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Violet
No. You are not going to do this right now. You are not going to have a panic attack while he has his arms around you.
She managed to say goodnight and get upstairs to her bed. But she didn't get in. She just leaned against the wall and counted her breaths. She grabbed a pillow and held onto it, trying to name the things that she could see, smell, and feel. She'd gotten the technique from an online video for humans. Sometimes it seemed to help chase the panic away.
Tristan wanted her to come to his pack. He wanted her to willingly bring her daughter on his pack land.
And while he said they could wait, it was only a matter of time. She knew that as soon as he had found Arabella was his, that this was coming. She could no longer delay it.
She'd been doing so well until tonight. The combination of him talking about mating and him wanting more and more of her and Arabella had set her off. It wasn't that he wanted them exactly, it was that he wanted to make them part of his world. He wasn't content to just come by and see them every day. He wanted to make them a part of his pack. It was only normal; that's how he operated, and they would expect her to want to participate. No amount of her traumatic stories would make a difference in his understanding. Most shifter males just weren't wired that way.
She could hardly blame him.
He’d actually been very reasonable about all of it. But that didn't matter. She either needed to just give up and become part of his pack now, or she needed to get the hell out of Anchorage. She needed to leave Alaska altogether and go somewhere they could not be found. That meant flying. That meant getting on a plane where he wouldn't be able to get to them immediately. She'd have to find a witch that was willing to help her once they arrived. But she traveled the world enough that she had a network of people willing to help her. She would call on some of her old contacts.
She knew what she had to do. She was surprised that no one had demanded she give up the artifact after she had used it inappropriately. But they had not; it was still in her bag, hanging in the back of her closet. It was actually pretty irresponsible that she’d left it there where anyone could take it. But, of course, unless they knew the incantation, it would be worthless.
She had to sell it back. She had no money, but she had her ID, and she had Arabella's passport.
She wasn't going to tell any of the pack they were leaving. She'd started over once when she knew nothing of the world. She could do it again now that she had seven years of experience.
She felt really bad about not telling them – the pack was her family. They had supported her time and time again, whether she had deserved it or not. They had so rarely asked questions or demanded information from her. She would not insist that they leave. It was clear that they were all enjoying the cabin. The other two children were thriving, just like Arabella was.
Arabella would be devastated to lose her father. But she would just have to tell her they'd come back and visit. The older Arabella was, the safer it would be for her. At six, she could be so easily taken from Violet. They could brainwash her without Violet’s consent and there would be nothing she could do.
It was nice having Tristan's support. It had been nice to imagine what a real partnership would be like. The money had been enjoyable. But in the end, it wasn't worth it. She actually did love him, quite a bit, but the money felt like a chain around her neck. It tied her to Anchorage, and it tied her to him.
It had to end.
She spent the next two days searching for a buyer for the artifact. It was difficult to do here in a new place. Especially without the help of her pack. There was no way they would condone what she was doing. They had all grown quite fond of Tristan.
She had to resort to calling one of her old contacts in Minnesota. The shifter was half witch and she stayed connected to covens all over the world.
“Yes, I know where you can take it,” the witch said.
The buyer felt like a human, but Violet did not have time to be picky.
The woman handed her $1,850 in cash, which was double what she paid for it. That would be more than enough to get her and her daughter out of Alaska.
With the cash tucked in her bag, she headed back home.
She crouched down beside Arabella and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. She was glad she had her sleep in Violet’s room that night. Hopefully she wouldn’t disturb the others. “Wake up.”
It took forever for Arabella to wake up. “What?”
“We’re going for a night swim.”
That worked. Quickly she put her finger to her daughter's lips. “Shhh. We don’t want to wake anyone up.”
She looked regretfully at Arabella’s new clothes hanging in the closet, paid for with the money from Tristan.
Her daughter had chosen an array of outfits. They varied in style from denim overalls to frilly dresses with bows on the hem. She even had bows for her hair. She hated to leave all of them behind. Earlier, Violet had chosen two of her dresses and rolled them into a tight ball. She’d done the same thing with Arabella’s clothes as well. That was all that would fit in the backpack. She didn’t want to attract attention with luggage.
Once they were down the stairs, Arabella tried to go into the kitchen. They usually packed snacks for their trips out, even if they were going hunting. Arabella loved to picnic. “Can we get some snacks?” Arabella asked.
Violet was rethinking leaving in the middle of the night.
“Why don’t we stop and buy some?” She put her finger to her lips to remind her daughter to stay quiet.
