Rosea!Alora appears in my mind, her posture graceful, but her eyes angry.Finally. I thought they cut our connection for real.
“Maybe that’s what the potion was supposed to do,” I mutter. At the mere thought of it, my stomach revolts again.
“Do what?” Marie asks.
“Cut me from my wolf forever,” I say.
She stares at me, her eyes wide in horror. “By the goddess! It’s bad enough that they cut your connection to Jordan, but that… that’s… unbelievable. It’s horrendous, it’s—“
“You know my mate bond was cut?”
“Yes,” she says. “Everyone in the pack knows, by now. The word about your so-called betrayal has spread.”
Finally, my senses are returning, and with them I am starting to put the puzzle pieces together, not that it’s particularly difficult to do so now that everything that went down. Jordan got what he wanted. He got rid of me, he kept his reputation and has a new, innocent toy at his side.
“I need to leave,” I whisper. “I am sure Jordan will have me killed if I stay.”
“Absolutely!” Marie agrees. “You need to leave immediately. Come.” She helps me up.
“I just need to get rid of my ties—” I pause, surprised when I see my hands free. The cuffs Clemmens put on me are lying on the ground, with a hairpin next to them. “How did you do that, Marie?”
“That wasn’t me,” she says.
“But who—”
“Does it matter right now?”
“No, you are right.” With her help, I manage to get to my feet. “I have everything I need,” I tell her.
“What about money and documents?“
“IfI make it out of here alive, I have something prepared.”
Noises seem to be coming closer, male voices.That’s the warriors,Alora says.
They might be checking on me!
“Quick,” I whisper. “Someone is coming.”
I don’t need to tell Marie twice. With her help, I make it to the window and out of it. To my surprise, there is no one guarding it from outside. “How?” I mutter.
“I told you, I have my ways,” she says. “Don’t ask too many questions. I won’t ask any either.”
“I am not going to ask anything. I am just glad you were here when I needed you.” I can feel the cold night air on my skin, sharpening my senses again. Above us, I can hear noises. I grab Marie and pull her into the darkness of the night, hiding out of sight.
Someone yells. “She is gone!”
“How can that be?” Clemmens asks. “Fuck!”
“Damn it. What do we do now, Beta?”
“The alpha is relying on us,” Clemmens commands. “He had to leave for this alpha gala. It’s on us to make sure his orders are followed. Alert the elders immediately. The luna is on the run!”
“We are already here,” I hear Elder Frank’s voice, his voice trembling in anger. “How is that possible?!”
“Here, she must have opened her cuffs with a hairpin,” someone else says.
“She can’t have gone far,” Frank snarls. “Find her and kill her, like Alpha Jordan demanded!”
