Chapter 6: North and The Necklace.

The second my feet cross the doors of the packhouse, I'm already running.

I tear across the grounds and dash right to the rear of the packhouse property, straight towards the gathering of tall trees that lead to my freedom. The woods.

The forest blurs around me as I run, but only one message rings through my mind: Get out.

I have to get out of the pack before Coren finds me.

Three days locked in that room almost made me think he had gotten rid of my determination to leave him but it hadn't. Tracy's visit today only made it stronger and as I run, heart pounding and breath racing, Tristan's words are a steady echo in my mind.

"If you want to leave the Silvercrest Pack then do it now.

It's what's better for anyone anyways."

Tears brim in my eyes as I make my way deeper into the trees. This isn't the way I thought I would leave the pack I've known as mine all my life.

When Coren was off at war, some of the elders on the pack council would repeatedly mention how the pack forests always protected their own. They said there was no way the rogues would win, because the forest would protect the Silvercrest warriors and give them an advantage over the enemy.

"Fucking,.... shit!"

The words rip right out of my mouth as a thin branch snaps and hits the crook of my neck with force. I cradle the stinging spot and hiss through my teeth, ignoring the stones in my way or the way the ground seems to shift beneath my feet, intent on tripping me.

Remembering that tale makes me feel fear spike through my heart but I shake it off. 

The forest floor dips suddenly, and I stumble forward, catching myself on a tree trunk. 

My lungs burn and my legs shake from the effort but I push forward. I don't care if the Silvercrest forests are magical. 

I am going to leave.

I turn around, my face to the sky so I can gather my bearings. The sun is at my back lowering slightly to set in the west.

My destination right now is north, so I keep the sun at my back as I walk on.

"How far north are we going?" My wolf Rhea says as she sends a message through our bond.

A crestfallen feeling floods my heart as I look up at the cloudy midday sky again.

I don't know how far north, but I'll go as far as I need to until I find them.

Memories flood my mind immediately.

I remember memories of every moment I've ever shared with my mother, Ava, but the most vivid is the memory of six days ago. A memory that carries the revelation she left me with on her deathbed.   

............. Flashback. Silvercrest Specialist Hospital.

"I'm sorry, Destiny."

Her voice is weak, so weak as life fades out of her.

"I should have told you this long ago, but I... I didn't want to lose you. You should know this now before I'm fully gone. I'm not your biological mother, my child."

The tears rolling down my cheeks explode into a choked sob as I watch her struggle, even through the pain of death.

"It was a good day for a run when I found you in the forests. The sky was bright and the forest air smelled fresh. 

My wolf heard your cries first and we tracked you down, just a little child in a basket by the riverbank.

For months, me and my mate—your father—we tried to trace you back to someone in the pack but we couldn't.

The only thing we found in the basket alongside you was a necklace. 

That was the necklace I gave to you on your eighteenth birthday."

Her eyes look up to meet mine and I see it.

I see how much this illness has taken from her, how it has dimmed the once bright hazel eyes that raised me into a fragile dull grey that now fills with tears.

"I'm so sorry for keeping you by my side for so long, my child. I... I love you, Destiny. I always will.

You were the gift of the goddess to me, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

..................

A tear rolls down my cheeks which I wipe off, firmly stepping over a gnarled root in my way.

That is the last image I have of her.

It's imprinted in my mind and it still haunts my sleep, still haunts my waking dreams.

My mother is gone now.

The only home I ever had is gone too.

My place as Luna is soon to follow, and Coren… Coren made sure I had nothing left to stay for when he locked me in that room three days ago.

The necklace hidden under my shirt warms up slightly when I touch it under the fabric of my blouse. Without the woman who saved me, I may have drowned in the river where I was abandoned. 

I don't have anything but love for her.

I look around again, at the now orange sky and the thick copse of tall trees and dark earth all around me. I'm deep in the woods, alright.

I didn't pack any bags before I left so there's nothing with me. I only have my wallet and I have to get out of these forests before nightfall. There's only a few hours left.

If I can find my birth parents, then maybe I can stay with them. I could find myself and discover who I am again.

If they don't want me, I'm going to find the nearest town and move there. 

I'll find a small pack and lead a quiet life where my name isn't spoken with pity or disgust.

I'm almost at the pack borders when my wolf picks up a sound cracking through the air behind me.

It's the crisp snap of a branch. Then another.

My heart drops.

The unmistakable pounding of paws and boots on the earth floods my senses and the sound of an order carries like a gunshot through the air, breaking the peace of the forest.

"Find her! Whatever you do, do not let the Luna escape. Capture her alive!"

A bolt of panic shoots through my heart and I freeze like a deer caught in the headlights.

Pack warriors.

They're looking for me.

A rumble of terror tears through my stomach and furious tears of fear spring to my eyes. No. Not now.

Not when my freedom is so close.

I blink back the tears and keep moving, being very careful to be quiet and silent.

I don't understand. T... Tristan left the door unlocked. He gave me the chance to leave. 

Did he later go on to report me? Did he heighten my hopes just to play this cruel game of cat and mouse?

The cold sting of betrayal spreads through my chest because of course he did. His sister is soon to be Luna and Coren is his Alpha. There's no reason he would have helped me, I'm so stupid.

“Destiny!”

A roar tears through the silence of the woods and my steps falter. For a solid heartbeat, I freeze, stunned witless in terror.

Coren.

I break into a sprint immediately, adrenaline flooding my veins.

My breath tears out of me, ragged and panicked but I run and I keep running.

“Destiny, STOP!”

No!

Not again.

Not this time.

I have to be free. I have to find my,

Branches suddenly part ahead of me and before I can react, a strong arm wraps around my waist and yanks me backward.

Coren’s body slams into mine as he pins me against a tree trunk, his breath hot against my neck and his chest heaving violently, "I SAID STOP."

Coren's grip is like steel around my wrists, caging me as his bright golden eyes bore down into mine. For a moment, all I can hear is my own heartbeat.

“You really tried to run from me.”

Coren's voice is a growl, anger and fury running through it, “You really wanted to leave me? Your fated mate?”

I glare at him with all the strength I have left even as grief makes my voice break, “I don’t belong to you anymore.

Let me go, Coren, please.”

Coren's jaw clenches and I see his eyes the moment they harden in determination, “You will ALWAYS belong to me.”

I try to pull away, but his grip tightens painfully.

Coren's expression changes. It sharpens into something dangerous, cold and deadly.

“You’re under arrest.”

My heart stops in my chest, “What?”

Coren's voice is hard and firm as a boulder, every word a bash against my chest, "Destiny Willows, you are under arrest for the murder of Tracy Woods.”

My eyes widen like two big saucers immediately. Murder?

Shock makes me stutter, “What, what are you talking about, Coren? I didn’t murder anyone.”

“She’s dead!”

Coren's face is an unreadable mask as he stares me down, the growl ripping from his throat showing me he's about to lose control, "Tracy is dead, and you’re the only suspect.”

I feel every bit of air leave my lungs as I stand there, weak and helpless. Tracy is dead? 

That’s impossible. I saw her just this afternoon.

"Coren...

Coren, please listen to me, I didn’t kill her.”

Coren only drags me forward, his grip unyielding around my arms as he ignores my plea.