that's all I have

Hazel’s P.O.V. (Continued)

I wanted to cry aloud all my grievances, the humiliation, and the hurt that Naisha forced on me, but I couldn’t.

Cody is in this pack because of Mom. He is not an official member of this pack, and his interference or any kind of confrontation with everyone can bring more harm on him than I can think about.

“I….. I am coming back. Sh… she said th… that she will provide seven days of medicine to…to Mom, b… but I need to leave the pack now.”

I sniffed harder while telling him, stopped near a thick tree, and slipped my back to the trunk, sitting on the ground, holding my knee. The good thing was that I chose the hidden side of the tree.

There was silence on his side, and I welcomed this silence.

I closed my eyes, shed a few more tears, and let Xyla heal me.

“We will find a way, Hazel. The Goddess will open another door for us. Don’t be hopeless.” She comforted me in a painful voice.

I wanted to smile at her optimism. Being optimistic is a good thing, but our world has more darkness than light.

“Yeah. Everything will be okay. We will find a way.” I mumbled in the end and took a deep breath.

“Go home, Hazel. Pack and come back to the hospital. I will find a way. You are not alone in this.” Cody instructed me in a stiff voice, but the assurance in his voice made me whimper aloud.

“I said that you are not alone. Why are you crying?” He yelled at me this time, but it only made me whimper more.

“Thank you, Cody. Thank you so much fo… for everything tha…. That you did for me and Mom. Wh.. when no one wanted to even look at us, let alone help us, you were there. You have always been there. I…. I can’t say h… how important you a… re to me and Mom.” I voiced my gratitude for him without any hesitation.

My voice cracked a bit, but I poured all my emotions into my words.

“Then don’t say a word, okay? Say thanks to my face when you come back here.” He grumbled, and before I could say another word, he hung up.

I chuckled while crying. I am sure that his face will be red by now.

Cody had always been like this. Helpful, shy, but caring.

I gave myself a few minutes to calm down before I looked up and wiped my face.

My whole body was now feeling back to normal, thanks to Xyla.

I slowly stood up and took a few deep breaths.

“Let’s go, Xyla. This is not the end of the world.” I spoke to Xyla in a firm and determined tone.

“This can be a good start to our life, Hazel. Meeting Keith is the worst thing that can happen to us ever, and I was glad that you rejected her last night. After what he demanded, I will kill him if he comes in front of us like right now, and you won’t be able to stop me.” She growled a few times while venting her anger.

I laughed while walking towards the residential block a few blocks away from the pack house.

I rented this place after coming here. The place was s**t, but it was still better than sleeping on the streets or in the wild.

“But where to go now?” Xyla asked me worriedly. “I don’t know. The world outside this sh*tty pack is vast. Let’s think about where to go after leaving this pack.” I replied to her calmly.

My mind was calmer, and so was my heart.

I went home and packed everything that I had.

A few sets of clothes, two shoes, a few necessities, and a few books. This is all I had as my belongings.

After packing everything, I didn’t even look at the place where I spent a whole year.

Well, I was with my mom almost every day.

So, I didn’t have much affection for this place.

I didn’t even lock the door and walked outside the block.

I was about to look for my car when I remembered that it was still at the bar.

I groaned in frustration, but that was my car. Even if that was almost equal to junk, that was still mine.

And I didn’t want to leave anything related to me here.

The next two hours went by so quickly, keeping me busy with everything. People talked around me about Keith's relentless search for someone all night.

They speculated about the identity of that person, making me amused by their guesses, but it didn’t matter to me anymore.

I learned that Keith didn’t even let Naisha come out of her bliss of marking him before he left the ceremonial hall.

They talked about how embarrassing it was for someone proud like Naisha, but they felt pity for her.

A few mocked her for flaunting herself like a proud peacock before that, and some voiced their doubts about what would happen next.

I learned that Keith got drunk to the extent where David and Keanu, Keith’s gamma, had to carry him back to the pack house in the early hours.

I thought about the stranger who took me to that hospital room.

Even though I had hickeys all over my body, and I remembered that it was me who initiated the kiss and then things spiraled between us, I knew that nothing more than that happened.

I was grateful to him that he didn’t take my innocence.

I didn’t remember anything about his appearance, and yet I remember seeing a pair of golden eyes.

"Mom." I called my mother in a gentle voice when I entered Cody's room in the hospital. He was sitting on his chair doing something on his laptop.

His dark chocolaty eyes met mine, and he passed a tight and nervous smile to me.

"She fell asleep a few minutes ago." He told me, and I nodded while taking a chair across from him.

"Did you get everything?" he asked me curiously when he saw only a small suitcase and a backpack with me.

"Yeah." I replied to him in a tired tone.

"We need to leave now, Cody. Naisha told me to wait for the paperwork at the border station," I told him while messaging Naisha that I am ready to leave and in the hospital with my mother and waiting for the medicine as per her demand.

"Have you any place in your mind where you want to take your mom?" Cody asked me nervously.

"Not yet. I don't know where I will drive after leaving this pack, Cody, but I will let you know." I replied to him tiredly, passing a weak smile to him.

He nodded and took a deep breath.

"What's in your mind, Cody?" I asked him while putting my elbow on the table and resting my chin on my palm.

He chuckled dryly and cleared his throat once again before looking at me with a serious gaze.

"I have a proposal for you, Hazel." He replied to me in a serious tone.

I raised my brows, jerking my chin a little, asking him silently to go on.

"Let's get married, Hazel." He spoke hurriedly, and I almost hit my chin on the table, shocked by what he said.