On the run

Chapter 7

Aaliyah

Why didn’t Kai reject me? Now that we have met and mated without sealing the bond, all it will do is cause each other pain. We will be able to feel when the other is hurt, or sleeping around or has a strong emotion. It doesn’t make sense. I’m extremely embarrassed that I let him take me like that- even begged for it at that, but I couldn’t stop myself. The bond is so strong, stronger than I could have imagined. This can’t be normal. Is it because of what I am? I feel the bond stronger. Or maybe it’s because he’s an alpha? He wanted me... he said he couldn’t let me go... but he did. I don’t blame him; I was asking a lot. My parents did it and look what happened. So many innocent lives were killed because of them. I resulted in that partnership, and my life has been hell. I would never bring a child into this world. No, I couldn’t when all my child would do is suffer. Kai is right, we can’t be together. I will only bring death in my wake. With that I stop and shift back standing naked beside Jason. I look at him expectantly, waiting on him to shift back so I can talk to him. After a moment he gets the hint and shifts back. “You know, you never told me your name. Since we will be together for a while, it may be good to know it”, he said with a smirk. I look down at the ground, mentally preparing to be alone again. Wolves are pack animals, and after 10 years alone, I desperately wanted company. “Look, Jason, I appreciate the offer, but I am going to go alone. Everything near me dies, I am constantly hunted, sometimes I barely get away. I like you; you have accepted me without judgment just because I am the mate of an alpha who I can’t have. I don’t want you to die because of me.” He stares at me for a long time before blowing out a breath, “you can have me travel with you, or I can follow you from a distance in case you need help, but I’m coming. Let’s get some supplies. Your wolf gives away who you are, so maybe we should stay human for now, but your scent will raise some red flags, so we need to be quick. We also may want to grab a bunch of clothes”. I drop my head, “Jason you aren’t hearing me I-”, “it isn’t up to you”, he growls, cutting me off. “What makes you think your alpha will let you leave with me? You are his gamma and an important part of the pack. When he takes another, she will need you”. I can’t help the sadness in my voice. “I am to be alone forever, Jason, and I won’t bring anyone else down with me, now go or I will be forced to make sure you can’t follow me.” Before he can reply, the office door opens and out walks Kai. He freezes and stares at us both up and down. We are both standing in front of each other naked as the day we were born. Kai growls a warning, and Jason immediately puts distance between us. “Alpha, I apologize, we had both shifted, but we shifted back to talk. Alpha, I want to go with her.” He says. That was apparently not the right thing to say. Kai moved so fast I almost didn’t see him, then he had Jason by the throat and pushed up against a wall. Jason was struggling to get words out as his throat was crushed tighter. “Re- reject her than alpha. Sh-she cares, she I- is not a bad person, and I think y- you should reconsider sending her away”, he chokes out. Kai snarls in his face before dropping him to the ground and pacing the hallway. He snarls again as if he’s fighting with his wolf about something. Nyx goes on all fours and watches the scene in front of us. She feels like he wants us but is scared of the repercussions. Kai stops his pacing and turns to me. “What do I do? If I take you as my mate, my entire pack will be killed, I can protect you, but once everyone finds out you are here, they will all join together to destroy us.” My head drops, “with all due respect alpha, we can’t be together. I can’t