Chapter 9
1881 Words
Lila didn't stop until the forest disappeared behind her.
By the time she reached the edge of the pack settlement, her legs were shaking so badly that she had to catch herself against the side of an old wooden fence. Her wolf was still fighting the bond, still dragging her thoughts back toward the trees where Kael had stood, but Lila forced herself to breathe through the pain.
“Enough,” she whispered, pressing her palm against her chest. “We’re done.”
Her wolf answered with a broken whine.
Lila closed her eyes.
For five years, she had believed the Mate bond was something sacred. She had believed it meant two people were chosen for each other, that no matter how difficult life became, there would always be one person who would stand beside her.
Kael had destroyed that belief in a single night.
And somehow, she had still gone looking for him.
She wiped her face with the back of her hand and pushed herself upright. She couldn't let anyone see her like this, especially not after everything that had happened. The pack already had enough reasons to laugh at her.
She walked through the settlement with her head lowered, ignoring the whispers that followed her.
“That's her.”
“The rejected Mate.”
“I heard she went after him again.”
“Maybe she still thinks the Alpha will change his mind.”
Lila kept walking.
Every word cut, but none of them made her stop.
When she reached her cottage, she shut the door behind her and leaned against it, finally allowing her knees to give out. She slid to the floor, clutching her arms around herself while her wolf paced restlessly inside her.
We can't stay here.
Lila stared at the darkness beyond the window.
The thought came so clearly that it frightened her.
Leave.
Not for a few days.
Not to hide in the forest.
Leave the pack.
Her breath caught.
She had never seriously considered it before. This was the only home she had known, miserable as it had become. Her parents were gone, her childhood friends were here, and every memory she had was tied to these mountains.
But what did she have now?
A title she had never asked for.
A Mate who had rejected her.
A pack that had turned her humiliation into entertainment.
And a future in which every morning would remind her that she wasn't wanted.
Lila slowly rose from the floor.
“If I stay,” she whispered, “what happens next?”
There was no answer.
She looked around the cottage.
The cracked table.
The narrow bed.
The old wooden chest her mother had left behind.
A small shelf filled with worn books.
Everything suddenly looked different.
Not like home.
Like a cage.
Lila walked to the chest and opened it.
Inside were the few possessions she owned that were worth carrying. Two changes of clothes, a wool cloak, a little money, her mother's silver pendant, and several old letters tied together with faded thread.
She stared at the pendant for a long time before picking it up.
Her mother had once told her that there were places beyond the mountains where no one knew their family name.
At the time, Lila had laughed and asked why anyone would want to leave.
Now she understood.
She tucked the pendant into a small cloth pouch and began sorting through everything else.
Food first.
She had some dried meat, bread, and a handful of preserved berries. It wasn't enough for a long journey, but it would last several days if she rationed it.
Then clothing.
She chose the darkest pieces she owned and rolled them tightly, removing anything with the Blackwood pack emblem stitched into it.
She didn't want anyone to recognize where she came from.
She found an old pair of boots beneath the bed and checked the soles. They were worn but still usable.
Her hands stopped.
Leaving meant she couldn't come back easily.
If she crossed the mountains, the pack might consider her a deserter.
If Kael discovered she was gone, would he come after her?
The thought made her stomach twist.
Then she remembered his face.
You're not worthy.
Lila's fingers tightened around the boot.
“No,” she said quietly. “He won't.”
She forced herself to believe it.
If Kael had truly wanted her, he would never have rejected her.
If he cared whether she stayed, he would have stopped her.
He hadn't.
That should have been enough.
Lila spent the next hour searching through the cottage for anything useful. She found a small knife hidden beneath a loose floorboard, a flint, a half-empty bottle of healing herbs, and an old map that had belonged to her father.
She unfolded it across the table.
The pack territory covered most of the northern mountains. To the west lay the borderlands, where traders occasionally passed through. Beyond that was a human town.
Humans.
Lila stared at the word.
She had never been to one.
She had heard stories about them from travelers, but most wolves considered humans weak, unpredictable, and dangerous in their own way.
That didn't matter.
Weak sounded better than unwanted.
She traced the route with her finger.
If she left before dawn, she could reach the border by nightfall. From there, she could follow the trade road south.
The farther she went, the harder it would be for anyone to track her scent.
Her wolf suddenly went still.
Lila frowned.
“What?”
A faint pressure tightened around her chest.
Not Kael.
Fear.
Her wolf was afraid of leaving.
Lila lowered her head.
“I know.”
She had never asked her wolf to abandon the pack before. The creature inside her had grown up believing the pack was safety, that the Alpha was protection, that the Mate bond was something to be cherished.
