ECHO

Fuckity fuck!

I was in deeper shit than I thought.

"Echo! Echo!" Arlo's frantic voice boomed through the house.

"In here!" I yelled back and in no time he was in my room.

"Oh, thank god, kiddo! Are you okay?"

He hugged me and I sighed whilst returning the hug.

"Yes, I am," I said softly.

Arlo pulled back and held me at an arm's length to inspect if I was wounded in any way – not physically, but mentally I was.

His faced suddenly hardened and a growl erupted from this throat which made me frown.

"What's wrong?"

"That bastard was here, wasn't he?"

"Yes, but-"

"I am going to kill him!" He spat.

"No!" I interjected.

I pursed my lips and sighed. I had no strength to deal with any more of this tonight. I felt drained, both mentally and physically and Arlo seemed to notice too.

He didn't say much, but gave me a curt nod that meant he understood, before retreating to his room.

Arlo was closing the door to my room, but he paused for a second as if he wanted to tell me something, I could feel it. As I was about to call him back inside, he shut the door a little too harshly.

With trembling hands, I removed my jacket and gently placed it on the chair near the dresser. When I looked into the mirror, the girl staring back at me was horrifying and unrecognisable.

The makeup had been smudged and streaks of dried mascara now painted my cheeks. My eyes were red and puffy with confusion swirling in them. The lips looked chapped as if I hadn't had a drop of water to drink in ages.

What must he think of you, Echo?

My eyes widened when I realised that Jax, my mate, had seen me like this tonight – with my makeup smudged and all broken down. Great way to introduce yourself, Echo.

I mentally slapped myself. I wasn't one of those people who prioritized their appearance above everything else, but for a moment now, I did. I wanted to look good for him and not vulnerable and that's what bothered me the most too.

A decision was to be made – whether I wanted to stay or leave.

The Alpha could probably get me the answers I wanted. The million dollar question was, did I need them and whether those answers were going to bring more chaos than in my already chaotic life?

Shaking my head, I removed my clothes and headed to the bathroom for a bath that was attached to my bedroom.

I flicked on the lights and filled the tub with hot water. After adding some essential oils and a bath bomb, I immersed myself in it.

The hot water was probably too hot and it burned my skin, but I welcome the burning sensation tonight. It was better to focus on this pain rather than my emotional one and the decisions that were to be taken.

Soon, my muscles relaxed and a sense of calm washed over me. This was my personal bubble where chaos had no place, even if it was for a little while.

I closed my eyes and relished this time.

A loud banging noise startled me awake. I slowly opened my eyes, but quickly shielded them from the bright lights room.

What the hell?

"Echo! You in there?"

The banging continued and it took a moment for me to register that I was still in the bathtub and had fallen asleep. Shit.

"Echo?" asked the voice again.

"Y-yes," I croaked.

"Are you coming out?"

I cleared my throat before responding, "Yes, give me a minute."

My fingertips had become all pruney and the water had turned cold. I groaned and shivered as I got out of the tub, swiftly wrapping myself with a towel.

I dried myself in record time and got dressed in my nightwear. Before leaving the bathroom, I drained the bath water, brushed my teeth and combed my hair.

At least now, I looked somewhat presentable.

Upon entering my room, I noticed Molly sitting at the edge of my bed, defeated, with her head in her hands.

I had never seen her like this. She was the most cheerful of us all and always lifted our moods. It scared me even further.

"Mols?" My voice broke when I called out her name.

She looked up with unshed tears in her eyes.

I walked over and sat beside her on the bed and wrapped my arms around her. She laid her head on my right shoulder and sighed.

We stayed like that for hours, none of us having anything to say, before she fell asleep in my arms.

I eased her down on the bed as gingerly as I could. Placing a pillow under her head and covering her with the blanket, I gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Sleep, Mols. Everything will be okay," I whispered softly before exiting my room.

The funny part about that was I didn't know if I said everything would be okay for her sake or mine. Things had gotten weird and we were in a tight spot.

On one hand, we had my family hunting me with a madman leading the search. Colvin was not one of back off especially after what went down last time.

On the other hand, we were in the territory of the Bloodrose Pack. It was the most dangerous and ruthless pack as rumours had it.

But so far, none of us had witnessed any barbaric act especially towards us considering we were rogues.

I sighed in frustration as I paced in the living room.

I walked over to the dining table and picked up a burner phone from the batch that Arlo had purchased. We still had to cover our tracks, especially me.

Opening up the application for messages, I quickly typed a text and waited patiently for a reply.

Me: Any news?

Unknown: They have a bounty of five million to bring you alive.

My eyes widened on their own accord. I couldn't believe it.

"Five million? Shit!"

Five million was a lot of money for some wolves and they would literally kill for it even if it were a member of their own pack.

I shook my head in disbelief.

So I was only worth that amount for them. I let out a dark chuckle.

"What five million?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin and clutched my chest before turning around.

"Are you kidding me? What's wrong with you?!" I yelled.

Arlo rolled his eyes at me and walked towards me.

He took a seat on one of the chairs and I did the same.

"So?"

I bit my lip before responding, carefully. I didn't want to tick him off.

"I am not going to blow up, Echo."

"There's a price on my head – five million. They want me alive though," I said and looked away.

I knew he would look at me with those pitiful eyes. Sometimes, they all did without even knowing.

"Hey," he said softly while grabbing my hands in his.

"We'll figure this out, Echo. Try and get some sleep for now. It's four in the morning and you have nowhere to be."

"I can't slee-"

"I know," he cut me off.

I didn't want to go to bed when I knew all I would do was toss and turn. Sleep wasn't for me tonight no matter how tired I felt.

"How about we go for a run?" he asked.

A small smile graced my lips as I gave him a nod.

"Meet you out in five?"

"Yeah," he said.

I changed into black running tights and a cropped hoodie. After slipping into my sports shoes, I plugged in my earphones and slipped my iPod into my side pocket.

Mols was still asleep on my bed so I closed the curtains, hoping she would still be sleeping when we came back. She could use the rest.

As I descended the stairs, I pulled my hair into a tight ponytail and wondered if Gemma was back. She hadn't contacted any of us after she left with Stone. If she was back, I wouldn't know it because I no longer had super hearing or smelling senses anymore.

I walked out the door and Arlo was already waiting for me with an extra pair of shorts in his hands. He would need it if he thought of shifting.

"Aren't you a least bit cold?" I asked him since he was wearing no vest.

"Nope," he said popping the p and chuckling.

"Come on, slow coach."

"Hey! I am not!"

"Yes, you are," he laughed and took off in the direction of the forest.

I won't admit it to his face, but boy, he was fast. I was soon out of breath – huffing and puffing, while he was jogging in front of me without even breaking a sweat.

The only thing that made this bearable was his tattooed back. Always fascinated me.

"Where are we?" I asked gasping for air and looking around.

"We are closer to the pack's land. Gemma sent a text for us to meet here."

"Gemma? Why?"

"Because we need to talk," she said coming out of nowhere.

-
A/N:

I know this chapter was more on the emotional side and you wanted to see the big bad Alpha. I promise you'll be seeing a whole lot more of him, but this was a necessary one. :)

QOTD: Who is the 'unknown' person that Echo is texting?

Don't forget to vote, comment, follow!

Love,
Grace Clarke xo