Slipping Away

Lumina POV

Gravel crunches beneath the thick tires as Declan jerks the steering wheel, pulling our escape car into the dimly lit parking lot of a rundown human diner. I have no idea how many hours we spent navigating those desolate, winding highways in silence. I sit up from the cramped floorboards of the backseat and take a hard look at Mom. Her skin is pale and coated in a clammy sweat. Breaking a permanent mate bond by force takes a devastating physical toll on the body. Still, she sits a bit straighter now, her breathing steadier as her strength slowly returns. The fact that she severed her bond with Voss to protect me from the Alpha's cruelty is a debt I can never repay. Leaving the Obsidian Thorn Pack meant leaving behind everything we knew, but returning would mean a lifetime of subjugation to Kaelen and his twisted desires.

We slip out of the car and into a booth under the humming fluorescent lights of the diner. A young human waitress saunters over, twirling an order pad and blatantly flirting with my older brother. He orders our black coffees and food with a polite, curt nod, missing her signals. He made an unbreakable vow to wait for his fated mate, and he is keeping it.

Declan leans his forearms heavy on the sticky laminate table. He drops his voice to a hushed, serious whisper. "We need to steer clear of any established packs. Alpha Garret is going to alert all the neighboring Alphas that the future Luna of the Obsidian Thorn Pack is missing. He will paint a massive target on our backs."

I frown and cross my arms over my chest. "Garret wouldn't dare reveal the truth of what happened in those cells. Attempting a non-consensual force-marking is against the highest werewolf laws. Other Alphas would never side with him."

A low, animalistic rumble vibrates from deep inside Declan's chest. His wolf, Titus, is beyond agitated by the lingering danger.

I slam a fist against my sternum and let out a loud, fake cough. Several human patrons glance over at our booth with suspicious looks. I kick Declan under the table and shoot him a pointed glare. "You need to keep Titus on a much tighter leash while we are embedded around humans."

Mom reaches across the table and grips my trembling hand tight. She leans in closer. "Lumina, if Garret was encouraging Kaelen to force himself on you, it is not a stretch to assume he will lie through his teeth to the other Alphas. Your brother has the right strategy. We must stay hidden in a densely populated human city like Oakhaven. We can find a discreet place to rent, get normal jobs, and lay low. We will stay safe together."

Kaelen POV

Two grueling hours have passed since Voss took Lumi back to their home. I sit in a stiff hospital chair and stare down at Corbin. He rests in a deep sleep, his face healing from Torin’s merciless attack. I rub my temples, staring at the steady rise and fall of his chest. Watching my wolf tear into him was a nightmare. I love Corbin. We built a life together over the past two years, but my wolf demands our fated mate. A Beta lover cannot give me the unparalleled strength required to lead the pack, nor can he give me the strong heirs my bloodline demands. If push comes to shove between the two of them, my choice is Lumi. I would choose her hands down, every single time.

My father's compromise to keep them both under my roof was flawless in theory. I harbored a delusional hope they would agree to it. I genuinely wanted to keep them both by my side. But deep in my soul, I knew her fierce pride would never allow it. She ruined a perfect arrangement.

*Need to see our mate right f**king now,* Torin snarls.

My massive wolf paces the dark confines of my mind, his patience exhausted. I stand up and slip out of the quiet hospital room. The moment I hit the cool night air outside the clinic, I shift. I let my expensive clothes shred to useless pieces around me as my heavy paws hit the dirt. I sprint directly toward the Beta house. The frantic run takes mere minutes. I duck behind a large oak tree that served as our secret childhood hiding spot and shift back to human form. I snag a discarded pair of basketball shorts I left in the bushes days ago and pull them on.

I step onto the wooden porch and grab the front door handle. A sickening pit drops deep into my stomach. The house is terrifyingly quiet.

I push the door open and step inside, stopping dead in my tracks at the dining room entrance. Voss leans heavy against the far wall. The man who served as a lifelong mentor and a second father to me looks hollow. His devastated, bloodshot eyes lift to meet mine. The horrifying truth slams into me.

She is gone. She left me.

Torin shoves forward to the surface. He hijacks my body in a deafening, blind rage. I roar, my bare fists smashing repeatedly into the drywall. I grab the heavy wooden dining chairs and launch them across the room, shattering them into jagged pieces against the floor. We tear apart everything in our immediate path, a brutal physical reaction to the grief ripping through our chest.

I stand panting amidst the wreckage, finally wrestling back partial control of my limbs. I glare down fierce at the broken man on the floor. "What the exact f**k happened?"

Voss swallows hard, his voice raw. "Helena drugged me. She broke our sacred bond. They are gone. My family is gone."

I shut my eyes and mind-link my father.

*What the hell do you mean they are gone? Why was she allowed out of the secure cells in the first place?* Garret barks through our mental connection.

*Shut up about the cells! We just need to find her immediately!* I roar back, cutting him off.

My father breaks the mental link. A second later, he taps deep into the expansive pack network. The heavy mental command hits every single available tracker and trained warrior on the territory. *The precious future Luna has been taken.*

Outside the broken windows, a massive chorus of chilling howls erupts into the night sky. The sheer volume rattles the remaining glass. The manhunt has begun.

I shoot Voss a cold look of disgust. "Take yourself to the infirmary immediately. You are of no use to me or the pack acting like this. If you want to ever find your mate again, pull yourself together. I have to bring my Luna back home."

I turn my back on him and stride out of the destroyed house.

We will find you, Lumina.