
I let my toes dig further into the cold dirt, feeling
the brown mush beneath my painted blue nails. My
fingers curl around dying blades of yellow grass,
pulling them out of the ground in clumps, roots
and all. I sigh enjoying the quiet woods
surrounding me. The smell of autumn was here, if
not the rustling of dead leaves was a sure enough
sign, and the cold winds were definitely a factor
too.Fall was an analogy to me, it wasn't perfect it was
cold but the colors made up for it, sometimes it was
perfect, sun shining, oranges and yellows rustling
in the small breeze. Sometimes it was ugly, bitter
cold, dead brown clumps of leaves clogging the
drains in the road. This was my life, inconsistent,
but a nice long time of pure and utter ugliness. I
was so caught up in my own thoughts, that I didn't
sense someone coming up behind me.
"You know the Beta is looking for you Sam?" A
deep voice behind me said.
"You're ruining the moment, Evan." I mumbled as I
let my head fall to the ground in a soft thud, a
crumple sound of the dry leaves follow in my wake.
Honey brown hair falls around my face and
shoulders, blending into the leaves beneath me.
The wavy hair curls around them, twisting and
latching on to each and every one of them, trying to
stay grounded to any amount of sanity left. There I
sat, soaking up the Earth's peacefulness and humanity.
"Yeah, well, the moment would have been
thoroughly ruined if Beta James found you first."
"And you just ruined it." I opened my eyes, greeting
the sunlight with a toothy smile, my hands
stretched out as they grabbed more grass, pulling
up slightly. The sun and earth are the only
elements of tranquility that I have left, my past
screwed me, and my future is screwing me now,
they're the only ones who haven't started to
decompose me, to ruin me yet. Even the beloved
moon mocks me with it's cunning and misleading
intentions.
"And you're ruining the grass."
"It's ruining itself." I fire back.
"Oh yeah, how?" I could almost hear the smirk on
his face.
"Mother Nature you dimwit."
"Fair enough." He said this, as he looks around at
the piles of dried leaves in the beautiful shades of
orange, yellow and red. "Now come on." His voice
was kind, yet stern. He's trying to manipulate me
into thinking he's on my side.
"Why does it have to be me?" I mumble. I turn
around, laying on my stomach, looking up at him.
"Out of all the girls, the only who wants to leave is
imprisoned, forced to stay in this Hell hole."
Evan sighs dramatically as his body slamming
down on the ground next to mine, shaking the
earth beside me. Leaves swoosh up behind him,
dramatically floating down back to where they lay,
rustling.
"Sam, not everything is bad here, you know."
"Says the guy who's not being forced into mating
someone seven years older, you get to be mated to
your soulmate, you get the freedom you want." As I
thought about this I grabbed more grass, taking my
anger out on it, squeezing it until all that's left are
wet globs of grass and mud. "Everyone treated me
different since it happened, but I am the same
person...Beta James only wants me for my blood,
not for me, but for the blood."
"Sam?"
I nod my head in acknowledgement, closing my
eyes and relaxing as the sun slipped out of the
clouds almost as if it were angry. Just like me.
"Samara think about the good you're doing for the
pack, everyone will love that you sacrificed your
mate for this, for our pack and realize just how
loyal you are. People will love you!"
I sit up abruptly, throwing dirt at his chest in
anger. "Don't you understand? I'm not that loyal
person everyone wants and I'm not sacrificing
anything, it's being taken away from me!" Angry
tears filled my eyes and my breathing became
heavier. "I hate this."
He looks down at his chest mumbling about my
rudeness, as he brushes it away. "You'll be Beta
Female." He tried again to calm me but all I did
was throw more dirt at his already muddy jacket.
"No, I'll be a breeder for the future Beta
bloodlines." I stand up swiftly, I need to leave.
"Evan I can and will never be able to get over he
did to me." I spit out as I turn and walk away.
He stands up too, following me. "But you're doing
it for the pack, for Beta James." A loud slap rang
throughout the forest and my hand stings from the
impact.
"And I'm doing this for myself."
His eyebrows knit together in confusion as he
absentmindedly rubs his red cheek.
"What? Doing what?" He says quietly, disbelieving. "Running." I announce proudly.
"As in away? Like running away?" He waves his
hands around, gesturing towards the woods that
surround us.
I slap him upside the head.
"Duh." My jean covered knee quickly slams into his
lower area of insecurities, my heels digging into the
freshly overturned grass. All that could be heard
was loud, painful moans and the sounds of my feet
as they hit the cold earth, and I was on my way.
The trees whiz by as I frantically ran away, dodging
fallen trees and low hanging branches. The autumn
leaves crunch under my feet as the rocks sliced into
them, but my drive was controlling me, not pain.
My breathing was rough and heavy.

