Chapter 4

Selene

I had forty-eight hours to leave Crescent.

“Are you okay?” asked Ennio, and I denied it with a sad smile.

“No,” I said truthfully, and Ennio looked at me sadly. “I need to pack my things and leave Crescent quickly.”

“I'll take you to the Alpha's house,” Ennio said seriously. “No matter what happened in that basement, I'll have the compassion no one seems to have.”

I got in the car, and once I was in the back seat, I couldn't help but cry.

It was enough for me to walk into the house with a swollen face for Mara to run to where I was; she looked worried. It was Beth, who, when she came out to see me, had a pained expression on her face.

She noticed that I was no longer inside the pack's group communication link.

“What happened?” asked Mara quickly.

An hour after I had explained to Mara and Beth what had happened, I was packing my things into suitcases and boxes. They were both as devastated as I was. They were witnesses to the love I felt for Axel, so they could understand the pain I was feeling.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” I said to Mara.

I went into the bathroom and looked at the pregnancy tests.

I held back the scream of indignation and quickly put the pregnancy tests away in a bag, then stuffed everything into a toiletry bag and hid it. I did it in such a hurry that I didn't count the tests; I just didn't want anyone to find out my secret.

If Axel found out I was pregnant, he was going to take my baby away from me.

I was never going to allow that, so when I had all my things ready and packed properly, Ennio looked for a truck to take me and my things to my aunt and uncle's house.

Beth and Mara were in the driveway crying.

I hugged each of them tightly.

“This whole situation seems horrible to me,” Mara said as she wiped away tears.

“Life is as it should be,” I said firmly, though I was holding back the urge to cry. “When I find a place where I can settle down, I'll tell my aunt and uncle that I'm telling you so you can visit me whenever you want. You will always have my friendship.”

“And you will have ours,” Beth said sorrowfully. “I'm sorry about all this.”

I gave them one last hug and got in the truck with Ennio.

Just as we got out, Axel was arriving with Clare at the house.

I saw her roll down the car window glass to taunt me, but I ignored her and focused on the road. I wasn't going to give her the pleasure of seeing me finished; she had gained authority by managing to get me out of Crescent, however, I had gained my freedom.

Ennio elbowed quickly to my aunt and uncle's house, and they were both waiting for me outside. From the expressions on their faces, they were dismayed at the situation.

I got out of the truck in a hurry.

“Selene!” My aunt shouted and ran to hug me tightly.

“Are you okay?” asked my uncle with such concern that I couldn't hide my pain.

They hugged me tightly and gave me the calm I needed. Ennio took all the suitcases and boxes out of the truck, and my aunt begged me to spend the night with them. I wanted to leave the pack quickly; I had a bad feeling, but Kate urged me to stay a little longer.

Enjoy your uncles for the night, Kate said calmly.

Uncle Maurice left me and my aunt alone in the room that night.

Aunt Solange began to gently comb my hair to calm my nerves while I cried what I hadn't been able to cry before.

“You're going to be happy; it won't be now, but at some point, the Goddess will smile on you again,” my aunt said, and I looked into her eyes in pain.

“What do you think Mom would tell me?” I asked my aunt fearfully.

“Your mother would have gone to rip Axel's testicles off, and I was about to do it for her, but Maurice has too much business in Crescent,” my Aunt Solange said with annoyance. “When we can settle those matters, we'll move in with you.”

“You don't have to—”

“We will. What Axel did is unforgivable, and I can't stay in a place where they humiliated my niece,” my aunt said sternly.

I started crying under her arms and fell asleep.

The next morning, I packed a large suitcase and put it in the car I had stored at my aunt's house.

“Here,” my uncle said and held out an envelope. “Keep this money well; it will serve you to complete the expenses of the first month's rent. Yesterday I discussed the situation with the Golden Pack Moon, and she will be waiting for you in her pack.”

That news surprised me, so I hugged my uncles tightly.

