Flight

Cara

I hurry to his sides, clasping my hands together. If Markus finds out, he'll kill me and my sisters. Possessing magic is highly intolerant. "I'm a mere wolf like you Ronan," I insist, fear making me choke. "I'm not a witch. I swear. Please don't go. Let's make this work. I promise I won't resist you." I reach for his hand but he flips me off, his face scrunching up, lips twisting in disgust.

"Don't fucking touch me, you filthy witch. I, Ronan Astor reject you, Cara Archer as my mate. From this moment forward you cease to exist to me. Get out of my way!" He shoves me aside roughly, grabs his belt from the floor, and storms out.

Pain engulfs my body, slicing right through my chest and core, my wolf whimpering at his words. My knees buckle, as the fire spreads around my body, my shoulders slumping, back hunching until I lay, writhing on the ground, broken from within.

"No. Please. D-Don't do this..." I plead, extending my left hand toward the direction of the door where he left from as though to stop him. "Please, Ronan."

It's a pain worse than death. A soulmate rejecting you. Turning his back on you. What else am I living for if my wolf never bonds? What? I'll be an outcast forever. A disgrace.

And I'm no longer a member of this pack. I can't stay here, no matter what. They won't let me.

There's no life outside the four walls of the Red Moon Pack for me. If I'm chased out, rogue Alphas lay in wait to rut me to death, and with the news of the zombies spreading rapidly, if I escape the rogues, I'll most likely have an unfavorable encounter with one.

It's all a fucking dead end.

My entire life flashes before my eyes, galling. Tears blur my vision, and I wrap my arms around myself, choking back a giant sob.

His footsteps down the hallway are like a drumbeat to my demise. And as the minutes tickle by, my anxiety grows, and my wolf is restless. It feels like death is swinging its fists, hovering just above me.

Death. A long, exhaustive, most painful death.

I want to give in. I want to let it wrap its arms around me in a painless embrace. I want to leave this shitty world behind and be reunited with my parents. I want to. So badly, I want to.

But I can't because of my sisters. I can't let the Ronan and the Alphas get to them!

Swiftly, I'm on my feet, my heart chugging forward, colliding into my ribcage. I dart over to the window, noting a narrow slope down to the ground and a huge ditch waiting. A part of me recoils at the thought of landing in it, but I'm running out of time. I can hear Ronan's hand closing over the doorknob as he pulls it open and slams it shut after him. Dread at what took place tonight fills me. Dread of what I've done cuts me up, into little strips of shame and regret.

I hoist myself off the ledge, glide down the slope, and land, almost headlong into the ditch, hitting the side of my leg against a stone I didn't notice on it.

I bit down hard on my bottom lip as I writhe in pain at the forceful impact, but there was no time for more tears.

Why the hell should I even care if he rejected me? Sure, he's hot and all, but that doesn't excuse his shitty personality. He's nothing but a shameless arsehole who'll beat me at the slightest provocation and rape me whenever he's got blue balls and I'm not in the mood. I should be grateful and happy for dodging a bullet, but that's not what I'm hurting for. It's my wolf who needs the soulmate connection the most. Her agony adds to the pain from my injury and I fall flat on my face so many times. Soulmates meet only once from what my mother taught us, and mine just shoved me aside. Denied me. Banished me.

My soulmate wants to hurt me.

Fear constricts my breathing, but I push on bravely, stumbling into a rose thicket and narrowly missing a pointed thorn. I don't stop. I can't afford to lose myself. Not now.

Sneaking in the shadows, I limp in the pale moonlight towards the Omega quarters, the rows of houses seeming far off in the distance. When I reach our rundown shack, I burst in through the rear door, startling Hana, and causing Leora to scream and haul her doll at my face. The plastic hits my nose like a feather, and they cling to each other in fright while I sit on the floor, groaning.

Hana moves closer, gasping. "Cara?" Panic infuses her voice, adding to my fear. Leora who's standing behind her sticks her head just around Hana's waist and piques. "What happened to your dress?"

