The Escape-a

The bag on my shoulder wasn’t heavy.

That was what hurt the most.

As I stood in the center of my room, my eyes slowly moved over everything I was leaving behind. Clothes still folded neatly inside the dresser. My mother’s herb books arranged carefully on the shelf exactly the way she taught me years ago. The small clay pot of dried lavender sitting forgotten on the windowsill.

I had meant to throw it away weeks ago.

Now it looked like proof that some things died quietly long before you noticed.

This room had been mine my entire life.

Tonight, it already felt like it belonged to someone else.

I reached over and switched off the lamp.

Darkness swallowed the room instantly.

For a moment, I just stood there breathing, trying not to break apart.

Then I opened the door and walked out without looking back.

Because if I looked back at that bed, at those books, at the tiny pieces of my life scattered around that room, I knew I would stay.

And staying was no longer an option.

The hallway outside was silent.

The pack house carried its usual nighttime sounds—soft creaks in the walls, distant footsteps, the muffled snore of someone asleep behind a closed door. Familiar sounds. Comforting sounds.

Home.

A painful ache tightened in my chest.

I rested my hand over my stomach and forced my feet to keep moving.

I almost reached the staircase before I heard her voice.

“Sera.”

I froze.

Slowly, I turned around.

Mila stood barefoot in the doorway of her room, wearing oversized gray pajamas. Her curly hair was messy around her face, and her eyes were already swollen from crying.

The second she noticed the bag on my shoulder, her expression shattered.

“You were really going to leave without telling me?” she whispered.

“Yes.”

Her lips trembled.

“Sera…”

“Keep your voice down,” I said quietly.

She crossed the hallway in seconds and grabbed my hands tightly, like she was afraid I would disappear if she let go.

“Please don’t go,” she begged. “Stay and fight for him. You belong here more than she does.”

I swallowed painfully.

“I was his mate,” I corrected softly. “Not anymore.”

The words burned coming out of my mouth.

“He rejected me, Mila. It’s over.”

“It doesn’t have to be!”

“Yes,” I said firmly, even though my heart felt like it was splitting open. “It does.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I can’t stay here and watch him choose someone else,” I whispered. “I can’t survive that.”

A broken sound escaped her throat before she threw her arms around me.

I held her tightly as her body shook against mine.

We had been together since childhood. Best friends for as long as I could remember. She had held my hand through every terrible moment of my life, and now I was walking away from her too.

The thought nearly destroyed my resolve.

I buried my face briefly in her hair, breathing in the familiar scent of rosemary soap and comfort.

Then, before I could change my mind, I stepped back.

“I need you to do something for me.”

She wiped her tears quickly and nodded. “Anything.”

I reached into my bag and pulled out the sealed envelope.

I had written it before packing.

Every truth I couldn’t force myself to say out loud was inside that letter.

I pressed it into her hands.

“Don’t open it until morning,” I said softly. “Promise me.”

She stared down at the envelope before looking back at me nervously.

“What’s inside?”

I gently closed her fingers around it.

“Everything.”

Fear flickered across her face.

“Sera… you’re scaring me.”

“I know.” My voice cracked slightly. “But I need you to trust me.”

I leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

“I love you,” I whispered. “And please take care of yourself. Don’t let Rowan convince you to skip your rest days again."

A watery laugh escaped her through the tears.

“That’s weirdly specific.”

“Because he absolutely will.”

For a second, we both smiled.

Then reality returned.

I slowly let go of her hands and turned toward the stairs.

“Sera.”

I paused at the sound of my name.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?”

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach beneath the strap of my bag.

I closed my eyes briefly.

“Read the letter tomorrow,” I said quietly. “Not before.”

Then I walked downstairs.

She didn’t follow me.

But just before I reached the bottom landing, I heard the faint sound of her sliding down the hallway wall, finally letting herself cry.

My chest tightened so painfully I almost turned back.

Almost.

But I kept walking.

The kitchen downstairs was dark except for the small blue flame beneath the old stove.

Normally, it made the room feel warm and alive.

Tonight, it only reminded me that some things kept burning no matter how badly you wanted them to stop.

I crossed the kitchen silently and stepped outside through the back door.

Cold air wrapped around me instantly.

It wasn’t winter yet, but early autumn carried enough chill to sting my skin. Dew covered the training yard, turning the grass silver beneath the moonlight.

The pack house stood quietly behind me.

Most of the windows were dark.

Except one.

His study.

My eyes lingered there for one painful second before I forced myself to look away.

Then I walked toward the southern tree line.

The forest path to the border took about twenty minutes on foot.

I knew every inch of it.

As children, Mila and I used to play near these woods during summer evenings, catching fireflies and daring each other to step too close to the border markers.

Back then, leaving the pack had felt impossible.

Now it was the only thing keeping me alive.

The deeper I walked into the forest, the quieter the pack bond became inside my chest. That warm invisible connection I had felt my entire life slowly weakened with every step.

I ignored the pain.

I ignored the memory of Kael’s face.

Ignored the sound of his voice rejecting me without hesitation.

Instead, I rested my hand against my stomach and focused on the tiny life growing inside me.

“My sweet girl,” I whispered softly into the darkness. “I know it’s scary right now. But I promise you… we’re going to be okay.”

The wind moved gently through the trees.

No answer came.

Then suddenly, the mate bond pulsed painfully inside my chest.

One last flicker.

Like a dying flame fighting against the dark.

My steps stopped instantly.