Chapter 47
Old friends
My body aches with a deliciousness that makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time. I get up and look down at my alphas; they are exhausted and look so peaceful in their sleep. Jarek has hold of Cadel’s ankle, and Mordecai is curled around his back. I bite my lip, a little entranced by how cute they are.
With a soft murmur of disgust, I grab a bottle of water and, using part of my shirt, manage to clean myself so I don’t smell like I’ve been dipped in a vat of omega pheromones.
There are piles of folded clothes in the corner. Where did they get new clothes and supplies? I’ll have to find out later, I’m just relieved I don’t have to get into my heat-drenched clothing.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
My head pops up, and I inhale, searching for a familiar scent.
For a moment, I forget everything, and I’m a fifteen-year-old again, racing through the streets of my neighbourhood.
He’s close, too close. Everything I remember is wrong. He can’t be trusted. I glance back at my sleeping alphas. They saved me.
Now, I need to save them.
The world is thudding with the sound of my pulse in my eardrums as I get dressed and slip out of my pathetic nest, leaving them safe. Three more bangs from closer. I grab a rock and run. When I get a good distance away, I find an ancient traffic light and bang my rock on it.
Three bangs as hard as I can. The vibrations run up my arm, but I ignore it, waiting and listening as hard as I can.
His answer comes almost immediately, and I realise he’s too close. I bolt in a different direction, leading him away from my sleeping alphas. It’s hard to try to recall the map that Legion gave me, but I keep my eyes peeled for signs as I run.
How he manages to stay close to me, I don’t know, but every time I bang my cursed rock, he’s closer. Sweat trickles down my back, and I start jumping at shadows, sure he’s going to pop out any minute now.
In desperation, I turn down a street and find that purple-flowered plant again.
Go home,the words explode in my mind. I hear my mother’s voice. So loud. So clear.
I run, and even though I shouldn’t, I know where I’m going. I recognise it, even though I’ve never been here. When I get to the building, I run up the seven flights of stairs and go straight to the door.
I pause, my hand on the handle.
An almost hysterical sob escapes me, but this crazy feeling won’t be denied. It just drives me forward. I stare at the paint-flaked door that is warped from damp and weather. Slowly, I shove it open, and I step inside. For a couple of seconds, I wait on the threshold to see if anything is going to jump out and get me. I count to twenty and then slip inside, closing the door behind me.
It’s covered in dust, heavy and thick, and it smells of animal musk, but there is something so familiar about this place that it is short-circuitingmy brain. I can barely move. I know the pillows are lavender and go on the cream couch that Mordecai loves to sleep on. In the corner, there is a container that holds our cooking utensils. It’s shaped like a green tree frog. There’s a calendar on the wall with a picture of a black and white dog.
I loved that dog.
I let out a bitter, hysterical laugh.
“What’s going on?” I whine, feeling my scent flood the space.Home, I think, spinning slowly.This is home.The image of white walls, laughter, our scents swirl and bloom before fading away completely.
Everything looks normal but for one thing that grabs my attention. It’s a book, and it’s covered in dust, but it’s sitting on the counter like someone was looking at it before they walked out and just never came back. I creep towards it, sliding around the counter and gently lifting the cover.
A piece of paper is the first thing I see, but I recognise my mother’s handwriting right away.
You know when I told you that you could be anything you wanted? I’m sorry, I lied. It was a wish from a mother to her daughter. I wanted you to have the world. I never wanted you to have to live like this. The way I have been.
Hunted. Vilified.
Kaida, my darling. I’m not going to be able to come home, so I came to the one place in this cursed city that you would remember as home to leave you this note.
