Escape to Midnight

Choosing Freedom

Charis Point Of View

I opened my eyes and saw Jameson looking down at me. “She’s awake!” he called to my mother.

“Charis, I’m here with you. You will be OK. The doctor said you will be OK. “She said it like she was trying to convince herself more than me.

The doctor walked into the room. He immediately began to examine me. “You look considerably better than you did when you arrived, young lady.” He said it in a scolding voice. I was very confused. Why was he blaming me?

Jameson spoke up, “Well since she totaled a pack vehicle, she won’t be driving again for a long time.”

Are they serious? They told the Doctor I wrecked a vehicle. How could a doctor even believe that story? Why was Jameson so hell bent on protecting his brother? He was a monster. I was so disgusted. My Mother shifted nervously. She could see how angry I was becoming.

“Another 48 hours and she should be completely healed.” The Doctor continued. “I am concerned about the marks on her neck when she came in. It looked like she had been grabbed around her neck. That is not an injury you get in a wreck.”

Jameson laughed nervously as my Mother stared at the floor. “She found her mate last night at the Moon Ball. I guess they got carried away.” He laughed again.

I Looked at the doctor, he had a knowing smirk on his face, “Oh that explains it. I remember what it was like to be young under the influence of the mating bond.” He looked back at me, “How much pain are you in?”

Finally, someone is speaking to me. “I have enough pain to know my father tried to kill me tonight by slamming me into the floor over and over.” I said it without knowing or really caring about the consequences. I heard my mother gasp, and the doctor raised his eyebrows at me.

“Charis! Why would you say something so hateful about your father? He was with me at the Moon ball all night. You came home early and had a wreck. Warren would be so hurt to hear you say these things.”

The doctor cleared his throat, “I will leave you to sort this out Alpha. I understand this is a family issue.” With those words the doctor walked out of the room. A heavy silence was left hanging between us. No One spoke for at least thirty minutes. Jameson finally said, “I will find a way to get Charis to Midnight Moon. The sooner she leaves the better.” He turned away and left the room. My Mother sat down in the chair beside my bed, she did not say anything. I was tired and drifted back to sleep.

I awoke to the sound of hushed arguing. I opened my eyes and saw My Mother and Jameson on the other side of the room in a heated discussion. My Mother had tears streaming down her face. “She won’t make it. Even if she could find it on her own, what about the rogues.” I saw my Mother’s body shudder as she said the last word. I sat up in the bed and waited for her to notice me.

They both looked over at me together. My Mother hesitated, but Jameson rushed over. “Someone released your father from his cell. I don’t know where he is. Your mother believes he is going to kill you. You should leave tonight, right now if you can.”

I swung my feet over the side of the bed. It Hurt; I was definitely too sore to do much. I decided if my Mother helped me pack I could be on the road in 30 to 45 minutes. I did not need much, only some things that reminded me of Edward. 

“I can pack and be ready within the hour. Who will drive me?” I asked. My Mother looked down at the floor and Jameson hesitated like he was unsure what to say.

“We can’t take you.” He said. “We plan to tell Warren you ran away. If we drive you and he finds out he will know we deceived him.” Jameson tried to hand me a folded piece of paper. I took it from his hand and unfolded it. The paper contained a map from our pack to Midnight Moon. I was so shocked. They seriously wanted me to get up out of a hospital bed and walk 150 miles.

 I looked at the map trying to decide if this was even a viable option. I had never traveled outside of our border alone. It seemed like an impossible trip for me to make alone at full strength. How could I make it in my current condition? 

I tried to compose myself before I spoke. “Why are you so scared of my Father? You would prefer I die alone trying to walk 150 miles than tell him I am happy and free.”

“You don’t seem to understand!” Jameson’s voice was suddenly stern. “After you leave, we will still be here. Your Mother will still be living with him. What do you think he would do to her if he found out she helped you?”

“What about you Alpha Jameson?” The words sounded more hateful than I intended. “Why won’t you tell him you helped me? Why won’t you stop him from hurting my Mother?”

I could tell my question made him angry “He is my little brother, I promised our parents I would take care of him.  If he thinks I betrayed him, I will lose him. He would go Rogue to spite me and I would lose. I can’t lose him.”

“I stood up beside the hospital bed and looked him straight in the eye. It would be nice if we could all save our brothers. I guess some brothers are just more important than others.” I walked over to Jameson and stood toe to toe with him. I wanted to be sure he heard my next words clearly. “I, Charis Blair, renounce my allegiance to the crescent Bay pack.” My Mother gasped, Jameson stared at me with his eyes wide. I walked out of the hospital and towards the woods. I shifted and let Saria take over. I was done with this pack. I never wanted to see any of them again.

