Chapter 3 - My First Shift

I sat facing the only window in the room. My feet bounced on the hard floor as I stared at the moon waiting for the right time to escape.

As soon as the moon got to its highest point, I reached for the rusted window and pulled myself up. The chattering of the guards began to retreat. It was my cue to leave before the next shift guards would come.

I reached for the key which I had tucked in my cleavage. With every move, the chain clicked against the hard floor but I didn’t mind. With the guards gone, no one would notice.

I let the cold iron fall to the ground and reached for the iron gates. I reached for the other key and I clicked the door open.

Quietly, I walked through the cold and quiet passageway, just the right kind for an escape. I got to the entrance and looked around for anyone. When the coast was clear, I took the path towards the river.

The rock laid just before the river and just like Elara had said, the bags were behind it. I took the bag to check for the spray when I saw the rays of flashlight heading towards my direction.

Quietly, I bent behind the rock, pressing myself against the cold stone. I clutched the bags to my chest.

Heavy boots scrapped over loose gravel, slow and deliberate. I held my breath but every breath sounded too loud.

“Who’s there?” A guard called out, taking a step. Then another step.

‘Please keep walking’ I pressed my lips together.

The ray of light stretched over the rock. “There you are.”

My stomach dropped.

The guard rounded the boulder, his yellow wolf eyes locking into mine. Recognition flashed across his face before it twisted into a grin.

“Alpha Sylas will reward me handsomely for bringing his little sister back.”

“More like kill you for letting his little sister escape” I lunged forward.

He barely had time to react before my shoulder slammed into his chest, sending both of us crashing onto the rocky ground. He grunted, but years of training kicked in fast. His fist caught my jaw, snapping my head sideways.

Pain exploded in my neck but I managed to roll before he pinned me.

“Stay still!” He barked

He grabbed for my wrist but I twisted sharply, using his momentum against him and drove my elbow into his ribs. The crack of his bones echoed.

He hissed, stumbling back.

I ran to pick my bags. Three steps. That was all I managed before he collided with my back. The impact made us fall and tumble across the sand. His fingers tangled painfully in my hair, jerking my head backward.

“You think you can outrun the pack?” His breath was hot against my ears.

I snarled.

Not because I wanted to but because my wolf did.

Heat surged beneath my skin.

My fingernails lengthened into claws before I could even stop them.

The guards eyes widened. “You can shift?!”

I drove my claws into his forearm. He howled, instinct forcing him to release me.

I scrambled to my feet, blood dripping from my fingertips.

The scent hit me immediately. His. Mine. Fresh blood. It made my wolf restless.

The guard’s bones cracked as he shifted, coarse black fur spreading over his arms and neck. His muscles doubled in size, his teeth sharpening into fangs.

He charged “So that’s how you want to play?”

I sidestepped at the last second. His shoulder smashed into the rock I had been hiding behind, sending shards of stones flying.

Before he could recover, I leaped onto his back. My arm locked around his throat. He staggered wildly, slamming me into a tree.

Agony shot through my spine and my grip loosened. He seized the chance, throwing me over his shoulder. I hit the ground hard enough to taste blood.

The river. It was right there. Just a little farther.

The guard saw where I was looking. “No”

He launched himself towards me.

I scooped a handful of sand and rock and flung it into his eyes. He roared, clawing at his face.

I didn’t wait. I pushed through the pain, forcing my legs to move.

I picked my bags and headed for the river as fast as I could.

The roar behind me grew louder. Branches snapped. More guards were coming.

I reached the riverbank just as the first arrow buried itself in the mud beside my foot.

I didn’t hesitate. I dove into the freezing water.

Before they could get to the river bank, I had already gotten into the woods.

I walked through the woods, pushing branches aside as I dragged my feet behind.

When I had walked for about 30 minutes, I dropped my bags and sat by a tree base.

“So you’ve been here all along?” I took a clean cloth from my bag and wrapped around the bruise on my knee.

‘Always. I was just waiting for the right time to reveal myself’

****

I had been walking through the woods for four days now and I had almost run out of food and water.

The deeper I got into the forest, the quieter it grew. No howls. No patrols. No scent of my brother’s soldiers. Only the steady rush of the river behind me and the chorus of crickets around.

I didn’t stop until my legs gave up. My knees hit the damp earth beneath a duster of thick grass. Branches arched overhead, sheltering me from the sun. My chest rose and fell in ragged breaths as I listened.

Nothing.

No one had followed me.

Two days ago, Sylas men had almost caught up with me but I hid in the rocks before the second river then I remembered to use the spray which hid my scent.

After they had patrolled for about an hour, they finally left.

A shaky laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it. I made it.

The human world.

This thought should have filled me with relief. Instead, it terrified me but it was better than dying in the pack.

I took off my soaked shirt, thin cuts crisscrossed my arms already knitting themselves together thanks to my wolf. I couldn’t walk into a human town looking like this.

I pulled my bag into my lap and unzipped it. I found a pair of faded blue jeans, a grey Tshirt, a clean underwear, a black hoodie and a pair of black slippers.

I tied my hair into a loose ponytail and crouched beside a shallow puddle left by the night’s rain.

The woman staring back at me looked nothing like the one back at the pack. She was a survivor. Fear lingered in my eyes. But there was something there, Hope.

A distant rumble drew my attention and I walked briskly towards the noise. Lights. White lights swept through the trees before disappearing again.

A road.

My heart hammered. “Humans”

I slung my bag over one shoulder and stood. “Remember, we need to blend in”

‘So… no biting?’

“Absolutely, no biting”

‘Growling’

I frowned, “Definitely no growling”

‘Humans are exhausting already’

Her response almost made me smile. Almost.

Taking one last look at the forest that had been my prison since birth, I turned towards the lights.

Each step carried me farther from the only life I had ever known.

For the first time…

No one knew my name. And that was the closest thing to freedom I had ever felt.