I Will Find My Way Back to You

Ch. 9 Dani

My stomach was never going to untie from the deep knots it had woven. Alpha Andrew and his son Blake seemed to have settled in to our pack. I couldn't get away from them, nor could I get a moment alone with my parents. To top it all off....Blake was putting in quite the show for my mother. He knew all the right words, all the right ways to her heart.

I caught him consoling her at my brother's grave, telling her he had to pay his respects, how he wished he could've gotten to know Tommy. Hell, I even started to believe him until he looked at me. That devilish grin, eyes dark as sin. He was a master puppeteer and he knew how to pull all the right strings.

I began to see running away as the only way out... And it made me sick to my stomach. I just needed to figure out a plan. I hadn't been out of the pack. I had no idea where I would go. I needed help.

I felt a soft hand on my shoulder and jumped, my hand to my chest.

"I'm so sorry Dani! I didn't mean to startle you!" Said Mary Ellen. Mary Ellen had been like a second mother to me all my life. She was the head Omega to our family in the pack house.

She had been with Tommy and I during the attack. When my brother had died.

I tried to smile and shake it off but my breath had a hard time calming, "It's ok, I was just focused," I said.

Mary Ellen glanced at the maps I had fanned out across a table in our library before turning back to me, "Dani.... Are you ok?"

I met her eyes and saw the raw concern and love she had for me. It was enough to nearly break me, "Yeah," I replied, a little too high pitch. "Just trying to learn about the territories around the pack, you know, if I'm going to be Luna I need to be more aware."

She nodded but I could tell by the pout on her face that she didn't believe me, "Dani, you're not eating. You're not sleeping. You're startled in your own home."

I tried to hold her gaze but I couldn't. I bit my lip to try to hide how it trembled.

"Tell me, what has that snake of a son done to you?" She said, bitterness on her tongue.

I snapped my head up to her in shock. Blake hadn't dazzled her with his schmoozing like everyone else? I opened my mouth to speak but a dam broke instead. My shoulders slumped as I let my tears break free. Mary Ellen rushed to lock the library door before she pulled me into her embrace. Her warmth and familiarity made me feel safe for the first time in weeks. She didn't say anything, just rubbed circles on my back and ran her hand down my hair.

"He accosted me at the creek a few days ago," I managed to croak out. "Touched me without my permission. Told me I was his and there was nothing I could do. How I will be obedient to his whim." I sobbed as I grieved not finding my mate all over again. How I would sacrifice my fated mate for the pack. How guilty I felt at not wanting to do that for my people.

Mary Ellen held me until I was mainly hiccuping. She cupped my face, making me look at her, "Over my dead body will I let that be taken from you," I was surprised by the determination in her tone. "You're thinking about leaving? That's what the maps are for?"

I nodded, my heart clenching at the thought of leaving my home, my family.

"Oh Dani, I wish you didn't have to go but you have to! Why the moon goddess has brought such dark futures to you and your brother I'll never know! But you're but doing this alone, you hear me?" She replied confidently. "We'll get you safe. We love you, all of us. No one agrees with what your father is doing."

She hugged me close again. I buried my face in her shoulder, "Stay strong Dani. We aren't losing both heirs of this pack."

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I did my best to act normal. I forced myself to eat, be present at meals. I kept close when my father and alpha Andrew would talk, especially when the liquor would start flowing. I needed to know how much time we had.

Mary Ellen and the other omegas of the packhouse were my silent saviors. Walking home from school I would receive subtle nods of encouragement from other pack members. I was in awe of just how many of our people had joined our fight. None of them wanted to be stuck under the rule of Dark Moon. Alpha Andrew's pack was known for their domineering ways, how they kept their people in line with fear. They were known for staking claims over smaller packs, too weak to go against them.

How my father believed we would be any different boggled my mind. Was he that delusional?

Today when I tip toed down the hall near his office I heard a heated conversation....

"It will strike fear in my pack to have extra warriors here!" My father was crying.

"Thomas! Would you rather them be slaughtered by those demons?! Drained of their blood as they walk defenseless day to day? The attacks are closer!" Alpha Andrew countered.

All the color drained from my face as I pressed my back against the wall. Was what Andrew was saying true? Or was he just determined to bring his men into our pack? It sure would make it easier for them to take over.

"My men have battled the vampires and won! We have struck first!" Andrew boasted.

His delight in killing others made me shiver. Did the coven he attack deserve it? Or did he kill innocents as we did a decade ago?

My father was silent. I could hear the clank of his crystal as he poured another stiff drink.

"We could move the mating ceremony up, Thomas," Andrew said, slyly. "Give both our packs something to celebrate during this dark time while keeping them all safe. I don't know about you, but my mate could use the happy distraction of a grand celebration."

My heart thumped wildly in my chest. We were running out of time fast! We had underestimated alpha Andrew's cunningness.

"That would lift spirits," my father muttered. "And give a reasonable explanation for the extra warriors."

My heart dropped. Any shred of faith I had in my father as a leader evaporated. How was he so blind?

"Then it's done! I've mind linked my beta to send the men and ready my mate to travel!" Andrew exclaimed victoriously. "They should be here by moring."

With my whole body still shaking, I dashed away from the door. I needed to find Mary Ellen. I needed to run....tonight.