"There's no time to explain, girls. We need to evacuate, right now. We're no longer welcome here," I say quickly, breathlessly. "Unfortunately, I used my magic on him and he rejected me as his mate. He knows I'm a Ruined and is coming for us." The sour reality of everything crashes into me over and over again, anguish splintering my insides.

Hana slaps a hand over her mouth in shock. "He what? Oh my goodness." I manage to get up on my feet, hurrying towards them.

"So that means we're in big trouble, right? Are they going to hurt us, Cara?" Leora's eyes water as she clutches her doll close to my chest. My own tears streamed down my cheeks freely.

"We'll be fine, trust me. We need to leave immediately," I say, taking her by the hand. "Quickly get your sweaters and your shoes. The boots. I'll tell you everything that happened later in detail, but now we must go."

"B-But this is our pack! Father and Mother brought us up here! It's our home." The tears finally start rolling down her cute little face. I pull her into my embrace, kissing her hair and rubbing her shoulders as she cries. I wish, more than anything, for her to be safe. I wish I didn't have to expose her to this, that I could shield her from the cruelty of the world, the cruelty of our fates as Omegas. My breath hiccups, but I can't cry. I need to be strong for her so we can get away to safety quickly enough.

I take a step back and squat, cupping her chubby cheeks. "Listen to me, sweetheart. You've always been my tough little girl, and right now I need you to be strong. We'll overcome this, but for that to happen I need you to trust me," I look up at Hana. "You too, Hana. I'll need both of you to make very good use of your legs. Run, and don't stop for anything. You hear me?" They both nod. Urgency prickles my skin and I keep glancing at the door.

"We better hit the road now," Hana says, her voice frantic as she sifts about, throwing clothes, food, water, and other essentials into her bag. "They must be on their way here by now."

Leora sucks in a breath. "But where are we running to?"

I rub my temple as I think, my mind whirling, my thoughts splattered all over the place. "Remember when Father took us to see the fishermen at the river close to the Blue Stone Pack last winter?"

She nods. "Yeah?"

"If we take the route next to the Blue Stone Pack land markings, we'll burst out into a safe place, dear." There's nothing I hate more than straight out lying to Leora, but she's so young, and my actions have terrified her enough for one night. I need to keep her faith in me alive. To keep her hope going. Once we escape Ronan and Markus, then I'll come up with our next action plan. But right now, all I can think about is keeping us alive first.

We all shuffle about, putting minimal supplies in order. My mind is so clogged with fear, I have no firm idea what we should take and what we shouldn't take. I hold Leora's hand as we slip out through the back, into the diamond, the harsh pounding on the front door making my heart stop.

"They're here, Cara," Leora whispers, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks. I hush her, my nerves numb with wild fear. Our life may have slipped out of control, but I won't let them catch us. I won't let them hurt us.

Hana takes the lead in front of us, the icy cold night concealing our shadows. I can't stop reliving the scene in Ronan's room in my head. It's all my fault. Honestly. I resisted him too hard, which caused my magic to unleash. If I had better knowledge of how to use my powers, I could've shut him up, perhaps forever. But I've never acknowledged my identity as a witch. And so I deserve this.

But my sisters don't.

And I must keep them safe. Whatever it takes.

Hana stops at the barbed wire fence behind our house, night concealing us all. She pulls at a wire, exposing an opening big enough for her and Leora to pass through. Leora slips out first, and just before Hana does the same, I grab her hand, my voice hoarse and deadened thanks to too much crying. "I might not be able to make it out that narrow opening."

She shrugs impatiently. "You haven't even tried yet."

"I know I won't be able to. Take Leora and run. Don't ever stop for anything. I'll try and distract them so they won't come after the both of you."

"Cara, please. I'm not leaving without you," her eyes glistened under the moon, her body trembling underneath my touch and I hug her fast before my resolve withers.

"You can, and you will. You must. Take good care of her. We'll meet on the route close to the Blue Stone Pack, alright?" I reach for my boot and pull out a sharp knife, placing it in her hand. "Go. Now." I shove her when she doesn't move.

She stumbles, but she never stops staring at me, the tears springing up so quickly, my heart tugged. "There's really no better big sister I could ever ask for, Cara. I love you," she whispers, then turns and slips through the opening, disappearing into the night.