I couldn’t sleep all night. Each tick of the clock was a reminder that my freedom was slowly slipping away and I had very little time left to do anything about it.
I spent the entire night thinking and brainstorming ideas, anything that could get me out of this wedding and short of being pregnant for another man, I couldn’t think of any more options except running away but I know after the last attempt they wouldn’t be so careless with their security.
I heard the door knob rattle and I turned just in time to see Carmen and Liana walk into my room. I instantly sat up straight and watched them as they strolled into the room without a care in the world.
“What are you doing here?” I couldn’t help but ask but they both ignored me and came to stand by my bed.
“Get up,” it was Carmen who spoke.
“I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me why you’re here; it isn’t even morning yet.” Liana scoffed and pulled back my curtains and I saw the sun rising against the horizon.
It can’t be morning yet. I still need more time to think. I haven’t thought about how I’m going to avoid this yet. I can’t go through with this.
“Seeing the panic on your face right now is worth waking up this early,” Liana said with a smile, “Now get up; we have a lot of things to do this morning.”
She pulled the blanket off my body and I forced myself to get off the bed and let them lead me into the bathroom.
“Can you bathe yourself or are you going to make us do all the work for you today?” Carmen asked making me snap out of my internal battle and I turned around to shut the door. Just before I was able to close it Liana stuck her foot out, stopping me from fully shutting it.
“What do you want?” I asked and she shrugged.
“I just want to give you a piece of advice.”
“I don’t want your advice Liana.”
“I think you’ll find it helpful,” she said, “If you truly want to get out of this there is only one way.” She paused to gauge my reaction but I kept my face perfectly still, “Don’t you want to know what it is?”
“If you’re going to speak then get to the point. If not then please leave me alone.”
“So rude,” she chided then let out a huge sigh, “But it’s your wedding day so I’ll be nice.” She stepped closer and leaned in to whisper, “The only way to get out of this is if you die. We’re leaving you alone in the bathroom so you can do us all a favor and end it. We’ll happily take the blame. Good luck.”
She blew me a faux kiss and walked out making sure to shut the door tightly behind her.
I wish I could say my day got better after that but it only became worse. Carmen and Liana did nothing but make digs at me throughout the entire getting ready process. Their favorite words were that I didn’t deserve a professional make-up artist.
When they saw that it wasn’t bothering me so much Liana put in that I probably needed one to cover up how hideous I looked in real life. That earned her an eye roll from me and it was probably my worst mistake because once she noticed my reaction she did and said everything possible to get a reaction out of me. They only left when they had to get ready.
It took me over two hours to get ready and I cursed myself for loving how beautiful I looked. The dress was amazing. It was a simple straight gown with a few designs around the upper part. It wouldn’t have been my first choice but it somehow looked absolutely beautiful.
“Come; we can’t keep everyone waiting.” Carmen said and I followed them quietly down the stairs and to the front of the house where I saw the convoy of cars waiting. “Did you think anyone would risk you trying to run away again?”
I was escorted to a simple black car that appeared to be in the very middle of all the cars. I expected Liana and Carmen to sit inside as well but they just shut the door after me.
“Your husband doesn’t want any of us around you on the way,” Liana said, “Apparently he doesn’t trust us.” I let out a sigh of relief at that. “Don’t get to excited, you still have two heavily trained female warriors in the front seat; you still can’t escape.”
I immediately felt my relief disappear but I kept my expression neutral. When she didn’t see any reaction she just rolled her eyes and left. Not too long after the car started and I was on my way to my doom.
A few minutes into the drive I felt the car jerk to a stop and it snapped me back to reality.
“What’s going on?” I asked but I was ignored, “What is going on?”
“There was an accident here and it is going to take hours at least before the road gets cleared.” One of the females said, “But we don’t have hours to waste.”
Just as she was speaking I saw one of father’s guards approach the car and whisper something to her. Her face paled for a second before she nodded and pulled the car into reverse then took another route directly through the forest.
“Where are we going?” I asked then I turned around and saw that no one was following us, “Where is everyone?”
She stopped the car and turned to me, “Get out of the car.”
“Excuse me?”
“Get out of the car now we don’t have much time.” I didn’t know what she was up to but I got out anyways, “Now I want you to roll around on the grass for a quick second and try to cut yourself up a bit.” I looked at her in shock but she rolled her eyes. “Do it.”
I went on all fours and rubbed my skin against the grass a bit then used a couple of twigs to cut up my skin. Just as I had finished I saw her drive straight into a tree making me gasp. I ran over to make sure she was alright but she stepped out of the car looking perfectly unharmed.
“Are you crazy?” I asked and I saw the other guard step out as well.
“I need you to be quiet we have at least five minutes until people get here. There is a stream upfront, get into it and wash away your scent. You should also see some clean clothes around there.” She said, “We’ll stay here and pretend like it was an accident.”
“You’ll get punished,” I said but she shook her head.
“They wouldn’t dare punish the Luna of another pack.” She said with a small smile, “I’m Aubrey from the Dark Fangs pack and you need to hurry.” she continued, “I have a human friend in the next town. It’s about an hour away from here. His contact is in the clothes by the stream.”
“But why would you help me? You’ll be guilty of treason.”
“Not if they think I was compelled to do it by a witch,” she said with a wink then she and her friend took out a bottle from their pockets and drank the contents after which the bottle disintegrated to dust and they fell to the ground in heaps.
“Thank you,” I whispered to her then took off my heels, grabbed the hem of my dress and ran.