They didn't stop running until they got to Wolfsbane territory. It turned out that Auburn had taken her quite far away from there. Henry told her to shift into a wolf as they ran. Then, as wolves, they ran. They were faster than anything like that. Even if Auburn's wolves had given chase, they would never have been able to catch up with them.
They ran as wolves all the way to Henry's apartment. One of his pack members met them at the building. He gave them clothing to change into, and they shifted back to human form. Henry asked him to simply come back tomorrow. He would talk to him then.
They made their way up to the apartment. Layla knew that she wanted nothing more than to just curl into a ball and sleep. She also knew that she would never be able to sleep alone tonight.
"Do you mind if I stay with you?" Layla asked, turning to Henry as soon as they walked through the door. "I know they can't get here again, but I'm terrified of being alone right now"
"Of course," Henry told her, taking her hand and leading her to the bedroom.
"You can use my shower. I'll use the other bathroom."
Layla showered quickly. She didn't want to, but she hadn't showered in a while and wasn't going to get into bed like that. She got out and changed, finding that Henry was already in bed. She climbed in next to him.
Any feeling of shyness was long gone. She was just grateful that he was alright.
"I was really scared for you when you didn't come home the entire day," Layla told him, settling under the blanket. "I know that I shouldn't have left the apartment, but I didnt know what else to do. I had no idea where you were."
"I was gone yesterday because Bloodmoon ran a heist against one of our establishments," Henry explained. "They thought Burn might be with them, so they called me. But he wasn't, and now I'm pretty sure that it was just a divergent to get me out of the apartment so they could take you."
Layla wasn't sure how she would even be able to process that thought.
"Why did they do that?" Layla asked. "Why would Bloodmoon attack one building you own?"
"Things between Wolfsbane and Bloodmoon have gotten..." Henry paused, searching for the right word. "Intense. It's been getting worse and worse for a while, ever since Auburn took over the pack from his father.
His father was the same as he is right now. Henry shook his head, sighing.
"Burn hated his father growing up," he told her. "And I don't blame him. He would beat him, and not just Burn, but all of his kids whenever he got the chance. He was an Alpha unlike any other that I'd ever seen. His pack followed him on fear and fear alone."
Before yesterday, Layla would never have understood something like that. Now, she had seen it first-hand. She had seen how Auburn's pack followed him even when he treated them terribly because they were just so terrified of him.
"Their fear of their Alpha was justified Henry said seriously. "If one of the wolves in his pack crossed him, even accidentally, there were severe punishments that were meted out. Once, a wolf ran away, trying to escape from the pack. Auburn's father had all the wolves hunted him down. Every last member of the pack was out searching for him. When they found him and brought him back, the Alpha commanded that they kill him slowly"
Layla buried her face in Henry's chest as he spoke. Just listening to what had happened to a wolf she barely knew sent shivers down her spine. She had done the same thing as that wolf. She had also tried to simply escape from a terrible situation.
"They ripped his claws out and then his fangs." Henry shook his head like even speaking about it was too much for him to bear. "They pulled his pelt off. Eventually, they pierced his heart, and he died. That was Auburn's father. That was the man who ran Bloodmoon before Auburn."
Layla was glad that he was gone, but she couldn't imagine that it was any better under Auburn.
"Burn swore that he would never become like him," Henry told her. "After all, just because he was the Alpha's son didn't exclude Burn from suffering anything similar. He would torture his son worst of all, saying that he was just trying to make him stronger. Burn swore that he would do everything in his power to make sure that he was nothing like him. But he's just the
same."
Layla hadn't seen a monster in Auburn yet, but maybe she just didn't know him well enough. Maybe he was still becoming that person. She hoped that he didn't for the sake of the wolves under him. She hoped that he was at least not as bad as his father.
"What happened to Auburn's father? How did he take over the pack?" Layla asked though she was pretty sure that she could guess very well what had happened to the old Alpha.
"A traditional death," Henry said grimly.
"Once Auburn was big enough and strong enough, he decided that he was done living under his father's rule like that. He challenged the old wolf for Alpha of the pack."
"Was Auburn born an Alpha?" Layla asked.
"No" Henry shook his head. Layla could almost hear a note of pride in his voice for his old friend. "He was born a Beta, but he was strong. His father pushed him until he had at least more than the potential to lead a pack one day. When he challenged his father, the Alpha was old already, and Burn was younger and had a purpose. He won easily. Not without scars, of course, but then what fights of ours come without scars?"
None of them. Layla knew that. There was still something that she didn't understand.
"So why does he hate you? Why is he attacking Wolfsbane now?" Layla asked.
And why would he target her? That was something that still confused Layla. If Henry was the target, why kidnap her? Sure, Henry had come to rescue her, but there was no way that they could have known that he would do that.
"He doesn't really hate me," Henry answered, not truly. "He hates his father, and he hates himself. I'm just the only thing that he can take it out on. He has the entire of Bloodmoon behind him now, so that's why things are like this. I mean things between Wolfsbane and Bloodmoon weren't great under his father, but it wasn't this."
"It's terrifying," Layla whispered.
She was shocked by the way the packs lived their lives and the fact that there was a wolf pack out there under the leadership of someone like Auburn, an insane wolf. She
couldn't imagine the horrors that must be happening in his pack to his wolves.
She shivered despite the warmth all around her.
Henry pulled her close against him. She burrowed against his skin. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, wrapping his arms around her.
"You're safe now," he told her. "I promise."
Soon, Layla was asleep, and Henry was left alone with his thoughts. He wasn't happy with everything that had happened, but he was glad that she was safely in his arms now.
Their situation was difficult. Henry knew that he had feelings for her, and he knew that he wanted her to stay with him. He wanted nothing more than to be with her.
She was different. This Omega knew how to fight and could run almost as fast as him. More than that, there was a spark in her that he couldn't place. It was a wildfire that only seemed to burn brighter and brighter the longer she stayed.
He also knew the reality of the world he lived in. This world was dangerous ordinarily, and she wasn't safe. Burn had figured out that he could use her. How long before he tried it again? And how long before any other Alphas also got the same idea in them? He knew that by keeping her around him, he was only putting her in more danger.
He also had to consider her parent. They wouldn't exactly stop looking for their daughter, not an Omega. And he knew that they would never be content that she was here, in Lunavia, with him.
But that wasn't his most important concern. His greatest fear right now was that she had to be kept safe. That was the only thing that he had to work on, the only solution he had to find.