Jameson’s POV

 I felt my anger at Warren growing. I never should have let him come to the ball. He came to me with concern about his young warriors’ protection. I should have known it was a ploy to keep his eyes on Charis. He made our entire pack look weak with his outburst. I was actually relieved when he left, One less thing for me to worry about.

I was almost home when I felt Eliza mind link me. She was hysterical, she was screaming that Charis was dead. I slammed on the brakes for the pack van and jumped out. I ordered my beta to drive the rest of the way. I could shift into my wolf and cut through the woods. It would be faster. I bounded up the steps to my brother’s house. The door was ajar. I shifted back into human form and stepped inside. The house was trashed. I could tell Charis and Eliza had been fighting for their lives.

My stomach turned over uneasily as I saw Charis' body on the floor. If she was dead I would not be able to protect Warren from it. People barely believed his story about Edward’s death and now within 2 years he has another dead child. I saw something move in the corner of the room. It was Eliza. I rushed over to her. When she looked up at me I gasped in horror. Her eyes were swollen shut, and her jaw was hanging off to one side, clearly broken. I ran over and helped her to her feet. Her clothes were torn and covered in blood. “Eliza lets go, I’m taking you to the hospital.” I said as I  started to pull her towards the door.

“Charis, get Charis.” She moaned.

I was sure walking in Charis was dead, but I stilled myself to listen for her heartbeat. Across the room I could hear the very faint beating of her heart. Panic consumed me. I set Eliza down and ran over to Charis. She was so beaten and bloody she did not look like the same person I had seen hours earlier. She did not look like a person at all. I picked her up in bridal style to carry her to the hospital. I went over to help Eliza up. She pushed me away.

“Just take Charis,” she said. “You won’t be able to explain both of our injuries. Just take her.”

I was appalled by her words. I did not want to leave her behind. What if Warren came back. I felt Charis’ blood running down my naked body. I knew I had very little time to save her. I left the house and started running to the pack hospital. I burst through the doors screaming for help. The nurse met me and took Charis from me. “What happened!” she asked

My mind was spinning. I did not know what to say. It is not illegal to treat your family this way, but it was certainly disapproved of. How can Warren be accepted as a training Captain if he can’t control himself. I said the first thing that came to mind. “Car crash, the car rolled several times.” The nurse instructed me to lay Charis on the gurney. I lay her down and back away. “I need to go check for others.” I stated.

“Are there more victims?” she asked, alarmed.

“I’m not sure.” I said as I turned and ran back out. I Shifted again and ran back to Warren’s house. I needed to make sure Eliza was going to be okay. As I walked back into the house, I saw Eliza sitting in a chair with Warren standing over her.

“You son of a b***h!” I yelled at Warren as I lunged at him. To my surprise he did not try to fight at all. He just went limp and slumped against me. I pushed him off of me and turned to Eliza.

She had rebroken her jaw to allow it to heal correctly. The swelling on her eyes had reduced enough she could at least open them. It appeared her wolf was healing her. I let out a sigh of relief. At least she was okay. “Charis?” she asked.

“I left her at the hospital with the nurse, I’m sure they have called for a doctor.” I responded.

“What did you tell them? What did you say happened to her”, Warren asked. My eyes cut through him like lasers. Typical Warren, only worried about his reputation and not his daughter’s life. My claws extended and I grabbed him by the neck. I jerked him out of the house and took him to the cells. I would leave him there until I could figure out how to clean up this mess. I was surprised he did not try to resist. Even when I locked the cell door and walked away he just sat there. He looked defeated and remorseful. I had seen this act before. I walked away. I needed to go to the hospital and check on Charis.

Charis POV

It felt good to feel cool earth under my paws. Saria could run much faster than I could and right now distance meant survival. I had a general idea of the direction I needed to go. I wish I had looked at the map longer. As soon as I shifted I dropped it. I would have to find Midnight moon on my own.

I felt like I had been running for a long time when fatigue became too much to bear. I had to stop. Ordinarily I could run all day and not tire, but my body was still trying to heal. I found a spot under a bush and lay down. I drifted off to sleep thinking about my new home.

I woke up as the sun was rising. I stood up and began to stretch. I was still sore, but better. As I looked around I had an uneasy feeling. I could not tell what was wrong, but Sariah was very guarded and anxious. I was about to ask her what was wrong when I smelled him. Warren was close by. He was tracking me. I had hoped Jameson would find Warren and give me more of a head start.  How had Warren found me so fast?   

