us.

I dress in a gray hoodie two sizes too big, jeans, and sneakers. Eric’s small backpack sits by the door, already packed with his favorite dinosaur shirt, a half-empty bottle of medicine, and the remaining cash I did not spend at the hospital.

Outside, the night air is cool, like it wants to rain. I carry Eric against my chest as I walk to my old sedan parked two blocks away. After several attempts of starting the engine, it finally works. I pull onto the empty street and drive with both hands tight on the wheel with nervousness.

The plan is simple. Cross the city limits, hit the highway, and keep going until i get to a very far city where he can’t find me. Find a cheap home, change name and start a new life again.

But suddenly, red and blue lights flash in the distance, then steady white beams.

A line of black SUVs blocks both lanes. Men in dark uniforms stand in front of them, rifles held low but ready. They look like pack security. I know the crest on their jackets even from here, the same one Adrian’s father used to wear. My stomach drops in nervousness.

I slow the car. There is nowhere to turn.

One of the men raises a hand and I roll the window down, trying to act cool.

“Evening, ma’am,” the first guard says. His voice is polite. “Where are you heading this late?”

I keep my tone light, like any tired mother coming off a late shift. “Just closed from work. Heading home with my kid.” I tip my chin toward Eric’s sleeping body. “He’s drained out.” I add.

The guard nods and steps closer, flashlight sweeping over the back seat, then over my face. I do not flinch when the light hits the bruises but surprisingly, they didn’t ask any questions. .

Just then, another man walks up from the second SUV. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair cut short. The second he steps into the headlights I know him. Marcus. Adrian’s beta. My old friend from before everything broke.

My heart starts hammering so hard I feel it in my throat.

Marcus stops beside the driver’s door. His eyes move over my new black hair, the hoodie. For a second his face softens.

“Lucy,” he calls in recognition. I cannot speak. My fingers tighten on the wheel until the knuckles go white.

Marcus sighs. “Where are you going? Maybe Adrian was right. He said you’d try to run tonight.”

The words land like ice water. He sent them. He knew.

“Marcus, please…” My voice breaks. I lean closer to the open window.

Marcus’s eyes drift past me toward the back seat. His expression changes the instant he sees Eric there.

“Is… is that Adrian’s?” he asks quietly.

My throat tightens. There is no point lying to someone who has known me for years and he knew I and Adrain had a thing.

“Yes.” I say.

His eyes snap back to mine. “Does he know?”

I shake my head. “He knows I had a son… but he doesn’t know Eric is his.”

Marcus frowns, confusion flashing across his face. “What do you mean?”

“He believes I had Eric with another man.” The words scrape painfully out of my throat. “I let him believe it.”

Marcus goes completely still. For a long moment, he just stares at me.

“He can never find out,” he says, his voice suddenly low and urgent. “Lucy, keep this secret. You have no idea the kind of man Adrian has become. He’s violent… ruthless. No one can predict what he’ll do if he discovers you’ve been hiding his son from him for five years.”

Tears sting my eyes.

“So please…” My voice cracks. “Just let us go.”

Pain flickers across Marcus’s face before it disappears behind duty.

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “I have to obey his orders.” His voice stays even, almost gentle, but the men behind him already move. Two of them step toward my door.

“Lucy, listen. I don’t know what happened between you and your brother. That’s not my business. I’m only following orders.”

His voice stays even, almost gentle, then the two men step to my door. I twist the key, trying to throw the car into reverse, but strong hands reach through the window and grab my arm before I can shift. The door yanks open.

“Don’t touch my mommy!” Eric wakes fully at the sudden movement. His small voice rises high and scared. “Don’t hurt my mommy!”

Marcus moves fast. He reaches in, scoops Eric out of my lap with careful hands, and holds the boy against his chest like he has done it a hundred times.

“Hey, little man,” Marcus says soft and low. “Nobody’s hurting your mom. I promise. We’re just taking you somewhere safe, okay?”

Eric’s arms wrap around Marcus’s neck, but his eyes stay locked on me, wide and wet. “Mommy?”

I cannot answer. The guards pull me from the car. One holds each arm. Their grips are firm but not cruel. My sneakers scrape the asphalt as they walk me toward the nearest SUV.

Marcus carries Eric to the same vehicle. He settles the boy into the back seat first, buckles the seat belt himself, then nods for the men to put me in beside him. The door locks the second it closes. The car has tinted glasses.

Marcus slides into the driver’s seat. One of the guards takes the passenger side. The other SUVs fall in behind us as we pull away from the blocked road.

Just then, Eric’s small hand finds mine in the dark. His fingers are cold. He looks up at me, his voice small.

“Mama, is he taking us to daddy?”