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When he gets word that I snuck out of the city without telling him, I highly doubt he will.
Unless…
I don’t want to do it. It’s leaving me unprotected from those who might jump at the chance to do Aleks harm, and even if that’s the more practical reason to leave the necklace in place, my heart aches at the idea of taking it off. It’s a sign of Aleks’s love and affection for me. Since I accepted my place at his side, I haven’t removed it.
If I take it off now, my heart might ache. But Aleks? I think it’ll break his.
But I have no choice. There’s magic in a vampire’s fang. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could use that to follow me since, when it’s on, my scent takes on some of his licorice notes. He’d find me, and I would be helpless to reject him again.
The only reason I can right now is because I’m more afraid of losing Aleks permanently than I am him casting me aside as his beloved. I’ve had months to get used to the idea of never truly claiming my vampire. But the idea of him dying? Of him losing a challenge and just being gone from this world?
I can’t live in one that doesn’t have Aleksander Filan in it. It’s a simple as that.
Even if I’m not his bonded mate. Even if he finds another shifter female to pamper and flatter and protect… I don’t care. If only for a little while, he was mine, and it’s my turn to take care of him.
With shaky fingers, I reach behind me and unclasp the gold chain. Once it’s off, I place it gently on the glass table in the living room so that he won’t be able to miss it—and that’s if he didn’t instinctively sense that I took it off.
After that, I heft up my duffel, slide open the glass door to the balcony, and start down the fire escape.
The clock’s started. Aleks and the rest of the Cadre are occupied. I’ve got to be quick, but this is probably the only chance I’ll have to leave before I bring more trouble to Muncie.
So I do.
* * *
I never expectedit to be so easy to leave.
With most of the Cadre vamps off the streets, the ones who pass me by might not recognize me without Aleks’s fangs. I have to ignore a few prejudiced comments about me being a shifter, and a couple of come-ons from vamps and humans who don’t know or care that I can go furry—and, Luna, did I not missthat—but other than that, they leave me alone for the most part.
It helps that my duffel is specifically designed for shifters. Instead of looking like an oversized gym bag, it’s charmed so I can carry it when I’m in my two-legged form and my four-legged shape and it appears almost like a big purse. Though my anxiety is spiking and it takes everything I have not to just bolt, I take a leisurely stroll around Muncie, going a roundabout way to the borders. I specifically avoid the section of no man’s land from last right for a hundred different reasons, least of all because I’m terrified that there were more than five shifters hunting me.
I have every reason to be frightened, and I prove that almost immediately after I leave the sanctuary of the Fang City.
The second I left, my stroll became a sprint. I don’t bother stripping off my clothes before I give control over to my wolf; I put on a cheap outfit on purpose so I could afford to lose it. I run faster as a wolf, and no matter how Aleks reacts, I need to put as much space between me and Muncie as soon as possible.
That’s not the only reason I pour on the speed. I’ve barely made it the first ten miles before I realize that someone is following me.
Vampires have a notable base scent. So do shifters. My kind of supe carries an earthy smell, something unique to each of us, and, yes, just a hint of wet dog for some reason. No self-respecting wolf will admit it, but it’s true, and I almost stumble as I get a snout full of the shifter chasing me.
One of my “gifts” that I actually didn’t mind was an ability to shield my scent and the scents of those near me. For some reason, when the Luna went silent, she didn’t take that gift away. So frantic to escape Muncie, I didn’t even think to cover up my scent until I realize that there’s a shifter on my tail.
I don’t know who it is. They’re not familiar to me, but it doesn’t matter. Any shifter chasing me is someone I want to avoid.
Here’s hoping that I can.
* * *
I don’t knowwhere I am, only that I’ve managed to avoid both humans and supes—including the shifter who trailed me across at least two state lines.
I didn’t know where I was going. The only important thing was going in any direction but north so that I could avoid passing the Northern Winds Pack. Considering I’m on the East Coast, I ran west and hoped for the best.
My pads are bloody. I’ve lost clumps and clumps of white fur because I’ve purposely kept my path to any densely wooded areas when possible. I tore through the food I carried with me that first night when I pushed my wolf to exhaustion after I caught the hint of the shifter on the breeze behind me. I’ve gotten maybe six hours down total for sleep, and I ate whatever small prey animals my wolf was quicker than.
It’s been three full days. The first night, I expected Aleks to appear behind me. Vamps are fast, so I had to be faster if I wanted to outrun him. The longer I want without sensing his icy aura there, the more I had to admit I was right. Leaving Aleks’s fang behind, running out on him without a word… he was letting me go.
I expected that. So tell me why it hurts so Luna-damned much to know I was right?
Those twenty-four hours have come and gone. Once their imposed deadlines passed, I worry about running into any shifter. I don’t know how far rumors about my abilities have gotten, but it’s a safe bet to believe that, since the Alphas all know, so do their packmates. Any shifter I meet could sell me out to the collective.
