On the Run

Chapter Two

The sun was going to set soon. The closer it came to the time for us to leave, the more my stomach felt like it was turning itself inside out. I hadn’t been able to eat more than a few bites all day. Everything was packed and ready for us to leave. It would have been better if I had a proper hiking pack, but we would have to make due with a diaper bag that could be worn across my body, a backpack and a baby sling I could wear on the front of my body. I even managed to find a few of Colby’s pocketknives while rummaging through drawers for anything I could use to protect us. The bags were left sitting by the back door so we could hopefully slip out unnoticed. Mentally, I went over my list of supplies over and over. The worry that something important would be left behind plagued my mind. Amelia’s favorite stuffy, an extra set of clothes for me, Amelia’s coat in case it gets cold…

Suddenly, a loud banging on the front door. I debated momentarily on not answering the door, but if I didn’t they might catch on to our escape before we’ve even managed to leave. I closed the door to the mudroom as quickly and quietly as possible so our bags would be hidden from sight. Amelia screamed and hid under a blanket next to the couch. The recent arrest of her father was obviously still fresh in her mind. “Just a minute,” I called out, desperately trying to sound like my usual mess and not terrified. “Don’t be scared baby, we haven’t done anything bad.”

My hand reached for the doorknob but before I could, whoever was on the other side bargedright into our home. “The Leader requests your presence, Bethenny,” the intimidating man demanded.

My daughter ran from her hiding spot beside the couch. “No, no, no!” Amelia began screaming and crying. “Mommy! No take Mommy!”

I dropped down to my knees with my arms open. I held her tightly as I patted her head to soothe her. “Don’t worry baby. Everything is going to be okay,” I cooed, wiping her tears away gently. “Mommy will never leave you.”

I turned to the guard who had come to bring me to our Leader. “Do I need to give her to a neighbor to care for or can she come with?” My subtle way of asking if I was going to be imprisoned in front of Amelia without upsetting her.

The guard was silent for a moment, likely communicating with the Leader telepathically. His expression was cold and impersonal. “Your husband’s death should be enough to appease him, for the time being. The Leader has another matter to discuss. The child may come with.”

After collecting Amelia in my arms, we walked to the Leader’s home with the guard following close behind. I could feel his eyes watching my every movement. Did they suspect we were going to try to escape? It was at least half a mile to his home from ours. So by the time we got halfway there, Amelia was tired of being held. She squirmed and began to whine, “Let me down!”

The guard behind us kept scoffing and making comments about my daughter’s behavior. I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, it was taking all of my self-control not to turn around and punch him right in his hideous, bulbous nose. “Shut your stupid brat up!” he demanded before shoving me in the back.

I gasped and held her against me even tighter. “Please baby, stop before we both get in trouble,” I begged her with tears in my eyes.

The Leader, guards and other people in the community could say whatever they wanted about her or her husband but Amelia was an innocent child. She never did or said anything to cause harm to anyone. How anyone could speak to a child that way infuriated me, but I had to hold my tongue if we both wanted to make it out of here alive.

The Leader, guards and other people in the community could say whatever they wanted about her or her husband but Amelia was an innocent child. She never did or said anything to cause harm to anyone.

Amelia’s eyes were brimming with tears. Unfortunately, she knew what stupid meant. It was something her father called her frequently when he had been drinking. If we manage to make it out of here, I will never allow such horrible things to be said to Amelia ever again. “Don’t listen to that mean man. You are so, so smart, honey,” I told her, making sure to hold eye contact with her so she knew I meant what I was saying to her. “One day, you’re going to change the world. I promise you.”

A moment later we arrived at The Leader’s door. The guard knocked heavily on the door, making a loud repetitive bang. The sound made Amelia flinch in my arms. We need to get out of here now, I thought to myself. Every part of my body was screaming to run, but if we did it would be certain death. I closed my eyes, breathing deep and slow to try to calm my instinctual flight response. The door before us swung open, banging loudly as it smashed against the interior wall of the home. I gripped Amelia tighter in my arms. “It’s okay after we see the Leader we can go home. Okay, baby?” I tried to reassure not only her, but myself as well.

Our Leader wasn’t like the ones in the other territories. He didn’t run things like a pack of shifters, he ran it like a human cult. Alphas were to be respected, not blindly followed like the members of this pack. Nearly all willingly followed the Leader and his unhinged rhetoric; those who didn’t were either murdered or submitted out of fear. If I had known that this was how the Marshes Territory was, I never would have accepted Colby’s proposal after my true mate rejected me. At the same time if I hadn’t, the Goddess wouldn’t have blessed me with my beautiful Amelia. I guess what they say is true, you have to experience the darkness to truly appreciate the light.

The guard ushered us inside, leading us through the entry way to a set of stairs. “Our Leader’s office is up there at the end of the hall. Make it quick he doesn’t like to be kept waiting,” he ordered.

I shifted Amelia from one arm to the other. She was on the smaller size for her age but holding her for so long was beginning to take its toll on my back. At least she was old enough to where she was able to hold on to me so that my arms wouldn’t feel like the muscles were on fire after ten minutes.