Page 151 of Unravel Me

But then I hear footsteps pounding behind me.

Like my… Shadow.

And in my head, I hear,

Don't even think about it…

Fuck!

Not that idiot!

CHAPTER 31: JARED

Present day

The pale glow of dawn is beginning to spread across the sky as I carefully rise from the ground. Mauro is still asleep beside me, but I have to leave.

I give him one last look. Dark curls have fallen across his face, his lips slightly parted as he sleeps, breathing softly… He’s perfect.

My heart breaks, but I simply have to get back to my son. I need to think all of this through, somehow put it all in order in my head, because my future looks fucking bleak.

I move through the forest as quietly and cautiously as I can. It’s weird; I walk feeling completely different than I did before, before Silvio let that powerful green energy flow through my body, opening some gate inside me that had previously been sealed shut. Now I perceive my surroundings differently. It vibrates with life, and there’s something friendly about it, something that seems to embrace me. I no longer feel any apprehension or fear. It’s like… this is my world now. Strange, but wonderful.

Soon, I reach the parking lot. Apparently, I ran only two or three hundred yards from the motel during the night. Thankfully, the lot is empty, and my car is still there. The two alphas are gone.

Walking around the car, I spot a dark stain of blood from the nose of one of my two ‘fans’, whom Mauro knocked out. I get inside quickly, my nervous fingers turning the key and starting the engine.

Several hours of driving still lie ahead of me. I need to get this over with quickly and see my son.

This journey was supposed to help me find better options for him, but right now, what I found can't guarantee his safety. And even worse, my life is tied to someone who is himself in danger, so I carry a double burden with me. That's the sad reality. No matter how much my heart wants to stay with Mauro, my child needs me.

For the next few hours, I drive almost like I'm in a trance. My head feels like a hive gone completely wild. Sometimes I sob, and other times I feel like laughing hysterically because the whole thing is simply too fucking crazy.

You could say I've gone from the frying pan into the fire. One miserable relationship, but at least my child was safe. And now I have the potential for the perfect relationship with my fated, one that would be so much better for me, but so much more dangerous for Tommy…

At some point, I decided I would never do to my child what my dad had done to me: put me last.

He was consumed by his addiction, high for half the day, absent even when he was physically there, sometimes leaving me in the care of his boyfriends. Some of them were abusive and would beat me over the slightest thing, and one of them even tried to touch me inappropriately. By some miracle, Dad broke up with him a few days later over some completely different incident.

I feel a terrible ache in my chest when I think about how I'd been away from Tommy for so many days, fucking around in the forest without a care in the world or lounging around in a nest.

And on top of that, it was all for nothing, because my life is still a fucking mess, scattered in pieces, with no clear direction.

Yeah, I found my True Mate, and so what? I’m in even bigger shit than before! I was fucking naïve to believe it would resolve my problems. And Storm warned me…

I left with no idea where I was going, and now I'm coming back just as lost, maybe even more so.

Finally, at 11:30, I pull into the parking lot of the upscale apartment complex. Alex sent me the address yesterday.

He and my son are staying with Alex’s ex-boyfriend, Bay. It must be pretty awkward for him, considering they’re no longer together, but I couldn’t find a better option. Bay is a powerful alpha with the means to protect both Alex and Tommy.

I look around. It’s a gated luxury community, which doesn’t surprise me since Bay is a famous singer. I used to hum along to many of his hits back in high school.

With my heart pounding, I walk up to the gate and press the button on the video intercom.

A moment later, a voice comes through the speaker.

"Who is it…? Oh, Jared!"