Lyra I stood facing Darius as he slept soundly on the bed the following morning, the rising sun just peeking over the horizon.
With my bags in hand I knew what I was about to do would change the trajectory of everything I held dear but I did not care because leaving was the best thing I could do in that moment and not only for myself but for his pack and my father’s pack.
Last night had been incredible, one of the best nights I had ever experienced but it still wasn’t enough to fight my father and his evil plans.
With one final glance at him, I walked out, shutting the door quietly behind me as I turned to stare at it, my heart racing with what I was about to do.
“Are you going somewhere ma’am?” I turned around to see a maid walking towards me, a look of confusion in her eyes.
Clearly, she was surprised, seeing me with bags so early like this.
I needed to think of something fast, anything at all that wouldn’t make her suspect that I was leaving but the more I wracked my brain on what to say, the more anxious I became.
“Dry cleaning.
These are dirty clothes and I need to get them to the dry cleaner,” I said lamely.
That was the only thing that came to my head at that moment.
I didn’t know if she bought it but the warm smile on her face was enough to tell me that she did.
“Oh yes…
It’s a saturday and it’s wash day.
Why don’t I help you with that?
I can hand them over to the dry cleaner for you.
You don’t have to bother with it?” She attempted to collect the bags but I stood between them and her even though she was surprised by this act.
I glanced at the door, hoping that Darius wouldn’t hear this confrontation because the last thing I needed was for him to wake up and see me with this bag.
He was very smart and it wouldn’t take him seconds to realize what I wanted to do.
“I insist.” I said sternly.
My eyes stayed on her face, my smile gone.
I wasn’t about to allow anyone ruin my carefully made out plan.
“I’m sorry…
I only wanted to help.” I watched as she scurried away, finally leaving me alone.
I breathed a sigh of relief, turning to stare at Darius door again.
It just seemed like this was the only thing I could do given the situation I was in.
I was definitely going to miss him but my going away was for the best.
Placing my hands on the door, I felt the cold hard wood on my palm and even though I knew this wasn’t how I wanted everything to go, this was still my best option.
I picked up my bags, heading outside and I was quite happy that the setting sun provided me with enough cover to slip out.
The more I walked out of the pack grounds, the more sad I became.
Darius had been nothing but good to me especially since he had no reason to be and I was betraying him this way.
“I hope you understand why I did this.” Tears streamed down my eyes and even though I had promised myself not to cry, I couldn’t help but think about the betrayal.
It stung, even to me and I wondered how Darius was going to handle this seeing that he had trusted me completely.
“Where to?” I dried my eyes, adjusting my bags in my hand as a car came to a stop just beside me.
The window was rolled down, just enough for me to see who was behind the wheels.
It was a man, middle aged and sporting a moustache.
He didn’t seem like a wolf but although it was hard to tell especially since my senses were a bit dulled after what Darius and I had done the previous night.
“Just to the border,” I said.
I shouldn’t have gotten in, should have been more security aware but I looked ahead and realized there was still a distance between me and where I was headed.
I hadn’t come this far to end up fainting from exhaustion or worse dying.
I was still on Darius’ turf and I was quite sure that by now, his men would have been out here, looking for me.
“Come on in then.” the man said.
I hesitated for just a bit, wondering if I was making the right decision but I decided to throw everything to the wind, climbing in as i placed my bags on my lap.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“No need for thanks.
A young woman like you shouldn’t be roaming an area this early.” His voice was gruff and upon a closer look, I realized he was even more older than I thought.
That had me relaxing a bit.
“My name is Aiden…
where are you off to with your bags?” he asked, glancing at me for a split second.
I very much preferred to remain silent.
The less I spoke about myself, the better for me especially when it came to matters like this.
My father and his pack had broken the last trust I had for anyone.
“Just leaving town…” I said, vaguely.
“Well, that’s good for you.
I’ve heard all kinds of stories about this place.” My interest was piqued.
“What kind of stories?” “You know…
stories about wolves but not just any kind but werewolves, howling in the night and even some at daytime,” he scoffed.
That confirmed my earlier suspicions.
This man was definitely human.
He had no business with pack wars or alliances which had me less worried.
“And there’s a rumor going around that one of the heads of the wolves is going to war soon with the other rival pack so lady, I think you made the best decision leaving.” There was a knowing look on his face I couldn’t quite place but whatever it was, I realized that he knew more than he was letting on.
As i stared out the window as the car zoomed on, my mind was already set on where I was going- the human world and even though it might not be all I hoped for, it was the start of a new thing in my life.
I was going away from everything and anyone that reminded me of the pain I was cursed to carry.
The pain of a man I loved yet couldn’t be with and that was the greatest pain ever, one I knew I might not be able to recover from for as long as I lived.