The True Union

Chapter3 Sam

Seven weeks had passed since the dinner with Marcus and his father. Sam was getting more anxious by the day, but she had her plan in place. She had already un-enrolled from all of her college classes, bought a disposable phone since she couldn’t take hers and said goodbye to her friends. She had two weeks until she was supposed to drive herself to Marcus’ territory. Originally, her dad wanted to drive her, but she convinced him she would need her car while she was there. By some miracle he’d relented. She had also already taken out her entire savings and transferred it to cash. It wasn’t a lot, but it was a couple thousand. When it was time to leave, she was heading north instead of east towards Marcus. She was ready to be a rogue if that’s what it took to get out of this proposed mating. She wouldn’t do it.

The next Saturday, her father called her down to his office. “Sweetheart, I have great news. You know your mother and I have been so worried about you traveling alone for two days. Well, when Marcus found out about your itinerary he offered to fly in tomorrow and stay for a visit until it’s time for you to leave. Then, he’ll drive you back to his pack. That way you’ll be safe, but also still have your car. Isn’t it wonderful?” Her heart stopped. This would ruin everything. She couldn’t exactly flee with Marcus in the car. “Yes, father, that’s the perfect solution. When is he arriving?” She needed to figure this out and fast. Her heart skipped another beat when he told her he would be here by noon. She was out of time. She put on her best fake smile and tried not to let her anxiousness show. She needed her dad to think everything was ok.

Samantha left her dad’s office with a million things going through her head. How could she escape now? What was to become of her if Marcus got her into his territory? No, she couldn’t think about that, she had to escape tonight. After everyone had gone to bed, she would run. That was her only option, she needed to get away before Marcus arrived. She went back to her room, and started thinking over her best strategies. She knew she couldn’t take her car, the guards at the gates would never let her leave so late. That meant she could only take what her wolf could carry. She quickly emptied her backpack. She shoved her cash in her wallet then put it in first, then three changes of clothes, the phone and her toiletries. She didn’t know how long it would take in her wolf form, but she was heading to the town she planned to go to already. It was a human town, but it would have to do for a few years.

At dinner, Sam tried to act as normal as possible, and faked being exhausted to leave the table early. She went to her room and tried to memorize everything about it, her home and her family. It would be a long time before she saw them again. She knew her family would be worried, but they didn’t leave her any choice. She tried to talk them out of this. She even showed her dad just two days ago, how Marcus was still flaunting Brittany around. He was “engaged” to her but was still with other women. She couldn’t mate him plain and simple. She set an alarm for two a.m. and tried to nap. She would need her energy for her escape.

When her alarm woke her up, she quickly silenced it so as to not alert anyone. She ate the protein bars she had stashed in her room, making quick work of them. She grabbed her backpack and climbed out her window. Once on the ground, she looked around to make sure the coast was clear, quickly stripped, packed away her outfit and shifted. Running as fast as she could, she made her way to the woods. Her wolf immediately took over running north. She didn’t know why her wolf always chose north, but maybe she could find out. As usual, her wolf stopped in the clearing and howled. Taking over, she quickly pushed on and kept going north. Her wolf became excited, she could feel it. She didn’t know what was out there beyond her territory, but she was going to have to be cautious.

Sam ran straight for the river she knew was a couple hours north of the pack. Once there she climbed in to stop her scent from being tracked. It wasn’t a large river by any means, but water was water. She walked down the river for a few miles, then rolled around in the mud on the other side before continuing north. No one who was trying to follow her should be able to track her scent now. She ran for about six hours, before she finally relented to rest. She knew she should have put more distance between her and her pack, but she was exhausted. It was around eight a.m and her family generally slept in until around nine. She could afford to take a quick rest. She checked her surroundings, hid her bag and laid down. It was risky sleeping out in the open, but she needed to save money for a place to live when she got to her new town. She already did the math, and she would only have enough money for about five weeks. She would have to find a job quickly.

She let herself sleep for a few hours, and luckily no one bothered her. She let her wolf guide her for another four hours, before she stopped at a small pond. It seemed relatively clean and she decided to rinse. She had all kinds of dirt and twigs in her fur from the run and her roll in the mud. Looking around to ensure no one was close, she walked in. Her wolf loved the water and immediately started playing. Even with everything going on, she felt free and relaxed in that water. After a good half hour, she quickly shifted and got dressed, pulling out her disposable phone. She just prayed she was close to somewhere where she would get a signal. She needed to find somewhere to get food. With luck on her side, there was a small town about thirty minutes’ walking distance away. Being that close to humans, she decided to stay in her skin, and walk. Before she headed off though, she took out five twenties and pocketed them. She didn’t want to risk someone seeing the rest of her cash.

When she arrived in the small town, she immediately looked around for somewhere to eat. Wolf shifters ate more than most humans, and she hadn’t eaten in over thirteen hours. She knew she couldn’t get full from this one restaurant, because she couldn’t draw attention to herself. She was going to get a hotel for the night anyway, and would order two large pizzas to her room. Sitting down in a cute little diner, she immediately began looking at the menu. It wasn’t long before a waitress came over to take her order. The waitress was a friendly older woman with silver hair and a captivating smile. The diner was small but adorable. It was like the small town ones she saw on television. She had never been farther than the town directly outside her territory, and everything was new and exciting. She ate slowly, allowing herself time to rest. Then she found herself a hotel to sleep safely for the first time since she left.

She woke up around eight a.m. and ate breakfast at the same diner. Before simply walking out of the town forever and heading back to the woods. It was colder than she was used to. Luckily for her, as a wolf shifter, she was able to maintain her body temperature and the cold never really bothered her. She knew even in spring though, it would only get colder as she went farther north. She still had around four hundred miles to go. She was risking a lot going as far north as she was though. The Dark Moon pack was located there, and she knew she needed to avoid them. She couldn’t risk being caught with all the rumors of war and the attacks. Once far enough into the woods she shifted back and ran.

Four hours later, she finally slowed down. Letting herself take a break, she shifted back and got dressed. She needed to verify her location. She was so proud of herself for the progress she had made. In just a day and a half, she was only about fifty miles from her destination. She would be able to start her new life soon. She was also scared out of her mind. She had never lived alone, she’d never even had a job. How she thought she could do this was beyond her. She ate some of the protein bars she had grabbed at the hotel and just enjoyed the solace of the surrounding woods. She needed to be careful now though. This was the most dangerous part of the journey. She had to avoid the Dark Moon packs’ territory. She couldn’t enter their territory, or they could kill her on site. Verifying the direction, she needed to go to avoid it, she shifted and ran.

She only made it about twenty miles, before she heard them. A pack of wolves, knowing she was outside the territory of Dark Moon still, meant they would probably be rogues. They were even more dangerous, and she didn’t know why they would be so close to a pack like this. She had to avoid them, but how? Locating them, she tried to sneak around them on their east side, but it failed. Within minutes, multiple wolves were chasing her. She couldn’t risk looking back, but she could hear at least ten growling and snapping at her. If it was only one or two, she could have taken them, but in numbers like this she didn’t stand a chance. Running faster than she ever had, she forgot about running north and headed east.