6. Caught

SERENA

I'd left the house that night, not looking back as I ran down the path. It was very cold out and I didn't think to bring any covering.

Either way, that was the least of my problems. I needed to get as far away as I could from the house before I could be relieved.

Now that Amelia knew of my condition, I knew that she was not going to waste any time before she went to tell that mother of hers and she would surely come for me.

And that's what I was avoiding. The hatred that woman had for me won't let me stay there long enough for her to come to me.. she was going to beat the baby out of me and I didn't want that at all.

After walking for about an hour, I knew I was out of the pack because that was when the trees started. With a deep breath, I went into the woods, knowing that I was doing a very dangerous thing.

The fact that I was pregnant, even though I wasn't heavy yet, put two people at risk. I didn't know what was in these woods and frankly, I didn't want to know.

With little to no courage, I dragged my bag through the wet ground as it had rained earlier today and that was the cause of the cold weather.

My stomach began to rumble.

“Oh, please don't do this right now.”

I hadn't eaten today and I just realized it. But even now that I realized it, I couldn't do anything about it because I was very far away from food and I didn't bring anything with me that was edible.

It was all Amelia's fault. If only she had minded her business and she could shut that hole she called a mouth, then I wouldn't be here in the middle of the night hoping that some strange creature wouldn't come out here and eat me up.

Maybe I should find somewhere to rest for the night. But then again, it would mean that I was safe. The best thing to do was to get out of these woods as quickly as possible so maybe I should just keep moving.

Staying here would make me food for whatever was in here.

I looked at my watch when it struck four am. My mouth was dry, my stomach hurt and my eyes were heavy. Finally giving in to my body's request, I sat down on a fallen tree and rested my legs.

My knees ached badly and my head was pounding.

Or maybe I should have just stayed back and let them do what they wanted to do. They couldn't kill me, all they'd do was insult me and tell me how useless I am to get pregnant by a man I didn't know and then that would be all.

I mean, my stepmother would beat me up as well but then, she wouldn't kill me.

Even if she did, I doubted my father would even notice because ever since he married her, he forgot that I existed. He no longer paid attention to me and his daughter was now Amelia.

I saw him on her wedding day, when he walked her down the aisle, telling her husband how precious she was to him as she was his only daughter.

That stabbed my heart and I could fathom why he would say a thing like that. That was when I knew that I was alone.

I missed my mother sometimes when things got tough and I just thought about what she would say if she were here.

My eyes eventually closed and I fell asleep in the cold, my fingertips and toes numb.

I saw my mum, her usual bright smile directed at me and it took me a while to notice that she was the one standing there.

“Mum!” I ran to her and pulled her in for a hug.

I didn't want to let go because if I did, she would disappear again. I couldn't let her go again. Now that I had her, I had to keep her with me.

“Serena, how are you?"

My heart shattered hearing her voice and tears poured out of my eyes.

“I missed you, mum. Please, don't leave me again.”

She pulled me away from her and cleaned the tears in my face.

“You don't have to cry. I'm here now, right? I missed you, my baby girl."

I missed her calling me that. Hearing that always used to melt my heart.

“ Things are not okay, mum. Everything went sideways. Dad is now a stranger. My mate was taken away by his stepdaughter and now I'm pregnant for a man I don't even know. Nothing is fine.”

It felt good to have someone to speak to about all this.

“It’s okay. I know things don't seem good right now but I assure you that things will get better."

I laughed.

“You’re joking, right? Nothing can get better. Everything that can get worse has gone worse and I'm knee-deep in shit. Nothing will get better Mum. Nothing.”

I rested my head on her shoulder. This was the one place where the world didn't seem so loud and scary anymore.

“Do you trust me?”

I nodded.

“Then you'd believe me when I say that things will get better. I assure you."

And just like that, I woke up. I realized that my mum was gone and my happiness disappeared too. Those few minutes spent with her seemed to be my best in years and even though I didn't physically see her, it still felt good to have heard her voice.

After a couple of minutes, I stood up and dusted myself and my bag from the floor. Another day to continue my journey to freedom.

Unlike yesterday, my steps were slow and measured. My stomach was angrily growling now and I was dehydrated and tired.

I just knew that one day, maybe very soon, I would eventually get out of this place.

I heard the snap of a twig behind me but ignored it, not wanting to bother myself with animals walking around.

There should be a pack around here, somewhere. The packs around this area weren't very far apart.

This time around, it was the rustling of bushes and more twigs snapping at once that made me stop and turn around. I could swear I also heard the jingling of keys.

But I couldn't see anything when I turned around. The feeling of being watched hit me but it was crazy to even imagine.

Who would be out in these woods by this time?

Except they were a run away like me, I'm sure they were just animals walking past.

I ignored it and kept walking but the feeling didn't go away. I knew there was someone behind me. I was sure of it now because as soon as I turned around, I saw someone backed up behind a tree.

Shit! They knew I was gone and they'd sent people after me.

The best thing to do was to act like I didn't know that they were there so I continued walking. But if I did that, then eventually, they would catch up to me.

Luckily, that didn't happen because I finally got to a bar and without wasting time, I hurried my steps up and slipped in there.

I dragged my bag to the end of the table to hide myself from them.

“What can I get you?” The bartender called over the music.

”Um” I didn't have any money with me “I’m waiting for someone. I'll order when they come."

Luckily, he just shrugged and walked away, and just then, the door opened and four men walked in, wearing the uniforms the guards from my pack usually wore.

My heart dropped as they looked through the crowd for me and I just hoped that they wouldn't walk towards here.

Luckily, there were large men in front of me and they seemed to block me from their sight.

I was safe for today but I needed to get in my way quickly by tomorrow. I was able to soak to the bartender and he let me pass the night in the bar.

Even though I had to sleep on the hard floor, I had a couple of blankets and he gave me food. It was also quite warm here and I didn't have to fear animals.

But everything came crashing down when I woke up the next morning to four large figures standing above me.

“Good morning, Serena."

I'd been caught.