“Thank you for everything, Uncle,” I said sincerely.

“When you're settled in the Golden Pack, call me, and we'll send your things,” my aunt said through tears.

I got into my car and left in a hurry.

When I was at the eastern border of the park, the guards stopped me and wouldn't let me go any further. I frowned because they all knew I had to leave before the deadline determined by law to enforce the exile.

“What's going on?” I asked as I got out of the car.

“You have been accused of paying a hefty sum of money to a maid at the Alpha's mansion for her to poison the mother of the Alpha's baby,” the guardian said, and I opened my mouth in horror.

“That's a lie!” I said immediately.

“I'm sorry, Mistress Selene, but we have to take you before the Alpha so he can determine what is best,” said one of the guards.

“This is unheard of,” I said in disbelief. “I need to call the Gamma.”

I called Eugene immediately because I couldn't believe the situation; it was a sick joke.

“Where are you, Selene?” asked Eugene with concern when he answered my call.

“I'm at the border, ready to get out of here, but the guards are holding me because they say I paid a maid to poison Clare. Tell me this is a fucking sick joke,” I said, annoyed.

“No, unfortunately not. Mara has served Clare food, and she's been sick. Axel went through Mara's room and found a wad of money, which made him question Mara, and she has said that you paid her to poison Clare,” Eugene said in dismay, and I couldn't believe it. “Axel sent you hunting, but I don't believe Clare at all. Before lunch, she had a conversation with Mara. Something else happened. Worse, Axel is blinded; he wants your head.”

I closed my eyes tightly and clenched my fists.

I hung up the call and looked at the guards.

“I'll go clear this matter up,” I said and saw relief on their faces. “But first I need a moment to go to the bathroom stall.”

I grabbed my bag and went to the bathroom in a hurry. I locked the door and cursed through my teeth about the whole situation. I knew Axel, and when he got upset, he didn't see reason; he was impulsive and counterproductive.

We have to get out of here and run, Kate said confidently.

If we run away, I'm going to look like the guilty one.

If we stay, we're going to end up in front of a firing squad, and they'll shoot silver bullets at us. We have a baby to take care of, Kate said sharply.

I put my hand to my belly and closed my eyes tightly.

I looked at my wallet, so I slung it over my shoulder and looked for a way out.

In the bathroom of the security booth there was a window; I opened it calmly and left the water jet open to simulate that it was occupied. I jumped through the window and jumped to the back of the security booth.

Kate at that moment took control of my body, and we started running in the direction of the forest. We ran as fast as we could, and then we heard the howling. The guards were going to hunt us down, so Kate ran to a sulfur pool that was on the north side of the forest.

We ran in a way we had never run before.

My legs didn't flag, so once we reached the pool, I smeared sulfur on my body, clothes, and hair. I left nothing behind that could be traced and smeared myself with earth.

At that moment I became invisible to the wolves and started jumping over trees.

I was once a good tracker, so I knew which spot to use to evade the wolves.

I waited for them to disperse and found a hiding place.

When it got dark, there were still wolves in the forest tracking me.

I held my breath when Axel walked close to where I was.

“She has to be hiding here,” Axel said. “She's very smart, so, if she ran away, she's hiding something, and I need her to explain herself before.”

I brought my hands to my belly and held back tears.

When dawn broke, the wolves had left the forest, and I climbed down from that tree and ran as far as I could. It was three long days running north, with no idea where I was going, just following Kate's instinct.

We both reached a point of total exhaustion.

We sat down to rest on a big rock near a river, then started drinking water like crazy. We didn't see the man bathing naked behind us until he spoke.

“Who are you?” asked a blond man so tall and imposing that I felt intimidated.

I froze with fear.

I didn't know where I was or whose territory this was, so I took a deep breath, stood up, and started walking backwards. I wasn't aware of the log on the ground until I fell and hit my head hard.

The last thing I saw before I fell unconscious were hazel ones.

I had no idea how that man would affect my life.