give you an heir without it being hunted until it dies, I can’t stay with you at the pack because I’m sure the hunters already know I am here. They will tell everyone if they don’t see me leave. And you can’t abandon your pack.” I take a deep breath “I Aaliyah, a rogue wolf, daughter to late alpha Jake Carter and sorceress Jessabell Hicks, reject-” Kai storms over to me angrily and covers my mouth. “Don’t you dare reject me”, he hisses. Tingles shoot through my entire body at his touch. Instantly I feel heat flooding my body and I damn my body for being a traitor. His effect on me is overwhelming and I have to step out of his touch to calm myself. “What do you suppose we do then, alpha? Go our separate ways without breaking the bond? You know as well as I do, that will cause us both nothing but pain.” He growls out and punches the wall, once, twice, by the third time, his knuckles are bloody and busted, “damnit!!!”, he shouts. I have the sudden urge to go over and comfort him, hold him, let him know he will be okay. I shake the feeling away, I can’t, I can’t be here for him because I need to leave. I need to free my mates pack from death. “Alpha Kai, I want you, hell I need you, but there is no place for me here. My place is out there, making sure I don’t cause innocent people to get killed. I am so sorry the moon goddess paired you with me. I have to go; I have been here too long. They will send someone to see where I am.” With that Jason stands, “I’m still going with you.” He looks over to Kai as if asking permission. Kai takes a deep breath and gives a slow nod. He then walks over to me slowly and grabs my naked waist in his big hands. “I will come for you, if I have to give my alpha title to someone else I will. I want you to...My wolf wants you. I want to make this right, I want to talk to the elders, I want to see if there is anything I can do to keep you from being hunted. He gives me a deep passionate kiss, one that makes me knees weak and he has to grip my waist tighter, so I don’t fall. “I have a link with Jason, he can inform me with what’s going on, I won’t lose my true mate, I can’t”. He kisses me once more softly. “I will get you guys some clothes and supplies, Jason, protect her at all costs. She will be my Luna, or my mate away from the pack.” Jason nods his head as Kai walks away to grab us some clothes and supplies. “So, your name is Aaliyah”, he smirks, making eye contact with me. I don’t know what to think. He wants me. He wants to figure out a way to be together. He doesn’t want to kill me. I sigh and look down, a few stray tears escaping. When Jason notices, his smile falters. “Is something wrong?” He asks, concern in his eyes. I don’t look up. “It’s just, he’s going to get you all killed for me.” They will never reconsider. If they do, war will break out again. Their hatred for me, is the only thing that keeps the peace with everyone. Jason touches my shoulder gently, “you deserve happiness to you know”. With that he backs off, just in time for Kai to arrive with our things. “Here put these on before I gauge my gamma’s eyes out”. I can’t help but chuckle as I quickly put the clothes on. It’s a blue tank top and black shorts. Way better than nothing. Kai pulls me in for another kiss and I melt against his muscular frame. “Be safe out there, wait for me to find you. If you are in trouble, I will help you.” With that he turns to walk away, sopping after a few steps to turn and look at me again. “You are the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life, and I am sorry I have hunted you for as long as I can remember.” With that he turns and disappears. Jason finishes putting his clothes on and grabs my shoulder, “this way, we have to get out of here undetected, we only shift if we have to”. I nod and let him lead the way out of pack territory.

