On the Run

Chapter Fourteen

Their words made me sick. I lifted each bag into the trunk of the all-wheel drive SUV. Having a vehicle could both aid or ruin our escape. So many variables to take into account made my head spin. I double checked the supplies, making sure everything we could need was there. Looking into the duffle bag Patty had packed to help, Mason had a first aid kit and, to my shock, a small sawed off shot gun with enough ammunition to take out more than half the pack. These kinds of weapons had been forbidden for use outside of security, so it was rare to see one outside of a guard's hands.

Mason emerged with Amelia as I loaded the last of our supplies into the truck. I silently rushed around to open the car door and move the straps of the car seat out of the way, to make the transition from his arms to the seat go as smoothly as possible. He gently laid her into the seat then stepped back to let me take over. Mason kissed my forehead lovingly, whispering into my skin, “I’ll be right back with Joshua.”

I leaned into him just for a moment before turning back to busy myself with making sure Amelia was buckled-up safely. Seeing her sleeping so contentedly brought a forlorn smile to my face. We would be risking it all, even her life, by escaping. Was it really worth risking her life? I shook the thought from my head. Knowing she would grow up here, just to be raped and forced to give birth repetitively by members of the pack would be a fate worse than death for my daughter. I refuse to let it happen to her too.

Soon, Mason returned with his son, Joshua. He was an adorable little boy with the same dark hair as his father. Looking at him, he looked so similar to Mason but there was more softness in the bone structure of his face. Perhaps he got that from his mother. I repeated the same routine to help Mason with Joshua as I had Amelia. The little boy stirred ever so slightly as Mason rested him gently into his car seat, revealing he also shared his father’s dimples. I placed a hand over my stomach lovingly. I hope you have those same dimples, like your father and brother.

When Joshua was safely buckled in as well, we were off. I turned the volume of the pack’s radio communication down low so it wouldn’t wake the children if more information surfaced after taking my spot in the front passenger seat. Once they found the Leader, their calls would be an endless stream of yelling, cursing, and even some crying. The clock on the dashboard illuminated the interior of the car as I waited for Mason. It was just after midnight. If they weren’t going to check on the Leader until dawn, that gave us roughly five hours to make it to the border. It would be difficult and it was possible we would have to abandon the truck long before we reached the border.

Mason flipped off the lights in the garage before pulling up the garage door. As I watched him through the sideview mirror he looked up, meeting my eyes in his reflection. The smile he flashed, felt more genuine than any I had ever seen. How was it possible for this man to go through so much turmoil and chaos over me and still choose to love me? His entire life was being uprooted to ensure my and my child’s safety. In that moment, my heart had never felt fuller of the warmth of really being loved. Something I had severely lacked in my previous relationship. I could feel the heat of my desire for him rising in me again.

Mason slid into the driver’s seat beside me and turned the key in the ignition, bringing the truck to life with a low roar. It wasn’t the quietest vehicle, but they weren’t looking for us yet. We could avoid suspicion for the time being driving the security truck. With my nerves on edge I couldn’t help but fidget with my hands in my lap. Running them over the tops of my denim clad thighs over and over in a repetitive and comforting motion as the truck pulled from the driveway. “We’re going to be heading for the mountains on the southeast edge of the Royal Territory,” Mason informed me. “It will be our best bet. We can cross the border closer to the Great Royal River though because it’s a straight shot from here but it will take five or six hours.”

I nodded in agreement. “It’s a good plan, there will be less of the Leader’s security patrolling that way since you said they sent a patrol out to the Falls border,” I said conveying my approval. “I just hope we can make it across before they find Randall.”

Since he was dead, I didn’t see much point in referring to him as the Leader, a title neither he nor anyone else in his family deserved. Luckily, he hadn’t had any children yet. Over the last few years the big rumor going around was that his mate was infertile. Which I was more inclined to believe now since he reinstated the breeding program and I was their first victim. Then, the realization hit me, tears pricked at my eyes dangerously close to overflowing. “Mason, when did they run the pregnancy test?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“Yesterday, why?” Mason asked, glancing at me worriedly from the driver’s seat. “What’s wrong, babe?”

Shrinking down in my seat, I pulled my legs up so I was sitting in the fetal position in my seat. Tears cascaded down my face, while my sobs remained silent. Just the pain in my chest as I tried to breathe. I couldn’t find the words to tell him, the child I’m carrying might not be his. “Bethenny, please baby, you’re starting to scare me a little bit,” he begged me to open up to him.

Flashes of my time in the hospital flashed through my mind. Most of the faces blurred together but two stood out the most, Randall and the asshole guard who called my precious Amelia stupid. I ran my own hands over my skin, trying to rid myself of the memory all those men holding me down. Gritting my teeth, I tried to will the memories out of my mind. My hands clenched into fists; thinking to myself, I don’t want to see it anymore, go away. My mind was in chaos and I just wanted it to stop. The flashbacks, the pain, the fact that I could still feel their grubby f*****g hands on my body, and each and every one of them shoving their manhood inside of me. I wanted to scream so badly but I had to keep it held deep inside. If I woke Amelia or Joshua up, I didn’t have the mental capacity at the moment to care for either one of them properly.

“Tonight, it wasn’t the first time,” I choked out through my tears.