Now Lila was asking it to walk away from all three.
She touched her chest gently.
“But staying will kill us.”
The pressure eased.
Not completely.
But enough.
Lila exhaled.
She continued preparing.
She tore the Blackwood crest from her spare cloak and burned it in the fireplace. She removed every piece of jewelry that might identify her except her mother's pendant, then wrapped the pendant beneath her shirt.
Her name would have to disappear too.
Lila Blackwood.
The rejected Omega.
The girl everyone knew.
She couldn't take that person with her.
She needed someone new.
Someone no one could pity.
Someone Kael would never be able to find.
The thought gave her a strange sense of relief.
Then she heard footsteps outside.
Lila froze.
Someone stopped directly in front of her door.
Her hand went to the knife.
A knock sounded.
“Lila?”
Selene.
Lila's jaw tightened.
For several seconds, she didn't answer.
Another knock came.
“Lila, are you there?”
She glanced at the packed bag on the table.
If Selene saw it, she would know.
Lila quickly shoved the bag beneath the bed and kicked the loose floorboard back into place.
“I'm here.”
The door opened a moment later.
Selene stepped inside carrying a small basket.
“I brought you some food.”
Lila watched her carefully.
“What do you want?”
Selene's smile faltered.
“Nothing. I heard you were upset.”
“From who?”
“People were talking.”
“They're always talking.”
Selene lowered the basket onto the table.
“I know today was difficult.”
Lila almost laughed.
“You mean after Kael rejected me?”
Selene's expression changed.
“Lila…”
“Don't.”
The word came out sharper than intended.
Selene went quiet.
Lila crossed her arms.
“You've been my friend for years, Selene. So tell me something honestly.”
“What?”
“Did you know he was going to reject me?”
Selene's face went pale for half a second.
Then she shook her head.
“Of course not.”
Lila watched her closely.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
The answer came too quickly.
Lila remembered the strange hesitation from the previous days, the way Selene always seemed to know what Kael was thinking before anyone else did.
Something wasn't right.
But suspicion wasn't proof.
Lila looked away.
“Fine.”
Selene stepped closer.
“You shouldn't leave.”
Lila's head snapped toward her.
“Who said I was leaving?”
Selene froze.
For the first time, genuine fear appeared on her face.
Lila's pulse jumped.
Selene recovered quickly.
“I only meant you shouldn't isolate yourself.”
Lila stared at her.
“You should go.”
“Lila, I’m trying to help.”
“I didn't ask for help.”
Selene's mouth tightened.
“You're making a mistake.”
“Maybe.”
Lila walked to the door and opened it.
Selene didn't move.
“You can't run forever,” she said quietly.
Lila looked back.
“Watch me.”
Selene's expression hardened before she stepped outside.
The door closed.
Lila remained still for several seconds.
Then she rushed to the window.
Selene walked away slowly, turning once to look back at the cottage.
Lila ducked out of sight.
Her heart was pounding.
Selene knew something.
Maybe not everything.
But enough to be afraid of her leaving.
Lila returned to the table and pulled out the map.
The decision was no longer uncertain.
She was leaving tonight.
Not tomorrow.
Tonight.
She waited until the settlement grew quiet, then packed the bag again, this time more carefully. She wrapped food in cloth to prevent the scent from spreading, tied the knife beneath her cloak, and tucked the map into the inner lining.
Before leaving, she looked around the cottage one last time.
There were no tears this time.
Only exhaustion.
She walked to the bed and sat down, staring at the old wooden wall where Kael had once carved a crooked mark when they were children.
She had forgotten about it until now.
A small line.
Two initials.
K.L.
Her fingers brushed over the faded carving.
Once, she had thought it meant forever.
Now it meant goodbye.
Lila stood.
She extinguished the fire, lifted her bag, and opened the back door.
The night air hit her face.
She stepped outside.
One foot.
Then the other.
Her wolf trembled beneath her skin, but Lila kept moving.
She didn't know what waited beyond the mountains.
She didn't know where she would sleep tomorrow, how she would survive, or whether the human world would accept her.
But for the first time since the ceremony, she wasn't waiting for Kael to decide her fate.
She was deciding it herself.
Lila reached the edge of the trees and glanced back at the distant lights of the pack settlement.
Her chest tightened.
Then she turned away.
She had taken only three steps when a deep howl rolled across the mountains.
Lila stopped cold.
It came from the direction of the Alpha's territory.
Her wolf recognized it immediately.
Kael.
Another howl followed, closer this time.
Then a third.
Lila's fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.
Someone had discovered she was gone.
And judging by the way the wolves were moving behind her, the hunt had already begun.
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