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She hadn’t wanted to admit that last part. She knew he felt guilty about the weakness their bond presented.
“I won’t let them hurt you. There has to be a better solution than just accepting their punishment. A punishment that doesn’t fit the crime. What they want to do to you will alter you for all time. You lied to them. It hurt their pride, but allowing them to do this won’t balance the scales.”
She could feel the tears again stinging her eyes and clogging the back of her throat. She wasn’t sure where Clay’s pack was, but she was sure it wouldn’t be far enough. The idea of bringing danger to him or his family, and his pack mates didn’t sit well with her but he was right she couldn’t just sit and wait for them to tear the magic out of her.
She had witnessed it once when she was a preteen. Myla had begged the elders but her pleas had fallen on deaf ears. When they had begun the ritual her screams had pierced the air. She had continued screaming until her throat gave out and by the time they were done she was only able to whimper.
After that Myla had never spoken again, Jade wasn’t certain that she could, she had existed as a husk of her former self before she passed away. They could find no cause of death. It was as if she simply gave up. It wasn’t a fate that she wanted for herself, so though it might be pointless she would run. She would run and she would pray that they didn’t find her, and when they did she would pray she had enough strength to leave Clay so that they wouldn’t hurt him too.
“I need to speak to your alpha, but there’s no time.” Jade looked around her house at her belongings and her heart broke. There was a lifetime of possessions that she would have to leave behind, memories and heirlooms that would be lost forever.
Clay only had his bike, and their time was limited she would have to travel light.
“What will you say to Martin?”
“I need to reveal the existence of the witches to let him know what kind of danger we face. It wouldn’t be good if he told one of your coven exactly where to find us.”
“They will be able to compel him to answer. Some members of the coven know very strong magic. Normally that kind of thing is forbidden but they might break the rules to catch me.” She couldn’t keep the tremble of fear from her voice, and could only hope that he didn’t notice or at least wouldn’t comment on it.
“Is there any way to counteract what they will do?”
“Maybe but with only six days we need to leave fast. I’m not sure I can pack my things and prepare a counterspell in time.”
“You work your magic. I’ll pack. Just make me a list of what needs to come with us. I’m going to go see if Martin has a truck we can take.”
She leaned over and kissed him silently thanking him for his thoughtfulness.
“WITCHES? YOU’RE SURE?” Martin asked after Clay had given him the rundown of what was going on. Clay nodded. “And, they know about us?”
“Yes, they can sense our energy. It bleeds through our mental connections with our mates and other pack members. Jade is working on a way for you to neutralize any magic they try to use on you to track us and we’re leaving as soon as we are packed but I only have the bike with me. Can you lend us a truck? I can exchange it for my bike.”
It was hard to get those last words passed his lips. His bike was his baby but it wouldn’t be right to ask Jade to travel with only the clothes on her back. He knew it was what she expected he’d watched her look longingly around her house at all the things she would be leaving and his heart broke as she steeled herself against their new reality.
He didn’t want his mate hardened by life though and his bike was a small price to pay if it meant she could take a few items along with them.
“Nonsense, we’ve all seen you baby that bike while you’ve been here. I’ll have someone ride with you. They can watch your back and drive the truck back here once you’re safely in Yellow Claw territory again.”
Clay watched as Martin picked up the phone and started making arrangements galvanizing his pack into action.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
They waited for the cover of night before slipping away Jade had used the strongest cloaking spells she knew to hide their escape. They stopped briefly to see Martin and she’d given the alpha the tea she had brewed him to help shield him from any influence the coven might try to wield against him. She hoped it would be enough and that her coven wouldn’t be stupid enough to start a fight with the lycans.
The final precaution that she’d taken broke her heart. It still beat but she felt like she was bleeding from a mortal wound. She had severed the link between herself and Clay. She’d done it so swiftly that he’d cried out as if in agony and she’d fallen to the floor. Her knees still ached from the hard impact but it was nothing compared to the gaping void where his presence should be. She regretted the pain it caused them instantly but she hadn’t seen another way around the weakness in their defenses the bond caused.
The only thing that seemed to help ease the growing depression and desperation was how he kept close to her. He was angry. She couldn’t feel it but she could sense it.
“It was the only way.” She whispered as he helped her into the truck. They won’t expect me to run but if I’d kept the link open between us then they would have had an easy time hunting us down.”
“You could have killed us both.” Clay shut the door softly so that it barely made a noise then started the truck and without headlights drove away from the wooded area where he’d stashed the vehicle earlier. She would have felt better if he’d yelled at her. It would have eased some of the guilt if he’d slammed the door instead of the quiet resignation that was tearing up her insides.
A few blocks down the road they met up with Collins, the man Martin had assigned to escort them. She wondered briefly if Collins was his first name or his last name before deciding that it didn’t matter as long as the three of them made it out of town unseen.
She used her magic again to blur their passage to anyone who might be awake to notice but couldn’t help holding her breath as they pulled out onto the main road.
The cab of the truck was filled with a thick silence that she was afraid to break and as the miles between them and Vensford grew so did the weight of that silence.
“What did you mean when you said I could have killed us both?”
