I run until I'm certain I am far away from that awful place. I run until I can't feel my body. If I stop, I won't be able to ever run. Thorns and stones cut into the soles of my feet, but I keep going. The pain fades soon afterward. I guess there is an advantage to healing quickly. The sky darkens and I'm still running. I don't know where I've gotten all this energy from, but it keeps me going. I don't look back once.
I keep running straight for hours and when I see the road, I yell in relief. I don't stop for a second, I follow the road and I run in a straight line. My sense of direction is astounding. I know where I'm going even though I've never been here before. My clothes are clinging to my drenched body and my limbs are on fire, but I keep going. Every step I take is one closer to Garrett, and that is all the encouragement I need. I close my eyes and I see his face. His smile. His dimples. Tears run down my face and the night's air hits my face.
In no time at all, I see lights. The city is before me and I can't believe I've come this far. The city was nearer than I thought. Cars are driving by and the noise leaves me feeling disoriented for a moment. I clap my hands to my ears and I run across roads without care. People hoot at me and yell at me to get off the road. My head is spinning and everything becomes a jumbled mess. I hear every single noise in my head. It's all so overwhelming and I don't know how to make it stop. I pass by a couple making out on a street bench and when I look straight ahead, there's the bar Sasha and I go to.
Her car isn't in the lot and I feel slightly disappointed. I try to recall what direction I should be heading in and I can't. Every single one of my senses is sharpened. It's like I'm being attacked by sounds and smells. I fight the urge to drop to my knees. I start running in any direction. I collide against people and they swear at me. Others eye me with fear in their eyes. No, I can smell their fear. I'm sure I must look like a lunatic, running around with a baggy shirt and pants, my hair uncombed and probably in a bird's nest. I'm certain I smell.
Before I know it, I'm at the exact site where I met Cyran. I close my eyes and I can visualize it again. I saw a flash of fur that was him, in his other form. How could I have been so stupid and naive? But then again, how would I ever have guessed that the man I ran down was a werewolf, a supernatural creature I had only ever seen in movies and heard stories of?
I should have known his attitude was off and not human. What would have happened if I had simply driven off and left him alone in the street? Would he have followed me home? Perhaps. And maybe he would have killed Ryan to get me. Didn't he tell me numerous times that he saw my face on the moon? That this is some kind of destiny?
I run straight again. I'm away from the city center now, so my senses aren't on overdrive anymore. I can rationalize now, at least. I recognize the street quite well. A few more blocks and I'll get home to Garrett. I can't wait to see him. I can't wait to hold him and tell him about how awful this has all been. I turn to the right and I see our home. I push myself and I run impossibly faster. I jump over the fence and I'm in the yard. I don't stop to take a breath. The lights are on, so I know Garrett is awake. He'd never sleep with the lights on.
I see a shadow in the kitchen and I pause. It's a pause that makes my bones vibrate. This isn't Garrett. I smell the sweet scent and I recognize it. I see her blonde hair before I see her face. It's Sasha. What's she doing in our house this late at the night? I shake my head to clear my vision, to bring some sense to my eyes but when I reopen them, there she is. Her hair is up in a knot and she looks completely at ease in the kitchen. Our kitchen. My kitchen. I hide in the shadows and I keep watching. Realisation hits me; she has never been to our house before. She's always refused.
She's at the sink washing something, but I can't see what it is. Garrett enters the kitchen and my heart rejoices. There he is! I take one step into the light, but when his arms go around her waist and his face burrows deep into the crook of her neck, my entire being heats up and then freezes over. It's like I'm frozen in place. I can't believe what I'm seeing. She laughs and whirls around. Her legs go around his waist. He's looking at her in the same way he looks at me, with that gleam in his eye. His lips are curved in a smirk and I'm certain my heart shatters to pieces. His face inches towards her and he kisses her deeply. The pieces of my heart glue together and shatter once more. I drop to the ground. They're kissing right in front of me. In our kitchen. How many times has he kissed me on that same spot? In that same way?
