Chapter 6
Today is a week from when Alpha Sam had started coming to the cottage and as I stare at the small stick in my hand. I cry not because I am happy, but because my life has taken a sharp one-eighty turn with no stop in site. Six months till this pup is born. That’s how long a she wolf is pregnant for. Two years until the Alpha takes whoever is inside me away and raise his heir without me in this pup's life.
“Laina?” Alex’s voice floats through the door and I jump, flushing the toilet and throwing the evidence of my pregnancy away in the trash bin. I do not want anyone to find out that I am pregnant right away. Hell, part of me is ashamed for how I acted over the last week with the Alpha. I curse the Doctor each time I am left alone in bed as the Alpha leaves my used and bruised body that he has just filled with his seed for the umpteenth time to do pack work before returning to make me his own little sex toy once more. Washing my face with cold water I compose myself and force the thoughts of what I was forced to do the past seven days from my mind then leave the safety of the master bathroom.
“You okay?” Alex asks as I walk past him.
“Yeah I’m just over whelmed.” I smile as best as I can at my friend and usher him out of my room.
“I’ll see you in a few, just want to tidy up.” My friend nods and closes the door giving me a moment to myself. I have to focus on putting a bag together of things I will need if I want to runaway soon, Alex and Matthew will help be if I tell them about what Doctor Freelan and Alpha Sam did to me. Grabbing a small pink note book, I take out my hidden phone, writing down all the important contacts before I start making a list of things I will need as well. I will have to leave my cell behind or risk being tracked by Sam and his Warriors. With the drug out of my system now my mind feels clear and refreshed than it has in days. Today is my best option for running away since the Alpha is gone for the whole day due to pack business and will only return tonight with Doctor Freelan to give me a check-up. It is now or never and part of me continues to hold onto the hope that Alex and Mathew will help me like Breeders before when I inform them of my plan to escape. I smile at the one good thing Abby had done to help me and that would be her bringing my emergency money and my wallet with all my cards and I.D inside. I haven’t heard or seen from that bitch since she left me here but Milly said she has been gloating about the mighty Laina Starcrest becoming nothing but a fuck toy. I am glad I dropped her as a friend when I did, who knows what she would have done if I allowed her to continue coming to this cottage. I stuff my wallet into a large duffle bag I kept by the bed and begin to run around the room picking and choosing what would be essential to take including practical clothing and an extra pair of running shoes.
With the bag packed and leaving enough room for other things like food and water as well as some medical supplies, I open the door to the bedroom slowly and heighten my wolf hearing, taking the time to see if Alex is in the house - he isn’t, thank the Goddess. I smile before making my way down stairs into the kitchen, grabbing a bunch of protein and granola bars, bags of jerky and bags of dried fruit throwing them into the duffle bag with my stuff then make my way towards where the first aid kit is kept under the kitchen sink. I pick and choose what I will most likely need on the run, placing bandages, gauze, medical tape, pain meds and disinfectant spray into a large Ziploc bag, making sure everything is secured before rushing outside to hide the duffle bag by the back gate. Today will be my great escape and I have a feeling that this will be the number one gossip in the pack when I leave. I just have to plan when to run during the shift change for the guards.
Smiling triumphantly, I turn towards the cottage and take in the building and its surrounding. This place will never be my home if I have a say in it but for now I need to act as if it’s just another day. Making sure the bag I have hidden won’t be seen I make my way back inside and head straight for the kitchen. I need to eat something filling today and decide on some comfort food - lasagne sounds like a good idea. I busy myself with preparing the Italian dish, making sure each layer has enough meat and cheese with a little bit of sauce before placing it into the oven to cook. As a last minute edition I add in some garlic bread. Meat and carbs are a werewolf’s best friend when planning to run any distance whether for training or for running away.
“Food smells good.” Alex says as he comes into the kitchen from the back door just as I was dishing the food out, a plate full of cookies and a plate with garlic bread on the table already waiting to be devoured as I bring the hot lasagne out of the oven and settle it between the two plates.
“Yeah, come on and dig in.” I laugh out at my friend's enthusiasm for food.
[Laina, the Doctor and I can’t come over today, urgent pack business at the pack house. Stay inside!] The Alpha’s voice rings clear in my head as he links me with a hint of urgency in his voice. I sigh in relief and sit, starting to dig into my food and my mood lighter. The check-up seems to be cancelled with this information and I can't help but grin. My chance for escape increases knowing that the two males who have made my life a nightmare the last seven days will not make an appearance tonight. If the check-up had gone as scheduled and if I wasn’t pregnant I would most likely be dosed with the serum gain and repeat the process with the Alpha once more. Luckily neither of those options will happen. But a nagging feeling fills me. Why would the Alpha still be on pack lands when he had gone out this morning?
“Good news?” Alex asks and I nod, giving him a full smile as I shove a fork full of the delicious pasta into my mouth.
“He isn’t coming today, neither is the doctor.” I mumble through a mouth full of garlic bread catching Alex as he releases a relieved sigh and his body relaxes as well.