6 days later

Jason wasn’t cut out to be out here. He has never had to work in the wild for anything in his life, and it shows. We have been gone almost a week now, with no word from Kai. I wish I could link him. If we would have completed our bond and marked each other, we could of, but alas it didn’t happen. We had no time together, but my heart aches for him. I almost wonder if he has forgotten about me. Jason clears his throat, breaking me out of my thoughts. “So, what’s your story? I can imagine life has been hell for you”. “That is exactly why I don’t want to talk about it”, I reply as I scoot closer to the fire I made. He huffs but doesn’t say anything else. “Have you heard from Kai?” I ask, trying not to sound desperate. “No not yet, he has a lot of work to do if his goal is to get the council to accept you.” I nod and lay down in the grass. “I was 6 when my father was killed and 8 when my mother was killed. My dad died because of me. I shifted for the first time when I was 6. Stupid me was a pup and didn’t know any better. I ran into pack territory and my dad fought the whole pack, saving me, but getting killed. My mom was never the same after that. ’I said, gazing out into the darkness. Jason didn’t say anything, but I can tell he was holding on to every word I said. “My mother died with him, not literally, but you could say that. She lost her mate; she was always sad. When her coven attacked us, I had only been using magic for about a year. I was useless and couldn’t help her fight. She died so that I could live, or so she could be reunited with dad.” I looked back at the fire before continuing, “after that I was alone. I taught myself everything else I know by killing the hunters and witches that attacked me. I have been alone for 10 long years, on the run...” I let out a shaky breath willing myself to hold it together. “When I relaized Kai my my mate, my whole world stopped. Nyx, my wolf was so lonely. She would never tell me, she understands why we have no one, but I could sense it. Nyx has been my only friend since my parents died. I didn’t ask for this, Jason, I was a cub, I didn’t have any idea why we were always on the run, or always being attacked. Through the years I have learned everything I could. Stealing books from the library, explaining pack life, coven life, human life. I have learned everything I can to stay alive. Jason, how can I have a relationship when any child I bear is doomed to the same fate?” Jason gets up and shocks me with a giant hug, “you didn’t deserve that, you have lived such an unfair life, you have us behind you now.” I smile at him, it feels surreal, maybe this is my purpose? Jason lets me go and goes back to sit near his side of the fire. He looks deep in thought, staring at the dancing flames. Nyx suddenly jumps up in my head snarling, alerting me to danger. Her hackles rise as she stands shaking inside my head. “Jason, we have trouble, we have to go!”. He sniffs the air and looks at me curiously. “I don’t smell anything, maybe-” “trust me Jason we have to go! I start stripping my clothes and throwing them on the small fire. He looks alarmed at my sudden reaction and follows suit. “Witches”, Nyx breaths out in my head. f**k. I shift in an instant, letting Nyx take control. Jason follows suit, his wolf snarling into the air. Nyx grabs our backpack in her teeth and takes off running through the trees, Jason close behind us. Nyx is faster than Jason, I notice how she has to slow her pace so he can keep up. I can feel the danger getting closer, but I still can’t scent them. Did they hide their scent? Jason’s wolf looks to Nyx for direction, it’s like his wolf knows that Nyx has a higher authority than him. Nyx nudges his side, steering him to the left as a ball of fire land where he just was. She snarls into the air. I can feel her need to protect Jason fierce. She has had enough; she won’t risk his life. Nyx stops and growls into the air, her purple eyes smoking dangersly. Jason’s wolf whines at the power emitting from me and bares his neck to me. Nyx howls and the wind picks up instantly, whipping everything around it, trees groaning at the force. Six witches make their way through the forest towards us. Nyx stands in front of Jason, snarling out warnings. “Ah cursed one, we finally found you again, and mommy isn’t here to save you this time.” My heart sinks. This was my mother’s coven- the one that killed her. Anger beats through my veins as the wind swirls faster creating mini tornadoes in its wake. The witch looks around stunned, “you are more powerful than your mother, and then what I expected. I am Lyra, the successor of your late mother.” The tornadoes get larger as Nyx floats in the air. She covers Jason in a protective bubble and stalks towards Lyra. Lyra’s face drops, she almost looks scared, she didn’t expect us to be so strong. Nyx retreats, leaving my naked form as I make my way to Lyra. “How dare you mention my mother, you are a traitor, you are disgusting.” My eyes smoking a deep purple has her gasping. She backs up, looking around her at the tornadoes taking out all the trees in their wake. Purple steam streams from my body as my anger takes over. She casts a stunning spell on me that bounces off my skin and shoots into the trees. She is a powerful witch, I can sense it, but she is not as powerful as me. I don’t even know the full extent of my power yet. “Listen to me, Lyra, I will kill you if I ever see you again. I am not the monster everyone makes me out to be. I will give you a chance to right your mistakes, but heed my warning, if you or your stupid coven come near me again, I will end you all.” She gasps as my magic tangles around her body, holding her still as I run my claws down her face, blood dripping from the wounds. She tries to move, and my magic tightens around her making her moan in pain. “Get out of here Tyra, go, go tell your coven that I am the rightful sorceress, and I won’t hesitate to claim my birth right if you continue to pursue me”. I release her and she falls to the ground gasping for air. She says nothing as she turns and disappears into the forest. The tornadoes die out and I release. I release Jason from my bubble, and he shifts right away. “Jesus you are amazing.” He looks at me with an admiration I have never seen. I drop to the ground feeling all the energy leave me. I have overexerted myself and my magic, Nyx is groaning in my head. Jason runs to me and cradles my limp body, “don’t worry Luna, I will protect you.” That’s the last thing I hear before I pass out.