Chapter 4
1710 Words
Lara
The moment I stepped deeper into the cave, I stopped.
I had expected darkness, damp stone, and maybe the occasional creepy-crawly waiting to make me regret every decision I’d ever made.
What I hadn’t expected was this.
The cavern opened up before us, far larger than it had appeared from the entrance. Jagged stone walls curved upward into darkness, while the uneven floor stretched far enough that I couldn’t see where the cave ended.
And somehow, despite its size, the place felt strangely cosy.
Safe.
Hidden.
For the first time since my mother’s death, I could breathe without feeling as though someone was watching me.
“I love it.”
Phoenix’s voice practically bounced around my head.
I smiled despite myself. “You haven’t even seen all of it.”
“I don’t need to. I’ve seen enough to know this is ours now.”
“Ours?”
“Obviously.”
I rolled my eyes.
Phoenix had apparently decided we’d found our new home without bothering to consult me.
“Could you imagine us holing up here during winter?” she asked excitedly.
“You do realise winter means freezing temperatures, right?”
“Yes.”
“There would be no heating.”
“We’ll make a fire.”
“No.”
“Blankets, then.”
“We don’t have blankets.”
“So we’ll steal some.”
I stared into the darkness.
“Phoenix.”
“What?”
“You cannot just steal blankets from the pack.”
“Why not? Your father steals our happiness every day. I’m just suggesting we even the score.”
I bit back a laugh.
“That’s not how stealing works.”
“It’s exactly how stealing works. You take something that doesn’t belong to you.”
“That still doesn’t make it right.”
“Fine. Borrow them.”
“Phoenix.”
“What? We could return them eventually.”
“When?”
She paused.
“Let’s not get bogged down in details.”
I shook my head.
“If we started bringing supplies up here, someone would notice. It would make them suspicious.”
Phoenix huffed.
“You worry too much.”
“Because one of us has to.”
“Oh, please. We could be sneaky.”
“No.”
“We could be very sneaky.”
“No.”
“Extremely sneaky.”
“Still no.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I prefer being alive.”
That shut her up.
For approximately three seconds.
“Fine. But I’d like it noted that I could make this cave fabulous.”
“Fabulous?”
“Absolutely. Blankets. Pillows. Maybe some moss for decoration.”
“Moss?”
“We’re going for rustic.”
I laughed softly.
Then Phoenix’s humour faded.
“I’m serious, Lara.”
I knew what was coming.
She always did that.
She’d joke and tease until the conversation became too important to laugh about.
“What has the pack ever really done for us?” she asked. “We work until our paws practically fall off. Your father treats us like we’re disposable. And now he has us terrified that one day he’ll throw us into that ridiculous death arena.”
My smile disappeared.
She was right.
Every word.
“That isn’t a life,” Phoenix continued. “We’re constantly waiting for the next horrible thing to happen.”
I lowered my gaze.
She wasn’t wrong.
And now that I knew my father’s secret with Tiffany, I was more vulnerable than ever.
If he thought I might expose him, what would stop him from making me disappear?
Nothing.
My father had already proven he was capable of killing people simply because he enjoyed watching them suffer.
The Omega Challenge had made that painfully clear.
“Exactly,” Phoenix said, sounding almost smug. “See? I knew my argument would win.”
I sighed. “You weren’t supposed to be right.”
“And yet, tragically for your ego, I am.”
“You’re enjoying this far too much.”
“I enjoy being right. It’s one of my many talents.”
I rolled my eyes.
But despite myself, I found myself looking around the cave differently.
Maybe this could work.
Maybe this could be somewhere we could disappear.
Somewhere my father couldn’t control us.
Somewhere we could finally be free.
“Okay,” I finally said.
Phoenix went silent.
Then—
“Okay?”
“Yes. If we can make this work, we’ll start preparing.”
“YES!”
Her excitement exploded through my mind.
I winced.
“Could you not scream?”
“No.”
“Phoenix.”
“We’re getting our own cave!”
I couldn’t help laughing.
“You do realise this is going to take time, right? We’re not moving up here tomorrow.”
“But we’re moving up here eventually.”
“If we can make it work.”
“We will.”
Her confidence was almost irritating.
Almost.
Then I thought about something.
“Won’t we get lonely?”
