Top Commenter: AmberBreak

Word Count: 1729

~Mara

"Do you remember everything I told you?" Althea questions. She leans against the car I'm currently sitting, peering at me. Landon sits in the front seat, staring straight ahead.

"Not really," I admit. It's getting further into evening now. We have planned to leave later, since the drive to the Freedom Pack is long, and Landon suggested I sleep most of the drive. That way, we would arrive by morning.

"The first thing I suggest, is to find somewhere to stay. Many of the houses there are abandoned, so stay there if possible. Eventually, I'm sure Kaden will lose interest in finding you, and you can go home," she tells me.

I nod, hoping this might actually work.

"My main warning, is to stay as far from Alpha Grayson as possible. He's not the most...Put together Alpha out there."

"She will be fine Al," Landon says gruffly, cutting Althea off. She sighs, leaning into the car to kiss my forehead goodbye. I suddenly feel as though I'm going to miss her more than I expected. At first I came here to kill her baby, and now, I'm leaving to find a new place to call home.

We depart quickly. The entire time, I couldn't stop looking out the window for Kaden.

If he saw us, I would be dead...

💙••💙

"Mara..."

My eyes shoot open, and I sit up, only to be restricted by a seatbelt. When I glance over, I see Landon in the drivers seat, staring at me. He looks tired, his soft brown eyes rimmed red. It's obvious he's been driving for quite some time.

"We are here," he mumbles.

He's right. Outside, I'm faced with a massive wall. Unlike the Power Pack wall, this one is crumbling, with cracks running straight through. To my left, there is even a large gaping hole in its structure.

"Not very new, is it?"

I glance at Landon. He's right. The Freedom Pack was another Pack that isn't discussed often. Mainly because they are a bad influence; their ideas and values destroyed the moment Alpha Grayson took over reign. We were told that if there is anyone worse than Kaden, is Grayson.

"Can you tell me about Alpha Grayson, before I have to go in there?" I ask. Knowing about him is mandatory.

Landon thinks for a moment. "I can't say I know him very well. What I do know, is that he was the youngest Alpha until I became one. But he's the most immature one, that's for sure."

His words make me think.

"It's easier to just stay away from him, like Althea instructed. He likes new things, and might not let you go for awhile if he gets his hands on you," Landon muses.

"I think I get it now. Find shelter. Find an alley, and stay as far away from the Alpha as I can," I say, repeating everything I've been told. Landon nods, smiling.

Popping the door open, I glance at Landon for the last time.

"Good luck," he murmurs.

Once I close the door behind me, Landon drove off quickly. Prepared with hardly anything in my small backpack, I head off toward the gaping hole in the massive wall.

It's hot here. Hotter than any other Pack around. At least that's what I've heard. But instead of being a burning hot, it's humid; moisture sticking to my skin relentlessly. Wiping my forehead, I pray a headache won't follow.

Clambering over concrete debris from the wall, I make it into the Pack territory. I'm officially in the Freedom Pack...

Instantly I'm hit by a wave of heat. It's suddenly obvious why they all live naked.

Stalking through the grass, I look around for a sign of civilisation, but to no avail. Foreign plants and trees grow all around, giving some shade for me to stroll under.

"Hello?" I call out aimlessly. No one answers. I was hoping that perhaps someone was out wandering, and would hear my call. Obviously not I suppose.

For hours it felt like I walked.

The heat dragged at my feet like shackles, and the sweat on my forehead felt like heat pack pressed against my skin. No matter how far I walked, it seemed as if no settlement could be found.

Every ounce of optimism has ebbed out of my body at this point. I rest my back against the wide trunk a tree, my hand over my heart.

The sun is setting over the horizon, and despite the haze of negativity that has settled over me, I have to admit that this Pack is a beautiful sight. Closing my eyes, I allow myself to relax my stiff limbs for a moment.

The sound of a twig snapping close by makes my eyes shoot open. I glance around, but I can't see a thing. Darkness is spreading like a disease across the land, tainting my vision.

But I still see him.

Stark naked, he stands, leaning casually against a tree. Only gentle shadows cover his crotch. A smile of pure juvenile excitement danced across his face. Eyes as sharp as silver stare at me, searching for any sign of vulnerability.

