I woke up the next morning with puffy, swollen eyes and a splitting headache-ouch, reminders of the night. The cold, space beside me curtained an uninvited weight on me. Throughout the whole night, I had just snatched a little sleep, as in that moment when I felt like drifting off to sleep, some thoughts of Logan's words kept piercing my heart. His cold gaze haunted me even in my sleep and cut every little bit of warmth I had ever felt for him.
But today was different. It had to be. I couldn't stay in this place anymore, not with everyone knowing I'd been rejected by the Alpha, their whispers following me like a ghost wherever I went. I pulled myself up, my bones aching as I moved. A shudder went through me as I looked around my room sanctuary now felt like a cage. I have to get out of here.
I threw on a pair of jeans and a warm sweater and packed a bag quickly with just the essentials-not knowing where to, just knowing it was somewhere far away from here. Someplace where I could heal, free from the weight of a pack's pity weighing down on me.
As I walked through the empty corridors of the packhouse, I thought of every look, every laugh, and every quiet moment that Logan and I had shared. It was all mendacious now-twisted shadows that would hurt so much more than they ever comforted. I shook my head, trying to push the thoughts away as I stepped out into the cool morning air.
"Leaving so soon?
The voice startled me, and I turned to find Leah at the edge of the training field, her arms crossed, her expression unreadable. One of the few friends I had here, though the word "friend" felt odd now, with my world shattered in ways I couldn't explain.
"Leah." I forced a weak smile. "I. I need to go. I don't know how long I'll be gone. I just. Can't stay here."
She sighed, her gaze softening as she walked closer, pulling me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, Aria. None of us saw this coming. I wish I could say something to make this easier, but.
I nodded against her shoulder, swallowing the knot that formed in my throat. "Thanks, Leah. Just. Take care of yourself, okay?"
She stepped back, giving me a sad smile. "You know you don't have to leave, right? We're family, even if he's. Made this decision.
She spoke extensively to comfort me, but all those words couldn't take away the loneliness, the pang of rejection running deeper than blood relations. "I do, but I need this. I need a chance to rebuild. away from everything.".
Leah's eyes shone with unshed tears, and she nodded, finally releasing me. I glanced back over my shoulder, took a step, then another, each heavier than the last. But I didn't turn around again. I couldn't.
- -
The bus station wasn't busy this time of morning-just that hum in the silence filled with morning commuters. I clutched my ticket in my shaking hands, watching the minutes tick away and my heart beat faster with each passing second. It hit me how much leaving was going to weigh down on me like a tidal wave-and I wondered for a second whether the strength to go through with it lay within me. Then Logan's words-cold and final-echoed through my head, and I made myself stay rooted, waiting.
Finally, I got on the bus onto a seat by the window, took a deep breath, and off we went. With the rumble of the engine beneath me, the landscape outside began to blur-my pack fell farther and farther behind with each mile clicked off. With it went memories, the weight of expectations, and the pain of rejections.
That journey, endless then, I welcomed in its solitude. I pressed my head against the glass, watching the scenery shift from dense forest to open fields-the world outside a blur of colours and shapes. Somewhere in me, a quiet resolve began to build, steady, like a flicker of light in the dark. I did not know where this road would take me, but I'd find my strength. I would make a life for myself beyond Logan, beyond the pack.
By the time we reached the city, it was verging on evening. The air here was different, harsher, with the sharp smell of exhaust and the low hum of voices from far afield. It was worlds away from the peace of the forest, and I was alone for the first time in my life. Even in its enormity lay a curious freedom.
I wandered through the city streets with my bag slung over my shoulder and the cool wind tugging at my hair. The problem was, until now, that I hadn't thought of much beyond leaving; and now the emptiness felt like a fresh canvas, ready for whatever I chose to paint on it.
I finally came upon a small inn nestled between two larger buildings. Neon above the door lightened in blurry reflections; the room was small, no more than a bed and an old dresser, but it would do. It'd be my refuge, my starting point.
As night started to fall, I lay on the bed looking up at the cracked ceiling above me, listening through the paper-thin walls to the night-time sounds of the city. And for the first time in days, the pain began to recede, a small spark of determination beginning to ignite. I would survive this. I must. The pain would be but a memory, something no longer defining me.
And then, as if fate had been holding its breath, waiting for me to make up my mind on the matter at hand, a light kick feathered in my abdomen. I went still, my hand involuntarily splaying over my tummy. Faint yet unmistakable, a light throbbing of life-a reminder that after all, I was not alone.
It washed over me like a tidal wave realization that brought with it the warmth that hadn't stirred since that horrid night. I was carrying his child, the child of the one who'd rejected me, the Alpha who had cast me aside. The thought sent my heart racing, fear and fierce protectiveness surging through my veins.
This was my child, a part of me no one could take away. Logan might have turned his back on me, but he would never touch this life growing inside of me, this piece of hope amidst my shattered world.
The second I laid eyes on him, I knew in my heart that wordlessly, I had vowed to protect this child from harm and give him what he deserved. Whatever it took, I would make sure they never felt the sting of rejection or the lonely emptiness of loneliness. They would feel love-unbreakable and true nobody could take that away from them.
I fell asleep with my hand splayed protectively over my belly, a small smile tugging at my lips. For the first time since Logan's rejection, I had a spark of purpose, a reason to push forward.
Maybe Logan had made his choice of path, but I knew I'd found mine. And no matter where it led, I knew one thing for absolute certain: I would not walk this road alone.