I forget how to breathe. I'm choking on air and my lungs are on fire. This must be what death feels like. It's crushing and painful and inevitable. I look at them again and he's taking her clothes off. It's so painful I can't even fathom it. Sasha and Garrett? Since when? They hate each other. Hated? Had it all been a farce? Were they seeing each other behind my back? I'd believe my mind is playing tricks on me if it hadn't been for the smell of their lust permeating the air. I can't look away.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and instinctively I know it's Cyran. He grabs me effortlessly and takes me away from this hideous scene, and I'm so grateful I don't even resist. I clutch his clothes between my fists and I bite my lip to keep my sobs at bay. The scene keeps replaying in my head and my heart sinks deeper and deeper. His heartbeat drums against my temple and it's a soothing momentary distraction. The stink of their lust follows us everywhere. He stops and I don't know how long he's been walking. It feels like an eternity and a split second at the same time.
"Mia." He says my name in that irritating way that's a question and a warning at the same time. I don't say a thing. I bury my face into his chest and let the tears flow down my cheeks. He seems to understand this and he keeps walking. I don't care about where he's taking me. At this point, I want to completely disappear. Garrett and Sasha. Sasha and Garrett. I can't wrap my head around it. They're together behind my back? I haven't even been gone a week. How long has this been happening?
"Mia." He says it again and this time something inside of me snaps. I plant both my feet on the ground and I shove him with all my force.
"What!? Stop that. Stop calling me that. Just leave me the hell alone!" I'm yelling and it feels good. I shove him again and he lets me. His calmness infuriates me and I hit him again. I hit him until my arms tingle and pain. My breath is labored and I stop abruptly. I push my hair out of my face and I sit on the floor and try to calm myself. Garrett and Sasha. I can't believe they would do this to me.
"Are you calmer now?" He asks and I think yes, God yes, but I don't say it aloud.
"Good," He says as if he heard me. "Because that's the last time you're going to throw a tantrum over another, Mia."
I shake my head. "You're unbelievable. How'd you even find me?" Did Donna sell me out? Why would she when she was the one who showed me the way out in the first place?
"That's beyond the point. I'm taking you back to the encampment. Serge is furious, he wants you executed. Do you understand? You broke a pack rule; you deserted the pack. That makes you a traitor."
I wave my hand at him and his foolish ramblings. "Sure, whatever. Tell your uncle he can do whatever he wants to me. I'm already dead, anyway."
"Don't say that." He kneels next to me and grips my shoulders between his massive hands. "I forbid you."
"You can't forbid me to express my feelings. I don't know how emotions work in your world, but in the human world, betrayal hurts. It fucking hurts and I can't even—" I start sobbing and I cover my face with both my hands. It's like everything is sinking in at once. I'm a supernatural creature. Garrett cheated on me with my best friend. I have nowhere else to go. I no longer have a home.
"You don't know a thing about our world. Do you think we don't know about betrayal? You're crying because of him. If I could, I would go back there and rip him to pieces." He says this with hatred and vehemence. I look up and I wipe my eyes.
"Why don't you, then?" It sounds like a great idea. He'd deal with Garrett and I'd rip that traitorous slut to tiny pieces. She's my best friend. How can she do such a thing to me? I'm an idiot. I thought they'd be out of their minds with worry and trying to look for me, but I was mistaken. They don't care. Maybe they're relieved I'm gone. Now they can be together.
He grits his teeth. "It's complicated."
I roll my eyes. "Of course it is."
We stay quiet for a while. Night birds fly overhead and I take a deep, shuddering breath. He speaks again. "My uncle wants you killed."
I shrug. "You already said that."
"I'm not going to let that happen."
I shrug again. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"I want you to promise me you won't do this again. Tell me you won't run again."
"It's not like I have anywhere to go now." I wrap my arms around my knees. "I guess I'm unwanted everywhere."
"Not to me." He says in a tender voice. I'm compelled to look at him, but I suppress the urge. "As long as there's life in me, and blood rushing through my veins, you'll always have a place to stay. Right beside me. I'll always find you, no matter where you go. Don't forget that."
Tears sting my eyes at his words, but I simply nod. I guess I have no choice but to follow him and see where this all takes me. I can't believe I'm going back there. I can't believe going back there is better than staying here and facing Garrett. I can't believe I no longer have a home. I no longer have him. I have nothing. I'm so lost.
"So what now?" I ask him because I don't know what to do anymore. How did he go from being my captor to my savior in a matter of minutes?
He looks pensive. "Now we go back, and I'll try to convince my uncle to spare your life. Just this time."