"Shít," I mutter under my breath.

He steps forward, and I avert my eyes from his lower area, which has decided to show itself fully to me.

Just being in this mans presence, I know exactly who he is. An Alpha. Alpha Grayson.

"I smelt you the second your foot made contact within my walls," he says. His voice is laced with that exotic Freedom Pack accent that's impossible to acquire unless you've lived here your whole life.

"I didn't realise you cared who came in and out of this Pack," I say, with a little more sass then intended. Grayson raises an eyebrow at me. His hair resembles the colour of rich, dark wood, and in the light, seems to shine with an unexplainable sort of brilliance.

His chuckles fills the area. "Only if they smell as pure as a Purity Pack member."

Trembling, I considering running. If I ran, would he bother following? If I shift, then he would surely smell me for miles, which wouldn't give me a good chance of outsmarting him. I would have to escape on foot-perhaps up a tree. Although that didn't seem to work with Kaden.

"So tell me, Angel eyes, what brings you to my Pack?" He asks. I wonder if he thinks the nickname is charming.

Despite my best attempts at averting my eyes, something about his cut abs and obvious lines directing to his crotch lures them lower. He notices, laughing like a man in pure bliss. "See something you like?"

"You should put some clothes on," I grumble. His face twists in amusement, and he takes a step close. A lump in my throat clutches at every breath I take, making my nerves cement deeper.

"Would you be less disrespectful if I told you wearing clothes here is not apart of our custom?" He questions. Since when did he care about custom? Only one law supports this Pack from anarchy; everyone had the right to freedom.

"Would you be more respectful if I told you that modesty is the foundation of my belief?"

He grins at my words. "You're in my Pack now, remember."

I hold back a snarky remark, and try to gather my bearings without him noticing. Alpha Grayson so far fits the definition of nonchalant, so perhaps my exit lies within his ways.

"That reminds me, I do have somewhere to be," I say, pretending to look at the sun to tell the time, when really it's fast retracting below the horizon.

When I go to turn around, Grayson grabs my shoulder, forcing me to face him. His large hand is warm, sending shivers down my body. How is he so warm? When the temperature is quickly lowering, and he has no clothes to speak of.

"No you don't."

"I do."

"No."

"Yes."

"Pretty sure you don't..."

"Can we stop acting like children!" I snap, cutting of our banter. Grayson tilts his head at me, and the glimmer in his eyes spells out the youthful exuberance beneath.

"You first."

I sigh deeply, and shrug the mans hand on my shoulder. Slowly, I turn around and start walking in the opposite direction of him. I make it a few feet before I'm forced to stop again to his large hand on my shoulder.

"Would you-"

I pause. His eyes, are no longer that excited silver...But a dangerous red. His jaw is clenched, his muscles taunt.

"What in the world..."

"Go, before I hurt you," he says, his voice coming out in strained pants. Backing up, I keep an eye on him. He looks as if he's fighting with a demon under his skin, trying to fight the animalistic unconsciousness.

"What is happening?" I question, my steps backward not being aided by the thick grass wrapping around my ankles.

His head snaps up, and the fire within his eyes frightens me to the core.

"The moment the sun falls and the moon rises, I will no longer have control over my body..."

💛••💛

~Kaden

I sigh gruffly, my fingers tapping against my thigh. Where is she? She knows we meet out here every night.

No being able to take waiting any longer, I wander over to her bedroom window. Peering in, I see its empty. Strange. I waited until Althea was in bed, before I came. So where is Mara?

Swallowing, I pull the window up, ignoring the groan of the lock as it breaks under my strength. Inside the room is bare.

She's not there.

A surge of anger runs hot through my veins like liquor, making me clench my fists. Pieces of a manipulated puzzle slowly slot into place within my twisted mind.

Landon isn't here, I noticed. And neither is Mara.

"That son of a bítch," I growl, claws involuntarily elongating. Pacing, I try not to rip the hair from my scalp.

I even round the house a few times before I come to a single conclusion.

"He took my mate..."

❤️••❤️

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

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