The Alpha's Daughter

Chapter 14: Happy Birthday

Watching the minute hand of my watch tick away when it finally hit midnight, I took a deep breath. Well, I suppose it's my birthday. This was supposed to be a happy day. It was supposed to be the day I found my mate. My Father was supposed to declare the future Alpha, and I was to be Luna. And yet here I am alone in the middle of the woods preparing to leave the only home I've ever known to say goodbye to everybody that I knew. I shook my head. Well, that's not even true. I don't even get to say goodbye to anybody, not that I think anybody wants to talk to me. My dad said I needed a head start of hours.

Saphira is obviously angry with me. I found it ironic that it was okay for me to run when she told me to, but now that I was going to do it in secret, she is upset with me. I feel she is only upset because she wants to come with me, but she knows that she cannot. As much as I would love to take her with me, I had already ignored every warning from my father. Look where that got me. I pushed all those thoughts aside as I began to plan. I opened the door to the cabin and went outside for the next hour. I walked slowly around in circles, coming back to the cabin each time. After I was sure I had laid a sufficient distraction for the trackers, especially Victor, I picked up my bag. It was nearing 2:00 a.m. I knew the patrols rotated at 2:30, so I patiently waited.

The woods were brightly lit by the light of the moon. It cast an eerie glow through the cabin window onto the floor. This would make my journey both easier for me in human form but also harder since wolves have better senses at night, I had to be more careful not to be seen. This is what you trained for, I laughed to myself. I shook my head, thinking of how just yesterday my father had been so upset with Beta Rex, only working on tracking skills with me. He would be proud of how I use those skills today.

At 2:15, I sneaked out of the cabin and watched in the distance as the nearest guard headed back in the direction of the packhouse. I knew from my many times of sneaking out that it would be at least thirty minutes before another wolf would take his place. When I was sure he was far enough away that he couldn't sense me, I started retracing some of my steps through the woods towards the river.

When I arrived at the river, I walked to the middle of it and then made myself walk for at least ten minutes against the stream before exiting the river on the other side. I knew it would be hard for them to track me through the water, even harder when I stayed in the water for longer. Once I exited, I undressed and put everything in my grab bag before shifting into my wolf.

Then I ran like I had never run before in my life. For the rest of the night, I kept running. I knew that I had crossed into another territory and had to be careful entering others' to avoid drawing attention to myself. When I physically couldn't go any further, I dropped to the ground in exhaustion and just lay there.

I heard a stick snap in the distance and perked up. I saw a woman approaching cautiously. I knew she was a wolf, but that did not mean she was friendly. I shifted quickly and got dressed. I noticed that it was no longer night.

“Hello, Viviana,” she whispered, “please do not be afraid, I mean you no harm.”

I was more afraid of her now that I knew she knew who I was. “How do you know me? Who are you?” I asked rather quickly.

“My name is Elena. I am a tracker for Alpha Damen of the Shadow Moon Pack.” She whispered.

“You are a long way from home,” I whispered.

“As are you, I dare say. How you got so far in such a short time is a marvel, but we must hurry. I kept guard over you while you rested, but we need to get you further away. Your Alpha Rex has wolves from many packs combing these mountains looking for you.” She smiled softly at me, but I was still on guard, debating whether I should attempt to flee.

“So, you are not going to turn me over,” my body tensed at the thought.

“Goddess no, my Alpha is no friend of that renegade, power hungry lunatic.”

I laughed at her words, “So you will help me,” I asked hopefully.

She looked at me, then shook her head, “My pack cannot be involved in this. I am ordered only to make sure you make it through the mountains, and then I am to return home.”

I looked at her, a tad bit confused, “Why?”

“The ways of Alpha are sometimes hard to understand. I do believe another Alpha is looking for you besides Rex, and he twisted the arm of my Alpha, but like I said, my pack can’t be involved. Here I brought some food.” She babbled as she pulled some stuff out of her pack. I noticed the rope in her pack. She caught my eye. “It’s for repelling. She laughed. Fastest way off the mountain. Have you ever done it before?”

“Not off a mountain,” I laughed, stuffing food in my mouth like I had not eaten in days.

“Today’s as good of time as any, from my estimate. Rex’s wolves are about six hours behind us. You must have led them on quite a chase,” she laughed. “Which is excellent. Being able to hide will work well in our favor.”

Before I knew it, I was hanging off the side of the mountain with Elena. I sure put a lot of trust in a wolf who could potentially be leading me back home, but what did I know? All I knew was I could not afford to be lost in these mountains, and if Elena was my ticket out, I would take it.

My feet had never been so happy to reach the bottom of a mountain. A car was waiting for us at the bottom. “Hop in she called, as she ran around to the driver's side.

Once I climbed in and shut the door, she was racing down the road. Well, if you call this barely there path a road. As fast as she was going, I had to wonder if it was safe.

“I will drive you to the nearest town,” she chattered. “It’s about an hour away. From there, you can board a bus. Do you know where you are going? Oh, silly me. Of course, you do! How could you run away from home and not know where you are going?”

I did not know if it was wise, but I had to ask, “Do you know a man named Kaleb Black?”

I watched her face suddenly look cautious as she asked, “Are you referring to Alpha Kaleb Black of the Black Wolf Pack?”

“I am actually not sure, but probably. My father did not say who he was; he just gave me a name.” I responded weakly. I was still very tired and was having a hard time staying awake.

“Well, Alpha Kaleb Black has one of the largest packs in the country. His pack is said to be very strong. He is very powerful. You would be safe to have him as an ally. If that’s who your father told you to see, I would suggest going there. However, I am sorry to disappoint you, I don’t know where that pack is. Most of what I know of him is rumored. I would not worry about it now. For now, you should rest. It will be about an hour or a little less,” she smiled.

I closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me. When I woke up, I noticed it was three hours later according to the clock. Elena smiled at me, “I decided to take a road trip to see my brother,” she laughed, “I’m not helping you out,” she laughed again as she put the words helping in quotes, “I informed my Alpha I had dropped you off as promised and was going to see my brother. I will drop you off at the town outside of his pack lands.”

“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.

“Don’t mention it, just do me a favor and don’t get caught. If you do, I did not help you, if you know what I mean.” She winked at me.

“I know exactly what you mean.” I laughed as she parked the car and wished me luck.

I would need it. I still had no idea where I was currently or where I was going. I watched Elena pull away. It was depressing to lose my only companion, but as she said, she was not helping me. I would have to find a way to repay her kindness someday.