Escaping cruelty

Joanna's POV;

I had only decided to take a rest in the forest under the trees when I heard them once again, my pursuers. My feet were soiled with the soil, battered and stained with my blood. It's been two months but this race was never ending.

Sighing repeatedly, I stared up at the sky which was starting to turn dark. Time? I no longer had a connection with time as everyday was a race that had no ending. The streams of tears that had stained and dried on my cheeks weren't to be recounted. My body ached,my feet ached, my bones were weak and even my wolf had closed herself away from me. I had missed the voices of humans as it had been two treacherous months been alone in a forest, running away from my pursuers while protecting the tiny bump in my stomach.

I closed my eyes, hoping to get few minutes of sleep but the slight creak among the forest sounds jolted me awake.

Without further ado, I picked up my duffel bag and began running as fast as my leg could carry me.

The pounding behind me further invograted my fighting spirit. I wanted to live again. If not for me but then for my baby. I was never going back to the place that haunted me.

"Get her! She isn't far from us!" I heard one of them yell. I couldn't increase my pace as my feet were very sore. Changing into my wolf form wasn't an option as my wolf itself hadn't appeared in two months ever since I ran away from our destined one, our mate to be precisely.

With my throat in my mouth, I kept on running, hoping once again that I'd be left alone. Despite knowing it was a fruitless hope, I couldn't help but wish it'd happen for once.

The sky had grown darker and my breathing erratic. It was getting hard to see in the dark and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was caught. No! I didn't want to go back there again. It was hell for me! Being tortured and used by your mate was something I wasn't willing to experience again.

"Stop!" I heard them yell.

"Would you have stopped if you were me?" I couldn't resist shouting back at them. Although, it was stupid of me but I was beyond pissed, tired and hungry.

I tried stopping the tears that were threatening to spill out of my eyes. I couldn't afford to cry now when my pursuers were just behind me.

For the first time in months, I felt luck was on my side when I saw a huge tree ahead me. The tree had a hole at the side that was large enough to contain me.

Not waiting a second longer, I immediately held onto the tree and hid in it for my dear life. I held my breath and immediately drank a sip of liquid from the tiny bottle in my hand. This bottle was my life saver because without it, I'd have long been captured back to hell again.

The liquid was used in masking my scent, making it unable for anyone to tell where I was.

I heard their voices close to me and immediately closed my eyes, tightly holding on to my bag for my dear life.

"Where is she?! She was just here seconds ago!" I heard one of them yell, making me flinch as I covered my mouth. I badly wanted to scream and curse out loud. As I turned, I realized my white long wavy hair had managed to slip out of the tree hole, directly calling out to my pursuers that 'here I am!'.

Damn this hair! Cutting it was never an option ever since I noticed the more I cut it, the longer it grew. The color of my hair had been a major source of my problem. I was called 'weird' by everyone who I came across. No one was willing to come near me because they deemed me unfit and unworthy of their attention.

It all became worse after my 'choosing' day. It was the day where females were to be splitted and tested to know which category in the pack they belonged to. I had never had the best life or care but I had hoped to be one of the chefs in the pack house. The heavens seemed to have mocked me that day when it all ended up worse.

"She's here!" I heard one of them yell making my eyes widen in horror. Once again, I cursed my hair as I immediately sprung out of the tree, running for my dear life.

Judging by the continuous pounding behind me, I knew they were not far from me and I cursed my hair again. It had been a pain in the ass. Packing it into a bun wasn't an option as my hair seemed to have a life of its own. It refused to be cut and packed together. I had grown tired of doing these things and had let it be.

Breathing raggedly, I kept on running, staring up ahead me and praying a trace of light be seen. That for sure would give me hope.

My feet had stopped running, it was tired but my soul wasn't. I stared up ahead and immediately caught a glimpse of a shiny light ahead. All hope which seemed to have been lost was immediately regained.

My feet seemed to have gotten back its energy as it began running faster than before. That shiny light ahead was my only source of hope. The more I ran, the more it seemed nearer and the more I gained hope.

"Stop!"

"Never!" I yelled back as a smile played on my lips. For the first time in months, I seemed to have found hope once again and I'd do anything to cling unto it.

Soon, the light seemed so close and without further ado I ran straight towards it.

The last thing I heard before I blacked out were the screams for me to stop but I didn't!