Page 5 of Tempted

“Screw you,” she hissed, wiping her tear-soaked face as she came to a stop. Her chest pounded and her breathing was heavy now, but she knew what she had to do. No way in hell could she stay in the Hollow Grove pack.

Any other time, leaving would be unthinkable. To leave wouldn’t just mean relocating somewhere else, like plenty of humans did for lots of reasons every day of the week. No, this was different because it meant not only leaving the town, the community, and everything she knew. It meant leaving the pack.

She stood, her chest heaving as these thoughts weaved through her head. She had no other option, and she knew that now. The decision wouldn’t go down well with the others, even Vincent, particularly so now that he was alpha, but what was she supposed to do?

“You can do this.” She closed her eyes and placed her hand over her beating heart. She had no idea how, or where she’d go, but she wasn’t sticking around to be the laughingstock of this pack. Period. A pack that didn’t look out for her, didn’t warn her that her heart was going to be broken, and the future she thought was mapped out for her now had someone else’s name attached to it.

“Well, you can have him, Isla.” She sprinted to the house, running to the bedroom and fishing out a large suitcase from under the bed. The sheets still smelled of him, of both of them, but she didn’t stop to even think about the fact she’d never spend another night wrapped in his embrace. She’d made her decision and didn’t want to talk herself out of it.

Quickly, she packed as many clothes as she felt she needed before making sure she had her most important belongings. They weren’t much, but what she left behind now would probably end up in the trash when Vincent returned. She had a few items of jewelry she didn’t want to part with as well as her wallet, driver’s license, and the few documents she needed to make a new start somehow somewhere.

Once she was done, she said a brief, final goodbye to what she had thought was her home, desperately trying not to replay the times she’d had with Vincent within its walls. That was over now. She needed to get out of there and fast.

Leaving her key on the coffee table, she walked out, closed the door behind her, and didn’t look back before opening the trunk of her car and throwing in her bag. She could hear the festivities from here as the pack celebrated the full moon and the ascension of their new alpha. It promised to be a night to remember, and for her, that was certainly true but for all the wrong reasons.

She drove away slowly, not wanting to draw any attention to herself but ready to put the pedal to the metal once she was out on the main road, leaving Hollow Grove territory for good. She crept past the buildings she knew so well, feeling the loss of it all but knowing this was her only choice now.

She was going to miss so many things. This place was her home. She belonged to the land, to the pack, or so she thought. She belonged to the forests and the hills and the people she saw and spoke to every day.

When she passed Julia’s clinic, she felt a sudden stab of something in her chest. It could have been loss. It could have been guilt, knowing all of the work Julia had put into making her a pack healer and all of those she wouldn’t get to treat now. She was letting Julia down. She was letting the pack down. Yet if she stayed she would be letting herself down.

Harlow wasn’t prepared to do that. As hard as it was, she had to put herself first. She mattered too. Right? She wasn’t someone who could just be used and discarded. Her trust had been broken and lay shattered in a thousand pieces on the floor. There was no way anyone from the pack could put it back together again.

She was sure that out of everyone, Julia would understand. She was the no-nonsense type, and Harlow knew the healer respected her, even had a soft spot for her. If Julia had known about Vincent, she would have told her. Harlow had no doubt.

Harlow swallowed hard as she came to the edge of town. The road stretched out ahead of her, her path through the forest and out to wherever she would now find herself. The headlights spilled out onto the asphalt, and she was glad they only illuminated the road ahead because that was what she needed.

She had no time to look around now, wondering what life might have looked like or reminiscing about the past. She needed to just go, not get distracted by the noise of all these things that competed for her attention. This was more of a ripping off the Band-Aid situation—best to do it quickly and sharply, even if it was painful for a brief moment.

“Bye,” she whispered as she drove by the town sign. “I’m sorry.”

She pressed down her foot, sending her hurtling forward, no longer caring now if anyone saw or heard, and knowing that was unlikely anyway. Behind her, everyone would be partying and enjoying themselves, congratulating Vincent and Isla as they became the new alpha couple. The thought made her sick and made her doubly glad she was putting some distance between her and all that mess.

As she left the territory, though, her chest started to tighten. She had no idea where she was headed, and worst of all, she’d chosen to leave at the full moon. This was not the time to be alone. It was the time to be in the company of other wolves—her pack.

It struck her that she didn’t have a pack anymore. Now there was just her, a lone wolf having to fend for herself and hoping she’d be able to survive. Panic flooded her, her head splitting with the pain of a thousand and one thoughts.

The moon looked down upon her, and Harlow was sure she wasn’t going to make it any further. She fought against its pull as she drove. The shift was never a forced one each month, but being trapped in the car under the full moon, running from the pack, was overwhelming. As if it was going against her very nature not to transform.

But she couldn’t give up now. Despite everything she battled, Harlow was determined to go through with this move. Nothing was left for her in Hollow Grove. Nothing that didn’t mean pain, ridicule, and betrayal.

All she could do was try not to lose her mind, breathe deeply, and focus on the present moment—not the past or the future. There was just her and her desire to be free of everything she thought she belonged to.

The steady hum of the engine was something she could focus on. Music would’ve hit her heightened senses far too hard. Maybe, once she was far enough away, she might be able to pull over and shift to let off some of the full moon energy, though that would probably be too risky. But for now, she had to make sure she just got out, far away from Vincent who was probably more concerned with his new partner and position now, anyway.

She’d been driving for hours when, finally, the sun peeked over the horizon. Her back ached, her head was heavy, and she knew there was no way she could go any further without getting some rest.

After continuing for another fifteen minutes or so, she saw a sign for a motel. She decided to stop there and get her head down for the day. She’d put enough distance between her and Hollow Grove to make her feel comfortable enough to be able to rest.

She took the turn and pulled up in the parking lot, glad to finally have the chance to rest her eyes and her legs. The air smelled different, reminding her of how far from home she’d traveled. It was an unsettling feeling, but one she needed to get used to. There was no going back now, and she had nothing to go back to regardless.

When she opened the door to the reception area, she found a very enthusiastic older woman behind the desk. “Hey there, welcome!”

“Thanks,” said Harlow, the woman’s exuberance knocking her off balance slightly. She felt anything but. “I just need a room for one night please.”

“Just you? You just passing through?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

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