Cilla.
There was only one place I could go and still be safe. Home. I rushed to the kitchen to find Cara. Thankfully, she was alone. She was leaning against the counter while writing something on her notebook. She closed it when I stormed in.
“Tell the twins that I’ll be back before the day is over,” I told her.
She turned the tap on and came to where I was standing. “Where are you going?” she whispered.
“I can’t tell you,” I said to her. If I told her, she would tell Ridian and then he would come after me. Since the last thing I wanted was to be in the same vicinity with him, I had to keep that information to myself.
“Do you have the keys of the truck?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t plan on using it.”
“Have you told-.”
“No, please come with me to the gate.”
Cara escorted me to the gate, without asking more questions, before returning to the pack house. Since I was the luna, the security didn’t question me of my whereabouts. Instead, they offered protection.
“Can I come with you, Luna?” the head of security asked.
I shook my head. “I’m heading to the mines. I’ll be fine.”
“What the hell are you doing?” Ada, my wolf asked as I strode away from the gate. I ignored her.
“Doing what’s best for us,” I said. “If you want me to shut you out again, I will.”
“Please don’t do that. I’m itching for a run.”
I smiled.
When I was far enough from the gate, I stopped and turned into my wolf form. Ada, my wolf was very happy to be let out after a while. It was time to go home.
The woods were clear and there were specks of sunlight that managed to penetrate through the tree leaves to the ground. I didn’t know the rural route to Moonshine pack so I decided to let my instincts take me there.
I conjured up the images of my parents in my mind. When I did, I focused on the memories we shared around our pack. When I did this, I felt an instinct to follow certain routes. I passed by a number of packs without bothering to slow down. It was when I came across five werewolves carrying bodies of freshly k*lled animals that I stopped and hid. They must have sensed me but they had very heavy loads so couldn’t afford to get distracted. When they were gone, I continued my journey.
After two hours of quick running, I began to feel familiar sensations. I could tell that I was close to home. I began to feel more at ease, knowing that I was soon getting there. When I reached Crystal pack boundary, my heart started to beat faster. I began to feel more anxious. It was getting closer and I didn’t know what to expect. As I went further, I began to see places I had been to before.
When I reached the boundary, I stopped running, changed into human form and tried to see if there was some sort of protection around like Blackmoon pack. I knew it had never been there before because alpha Aragon hated witches and wanted nothing to do with them and their magic. His first mate and second chance mate had both been witches and had rejected him. It was a big blow to him so he never wanted to hear anything about those beings. Whenever he met one, he’d kill them. It was why our pack had always been protected only by werewolves. I didn’t know if that had changed.
After checking, I realised that it hadn’t. I entered the pack territory and started moving around. Thankfully, I spotted some clothes up on a tree. I swiftly climbed it and retrieved them. They were men’s clothes, a t-shirt and men’s shorts. Since beggars couldn’t be choosers, I put them on and went looking for the cabin where clothes were kept.
As I walked casually, I began to feel a lot of peace. I was home. i had always felt at home at Blackmoon pack but this was different.
I felt a presence and started to look around. When I didn’t see anyone, I decided to hide and figure out what direction they were. I sniffed but the scent started to fade almost immediately. It seemed the person had run away. When I saw the cabin in view, I hurried to get there, taking large strides. I found a large assortment of clothes and was soon able to find something that fit.
I was too engrossed in picking out the most suitable clothes that I did not notice what was going on outside. When I finished dressing up, I stepped out. I nearly collapsed when I saw the huge crowd that had gathered outside the cabin. I staggered back as I began to recognise familiar faces. Someone must have noticed how shocked I was.
“Someone hold her,” he said.
Two women hurried to where I was and held me from both sides.
“I need to sit,” I said.
“WELCOME HOME, CILLA!” A voice in the crowd yelled and others joined as the women sat me down. A few seconds later, a familiar face emerged from the crowd. My eyes started tearing up as I watched Beata, my former best friend coming forward, her face soaked in tears. The women stood aside and I found the strength to stand up and wrap my arms around her. That was the moment I realised how much I had missed my pack.
Never in my wildest dreams had I ever expected the kind of welcome I received from my home pack. The joy in the faces of those who had come to meet me was clear as day. We cried as we talked, laughed, sang and danced after someone started playing music.
“Pinch me,” I told Beata, still not believing it was real.
When I thought more about how I ended up there, I felt sad. Ridian, who had made it possible was supposed to be there to see the joy on my face. I realised that what I had done had been very wrong. All he had wanted was to put a smile on my face, make me happy but I had sp*t on those wishes. I had rejected his gift in front of the whole world. Now that I was thinking clearly, I realised that I overreacted when I found him with his friend Samantha.