I crouched down to hide and think. His scent was getting stronger. I could tell he was coming straight towards me. I could not outrun him, his wolf was faster. In a fight he would kill me, he was an elite warrior. I had no idea how I was going to escape.  I saw his wolf come through the trees a few feet in front of me. He began to growl. He had already spotted me. Saria began to growl. We came out from under the bush and started to circle him. He prepared to leap at me, and I braced myself for the impact. Suddenly, I heard another growl. A dark black wolf leapt through the air and landed on Warren's back. It was Jameson. He must have been tracking my Father. They rolled across the ground snapping their jaws at each other. I turned and ran. I ran without stopping. I had no idea if I was even going in the right direction, but I kept going.

I ran until the sun started to set. It had been at least 24 hours since I had any food or water. Saria was weak from hunger and exhaustion. I needed to find water before I tried to rest. I remember running through several streams this morning, but I was too scared to stop even for a moment. Now I am regretting it. I sat down for a minute to rest. That was a mistake, the fatigue took over and I fell into a deep sleep.

 I don’t know how long I was asleep, but the sun was high overhead so it must be mid-day. My mouth was so dry my tongue felt swollen. I was too weak to even move. I heard a voice behind me, it sounded like Eward. I wanted to look around, I wanted to tell Edward how much I missed him. I felt a hand stroking my fur. “It's going to be Okay Charis. You are going to be Okay.” He kept stroking my fur and talking to me. I drifted back to sleep to the sound of Edwards voice.

I felt something wet on my tongue. The sensation made me perk up enough to take a drink. I felt a hand against my fur holding me up so I could drink. “There you go little pup, get a good long drink.” I heard a soothing voice speaking to me. I did not have the strength to look over. I just enjoyed the cool water. I must have fallen asleep again. When I woke back up the sun was beginning to set again. I was gripped with fear. How long had I been asleep? Where was my father? I needed to get up and start running again.

 “I caught some food for you to eat and I have more water.” I looked over and saw a man sitting beside me speaking to me. “I don’t know who you were running from, but You should be safe here for now.”

Saria just stared at him. We cannot communicate with a human while in wolf form. As if he knew what I was thinking he said, “I have some extra clothes in my pack if you want to shift back.” I nodded my head and he stood up. He pulled some clothes out of his pack and set them in front of me. He walked a few yards away and stood with his back to me. I could tell he was a rogue, but I needed his help. I shifted back and quickly pulled on the clothes he had given me. They were way to big, but they would do for now. I remembered hearing Edwards voice. I wanted to ask him if he had seen my brother, but that felt silly. If Edward had been there he would still be there. It was just a dream, but it felt so real. 

“Thank you for helping me.” I said. He turned around and smiled. “You looked like you needed all the help you could get.” he chuckled as he said it. “My name is Bennie” His smile was so genuine it put me at ease.“ I have some elk meat and more water. You need to eat something. You have been asleep all day.”

I was shocked. I lost an entire day. Warren should have found me by now. I felt my anxiety rise. 

“You had to be running hard and fast to wear your wolf out like that.” He said it as a statement not as a question. “ I went back several miles and covered your scent. The ones looking for you won’t find you. “

 “Where are you going?” He asked.

 “Midnight Moon pack land. Do you know where it is?” I held my breath as I waited for his response.

 “It is about a 2 day walk from here, faster if you shift,” he answered. I let out a long sigh. I still had a long way to go. He handed me some elk meat and a flask of water. I ate without chewing, I was so hungry. “Slow down,” He said. ‘You are going to choke. I have plenty, you don’t have to rush.” I slowed down and began to chew, my body grateful for the nourishment.

“What pack did you come from?” When  he asked I thought about not telling him, but since he was the only wolf in the world helping me right now I decided I should tell him the truth.

 “My name is Charis. I was part of the crescent moon pack. I am traveling to Midnight Moon to join their pack, and be with my mate.”

“I was surprised to find you out here. It is very Dangerous in these woods for you.” I looked hard at the ground, unsure what to say. “I guess whatever you are running from must be pretty dangerous too.” He leaned back against a tree and stared up at the sky. “You probably added at least a day to the trip, You ran too far east. I can help you get close to Midnight Moon, but you will have to cross Rogue Valley.”

My eyes got big as he said the words Rogue Valley. Everyone knows how dangerous that valley is. No pack wolves ever go into it. It is a death sentence to even try. “Is there any way I can go around it?” I asked knowing he would have suggested it if there was another way.

“Rogue Valley is situated between the Crescent and Midnight moon packs. We are close to the east end of the Valley, but the mountains will make it hard to go all the way around. If anyone is still looking for you on this side of the Valley, you need to cross before they find you. The longer you are out here the more likely you will never make it to Midnight. If a different rogue had found you, you would be dead or worse.” His words filled me with fear.  I shuddered at the thought of what worse might mean. If I don’t make it across the valley, Warren wins. He won’t even have to get his hands dirty. I needed to get to Midnight Moon fast.

