I flutter my eyes open and find myself in my room. I feel a grip on my hand; I look to my side and find Chloe beside me with tears in her eyes. Chloe is still here; I wanted to believe the last thing I remember was all a nightmare. If she is still here after opening my eyes, it must mean it was not a dream. Someone really kidnapped mom.
“Chloe, what am I going to do?” I ask, barely audible as tears form in my eyes. It does not take me more than a second before I burst out in tears.
“Everything is going to be fine; we are going to find her,” She says, pulling me into a hug.
After crying for what feels like forever, I walk out of the room to find my mate. I remember picking his scent before I blacked out, so I am surprised I did not see him when I woke up. I am a little hurt he did not wait around to see me wake up or even come by after. I knock on his room door and wait for him to tell me to come in before I walk inside. I smelt his scent inside the room, and I could hear his heartbeat from inside. So I know for sure he is in his room. After a few seconds, he tells me to come in. I gently open the door and find my mate putting on his shirt. Before his shirt drops on his body, I get a beautiful glimpse at his hard rock abs. I can feel my cheeks heating up with the thought of my hands running all over them.
“What do you want?” He asks sternly. I can’t believe that is the first question he is asking me. I just woke up after fainting, and he can’t even ask me how I am doing. That hurts a lot, coming from my mate.
“I am sure you heard my mother is missing. I would like to leave to look for her”
“You are not going anywhere,”
“Why,” I ask, confused
“Because it’s not safe for you to leave.”
“Why is it not safe for me to leave?”
“Word has spread that I have found my mate. A lot of enemies of mine will be after your life.”
“I know that, but it’s not like if I was captured, they could use me to threaten you or anything. You don’t care about me.”
“I don’t need to show you that I care about you. You are not leaving,”
That statement does not make sense. If you don’t show someone you care about them, how will they know? He is talking like he has lost his mind.
“I need to leave. I can’t sit here and do nothing while my mom is missing”
“Your old Alpha is searching for her,”
“Even though he is, I still have to try and find her myself.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Anastasia,” He says in a warning tone. This is the first time he has ever called my name, and he sounds angry while saying it. It makes me sad that the first time my mate calls my name is when he is mad at me, even though he does not have a right to be. “You are not leaving this territory, and that’s final.”
I am about to protest, but I know that it won’t be of any use. I quickly walk out of his room and walk to mine. Once I am inside my room, I suddenly feel drained about everything. My mom is missing, my mate refusing to allow me to go and look for her, and the way he talks to me like I am not his mate, his equal. I don’t hold back the tears and allow them to fall like every time and cry about my horrible life since the day I met my mate.
I hear my room door open while lying down on the bed, and I don’t need to look up to know who it is. I pick up Chloe’s scent, but it’s not only hers; I smell. She also smells of Liam, and once she stands in front of me. I can’t help myself and cry more once I see the marking on her neck. Chloe has only been here for a few hours, and she and Liam have already completed the mating process. I don’t want to be jealous of my best friend, but it still hurts. I have been here longer and met my mate first, but my mate is why I am crying in my bed. Why was I given such a cruel mate? Why? I ask no one in particular.
“Ana, why are you crying? Are you hurt somewhere, or are you crying about your mom?” Chloe asks worriedly
“Both,” I say, barely audible.
“Where are you hurt? Do you need me to get the pack doctor?” She asks and searches my body for injuries but finds none because I am not physically injured.
“Chloe, it hurts, here, it hurts the way he treats me, and I can’t do anything to stop the pain,” I say in between tears as I point to my heart. I feel like they are squeezing my heart and pulling it out of my body. Everything he has done to me, seeing how Chloe is happy with Liam only after meeting today and with mom gone, is just too much for me right now.
Chloe does not say anything but wraps me in her arms, but this only makes matters worse. She smells of Liam, and as much as I want to tell my best friend that I don’t want her around me right now because she smells of her mate, I can’t. That would make me look like I am not happy for her, which I am, but I am also jealous of what she has. A good mate while I am stuck with a horrible one.
After there are no tears left in my body, I stop crying. Right now, I am just looking at the ceiling, wondering the horrors my mom might be facing wherever she is.
“Did you speak to the alpha king about helping you search for your mom?” Chloe asks, beside me on the bed
“I didn’t ask him to help. I asked him if I could leave, but he refused”
“Why?” Chloe asks confused
I tell her about our discussion this morning.
“I understand why he wants you to stay, but I also understand how it’s more important for you to try and look for her yourself. He could have tried to make you understand better.”
“I know my life is in danger because I am his mate, but he does not understand how I need to do something. Sitting here just wondering if she is doing okay is killing me.”
“I know, and don’t worry. I will talk to Liam and see if he can convince him to allow you to look for her. He can have one of his pack warriors follow you back home.”
“Thank you, and I hope he listens to Liam because if he does not, I will have to leave without his approval.”
“I don’t think that is a very good idea. What if something happens to you?”
“I can’t think about that right now, but if by the end of tomorrow he does not still allow me to leave. I will leave regardless.”
“Hmm,” Chloe says, because she knows once I have made up my mind, there is no changing it.
The following morning, while I am about to step into the kitchen to make breakfast, I hear Liam and Theo arguing in the living room.
“You have to understand why she needs to leave. This is her mother we are talking about,” Liam says,
Chloe must have spoken to him last night before they went to bed.
“I don’t want to understand; I just want to keep her safe.”
“I know, but she needs to help with the search for her mom. Staying here and doing nothing is driving her crazy. Let her go, or at least send her off with your best warriors to protect her.”
“I am not allowing her to leave, and that’s final,” He says sternly.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why.”
“You don’t need to know why; all you need to know is that my mate is never leaving this place,” He says and walks out of the room.
I don’t understand why Theo keeps shielding me from the world. First, he won’t let me speak to my mom or Chloe. Now he won’t allow me to look for her while she is missing. It’s like I am his prisoner here, and I wonder why he keeps shielding me from anything related to my old pack.
Later at night, I prepare to leave; since my mate did not want me to go the proper way, I will escape tonight. After I am done dressing in all black to make it easy to blend with the night. I leave a note for Chloe telling her not to worry about me and wait for my safe return. I tie the rope of clothes I made to my window to get down quickly without making any noise. I could easily jump down from the second floor where my room is but every werewolf around would hear me when I touch the ground.
I release a breath of relief once I touch the ground without making any sound. I gently walk away from my mate’s house, praying dearly I don’t get caught. Once I am close to the borderline, I hide behind a tree not too far from it and check how many guards are guarding it. They seem to be quite a lot, but I have a plan. I quickly take off my clothes and shift into my wolf. I climb the tree and growl very loudly in the opposite direction that they are standing. They hear this and waste no time checking what is happening. I use this opportunity and run past the territory line while making sure to mask my scent so they won’t be able to follow me when they find out I am gone.
Being able to mask your scent is something only I can do, and I don’t know why. When I was younger, I used it anytime my friends and I played hide and seek, but I stopped once I found out I was the only one who could do it. Mom has made me promise never to tell anyone about it. With mom on my mind, I increase my speed, and I run to the main road to find a ride back to my old pack. I hope I won’t regret leaving this way.