Phoenix went quiet.
Really quiet.
I waited.
“You know…” she finally admitted, “I hadn’t considered that.”
I laughed.
“Of course you hadn’t.”
“I was busy planning the interior.”
“Of a cave.”
“A very nice cave.”
I shook my head.
“And what about Heidi? Don’t you think she’d miss us?”
Phoenix sighed.
“Yes.”
“She’d worry.”
“Yes.”
“And we’d miss her.”
A longer silence followed.
“Fine,” Phoenix muttered. “I hate when you make sensible points.”
“You’ll survive.”
“Unfortunately.”
I smiled.
But then reality returned.
“We need to go back.”
Phoenix groaned so dramatically that I could practically picture her throwing herself onto the cave floor.
“Nooo.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Neither do I.”
“Then don’t.”
“If our father notices we’re missing, he’ll send someone looking for us.”
“He can look.”
“And when he finds us?”
Phoenix fell silent.
Exactly.
“We need provisions if we’re serious about this,” I continued. “Food. Blankets. Supplies. Things we can actually use. We need to think this through before we disappear.”
“Fine.”
Her tone made it clear she considered this a personal betrayal.
“But I’m putting in a formal request for pillows.”
“Denied.”
“One pillow.”
“No.”
“Half a pillow?”
I laughed.
“Come on.”
We started toward the cave entrance.
I stopped before stepping outside and carefully scanned the area below.
No one.
Good.
I crept out of the cave and began making my way down the mountain.
The moment we reached flatter ground, Phoenix took over.
“Race you.”
“You’re on.”
We tore through the forest, racing between the trees as fast as our legs could carry us.
For a few precious minutes, there was no Alpha.
No Omega Challenge.
No secrets.
No Tiffany.
No fear.
Just me and Phoenix running through the forest.
It was almost easy to forget that we were running toward the very place we were desperate to escape.
Almost.
When we reached the spot near the Omega accommodations where I’d shifted earlier that morning, I shifted back and quickly dressed.
Then I headed inside.
I wanted to see Heidi.
I’d barely spent any time with her yesterday, and after everything she’d done for me, I felt guilty for disappearing on her.
I opened her bedroom door.
And froze.
My father was sitting on the edge of Heidi’s bed.
My stomach dropped.
Phoenix went completely silent.
That frightened me more than if she’d started screaming.
My father lifted his head.
His eyes locked onto mine.
“Where the hell have you been?”
I swallowed.
“I went for a run, Father.”
“A run?”
The way he said it made it sound like I’d confessed to murder.
“Yes, sir.”
His eyes narrowed.
“In your wolf form?”
“Yes.”
He stood.
Slowly.
One step toward me.
Then another.
“If you were in your wolf form,” he said coldly, “why didn’t you respond when I tried to contact you?”
My heart began pounding.
“I didn’t realise you were trying to contact me. I didn’t hear you.”
He stared at me.
Not a normal stare.
He was studying me.
Looking for something.
A lie.
A weakness.
A reason.
Phoenix finally spoke.
“Oh, wonderful. He’s doing the creepy Alpha thing.”
I kept my face expressionless.
My father looked me over from head to toe before meeting my eyes again.
He didn’t believe me.
Not even for a second.
My pulse quickened.
Had he somehow discovered where I’d been?
Had someone seen me heading toward the mountain?
Or worse…
Did he know about the cave?
“You need to go home,” he said finally. “You have chores to do.”
Relief washed through me.
For now.
“Okay. I’ll have a shower and get started.”
He stared at me for another long moment.
Then nodded.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
He walked out.
I followed.
The second the door closed behind us, Phoenix whispered,
“Well, that was terrifying.”
I kept my eyes on my father.
“And just so we’re clear,” she added, “I officially hate him.”
I didn’t answer.
Because I did too.
We walked back to the house in silence.
The moment we entered, I hurried upstairs to my bedroom, stripped off my clothes and showered as quickly as possible.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed.
My father had been suspicious.
He’d known I wasn’t where I was supposed to be.
And he’d tried to contact me.
I dressed quickly and headed downstairs.
As I started my chores, one thought kept circling through my mind.
My father was watching me.
And if he discovered what I’d been doing on that mountain…
The cave wouldn’t be our escape.
It could become our grave.
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