In the morning, I was awakened by the sound of something in the woods close to me. My chest tightened. I was completely gripped with fear. I was so afraid my father had found me. I heard Bennie whisper to me, “it’s okay, it is only the elk moving around, you are safe.” I let out a breath I did not know I was holding. I was ready to get up and start moving forward. I would never feel safe until I was with my mate. Bennie seemed to take my queue. He put his belongings into his pack and readied to begin travelling. “Do you want to shift or travel in this form?” he asked.

I thought about it for a second. Wolf would be faster and I needed to get there. I started to shift when he called out. “Wait a minute, those are my clothes. I need those back in one piece.” I blushed and laughed. I had forgotten they were his, shifting would rip them off. He turned his back while I took the clothes off and shifted. He put the clothes in his pack, walked away probably to hide it and came back in his wolf form. His wolf was more than double the size of mine. I knew he was not an ordinary wolf, but I was not about to ask for his story when I did not want to give mine.

We started into an easy jog. We reached the stream he had told me about  an hour later. I was struck by how beautiful everything was in the forest. Saria and I only ran to the pack borders before now. This was my first time to see the untouched beauty of the forest. I could hear everything more clearly. I felt so Intune with everything around me. We came to the edge of a cliff. The stream created a beautiful waterfall that landed in a big pool at the bottom. “This is so beautiful” I said.

“This is one of my favorite places in all of these woods.” He replied. We took a break beside the water. It was mesmerizing to watch. I felt like I could stay there all day.

My peace was interrupted as I saw the hair on his back bristle and heard a low growl. It was then I heard  the  sound of something on both of our sides. I heard Bennie let out another, louder growl. 2 rogue wolves appeared, one on each side of us. Bennie positioned himself in front of me. My heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. The other wolves began to circle us, sizing us up for the fight. 

One wolf was almost as big as Bennie. He was grey and had a chunk of fur missing from his side. He was scarred, making it obvious he fought a lot. “ we want the she wolf,” He said

I felt panicked. Bennie could give me to them and not fight. I did not know what to do if he did. My father did not believe the female wolves should train. He refused to allow women to enter his arena. I would not be able to defend myself.

“She is with me,” Bennie answered. The smaller wolf growled. I knew I would not be much help to Bennie if we had to fight our way out of this.  If he needed my help we were as good as dead. 

“The woods are crawling with pack wolves looking for her. Give her to us and we will give them her body for coming into our woods.” The larger wolf was trying to reason with Bennie. 

“She is with me.” He repeated. “Killing her will only cause a war with her pack.”

The wolves were slowly inching closer to us as they spoke. “We  are not afraid of war. We will kill every pack wolf in our territory.”

“It is not your territory, All the rogues don’t want war. You can’t doom them all for your blood thirst.”  He raised his voice, emphasizing each word as he said it.

The bigger wolf jumped forward and bit Bennie on his left leg. When he turned to defend himself the other wolf lunged for Bennie’s neck. Without thinking I jumped in between Bennie and the second wolf. He missed Bennie’s neck and instead got a mouth full of fur. He was surprised I intervened, but did not stop his assault. He tried to jump onto my back. It should have been easy for him with our size difference. I guess he did not realize how small I was. I was able to duck and he missed me. He got up angrier. He stalked towards me. I felt his claw rip down my side. I yelped in pain. I threw myself at him and bit his shoulder. At this point I was scared for my life and showed no mercy. I pulled a chunk out of his shoulder with my teeth. My side was hurting and the wolf used it to his advantage. He took another swipe at my side. The nails caused a searing pain across the same side. I yelped again, realizing I was losing this fight. At the sound of my yelp, Bennie’s claw came up and caught the first wolf under the neck, cutting it open. The wolf let out a whimper as blood poured from his neck. He began to back away. It was a mortal wound. He would die. The other wolf seeing the situation decided to run away. Bennie chased after him.

I walked over to the pool of water and laid down to let the water sooth my cuts. Bennie was gone for about 15 minutes. When he came back I thought he might want to rest, but he motioned to me that we needed to keep moving. “If you don’t want to go back to Crescent, we better move fast. It sounds like they are coming for you.” We started jogging again at a light pace, I had to move slower until my side healed, so Bennie slowed down for me.  By the time we stopped for the night I was exhausted. Bennie killed a couple of rabbits for dinner. We ate without talking. I curled up in a ball and fell fast asleep.