“Good. As taboo as it is to say, I hate the Alpha.” He says and I laugh, almost choking on the mouth full of food. I love how honest my friend is with me.
“Don't worry, I hate the Alpha too!” I laugh out. We continue our lunch, the mood lighter with the knowledge Sam and Doctor Freelan will not be making an appearance today, giving us time to catch up. I hesitate in telling Alex my plan, knowing that even though he has helped other Breeders escape his fate, I am a special case. I carry Pine Paw's heir now.
“Alex we have a problem!” James - the other guard, in charge of keeping me prisoner to this cottage - shouts out as growls and howls ring out.
“Rogues.” Alex says hurriedly as his body tenses ready to fight. He rushes over to the back door, taking a look outside before coming back to my side with hope in his eyes, hope that ignites the fighting spirit inside of me.
“Our job is to protect you so run and hide, if we “loose” you in the confusion it’s not our fault, but the rogues.” I take the hint instantly knowing what my friend is implying and hug Alex tight, tears stinging my eyes. I can see that he has been waiting for an opportunity like this to help me and I am grateful I extended an olive branch of friendship to this wolf over a week ago.
“Thank you.” I whisper, feeling his arms wrap around my waist.
“Don’t worry, just protect your pup.” I pull away shocked as he taps my nose, a bemused smile on this wolf's face.
“I smelt the chemicals from the test. I’ll get rid of it for you later, just stay safe. Also your cousin asked me to send this to you. I also slipped my number in there. You call me when you find somewhere safe and I will find you Laina. You’re like a little sister to me now and I’ve been waiting to find a reason to leave.” He hands me a letter and I nod, speechless at how much help he is giving me as he hands me a jacket and pushes me out the back door before he runs out the front. I take the opportunity to run, putting my jacket on and grabbing my bag I had stashed outside the back fence and kept going. The sounds of wolves fighting fill the forest but I did not chance looking back. I can’t look back or I would be captured and taken back to the cottage to resume my life as a breeder. Being pregnant meant I will not have to face punishment but I could not risk being captured because if I am the security would be doubled around the cottage.
The soles of my shoes slap against the forest floor and I clumsily make my way through the underbrush. The sounds of fighting drown out the sounds of my escape and multiple times I find myself changing directions to avoid the clash of wolves that fight tooth and claw to the death with clumps of fur littering the ground. The closer to the edge of the territory the quieter the forest becomes. With the sounds of fighting far behind me now I make it to the edge of my packs territory in an hour and stop before I could cross it. Now while everyone is busy with the rogues I take the time to catch my breath. The forest is quiet away from the rogue attack giving me a peace of mind I haven’t had in a long while. Remembering the letter Alex gave me I take out the envelope I had stashed into the jacket pocket carefully putting away Alex’s number before reading through the contents of the letter.
Lainy,
I am hoping that you would read this before you got pregnant and if you are, then I hope that it’s the first set of pups you have.
Head to the tree house we used to play in as children and grab your pink duffle bag. I know that your mind wasn’t in the right place the day you were made a breeder but now I want you to do one thing, RUN.
Keep running till you find a mate because he or she will save you from being a breeder, because of the laws the great Elders set out.
Stay safe and know that we love you.
Chris and Jack
Tears flow down my face again while I read and re-read the letter. It still smelt like Chris as his neat handwriting fills the paper. I knew that I had about an hour run in human form towards the tree house but luckily it is close to the pack border. This information makes this whole running away thing a hell of a lot easier. With a smile I take a risk and strip my clothes off, stashing them into the duffle bag I carry now before shifting into my wolf. Gingerly I pick the straps of the bag into my muzzle before dashing through the forest. I knew shifting is a taboo idea for pregnant werewolves but now is a desperate situation. I need speed to make my escape and my human form is not as fast as my wolf form.
Soon the old oak tree comes into view after about forty minutes of running and I let out a sigh of relief, dropping my bag and shifting back to human form then quickly re-dressing. I make my way to the ancient oak tree, the ladder to the tree house greeting me. The scent of wolves lingers in the area and I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of pups still playing here. Looking around the base of the tree I search for the little hollow I used to hide in spying my all too familiar pink duffle bag ready and waiting for me. I know that Chris and Jack would stock the bag with things I would need so I decide not to bother with checking the contents. Right now I needed to leave and when I find somewhere safe I can check the pink duffle bag.
The border is just a few feet away from me waiting to accept me into the unknown and escape this cruel fate given to me. If I denounce my status as a member of Pinepaw I will become a rogue and so will the pup inside me. I know what I have to do. Slowly I walk towards the border, my toes just on the line as I feel the power rushing through my sneakers.
“I, Laina Starcrest, denounce my membership of this pack and henceforth become a rogue till I find my mate or a new pack to call my own.” I take a step over the border and feel the snap as the connection to the pack breaks. Since my pup is only just conceived it would have no ties to any pack until I join one. I smile and continue to run moving where ever is farthest from my old life. I would miss my cousin and his mate as well as Alex, Mathew and Milly but I needed to do what was right for me, for the little one inside me. I needed to find a place where there is no Breeder status and be free once again.
