Chapter Sixty
Beatrix must have created some serious distraction, because so far, no one had caught up with us, and it had been about thirty minutes of running. It felt strangely too… easy, they should. have gotten to us by now.
“You know what?, You’ll have to ride me, Luna; that’s the only way we could go fast enough,” she said, taking her clothes off. I looked away, giving her some privacy, but she didn’t seem to care; why would she? From the little I saw, she had a perfect body, clearing trained into flawlessness. She was perfection itself. She shifted into her wolf form. She was a grey wolf, and I noticed her wolf had a very strong resemblance to her being; the grey wolf, which was smaller than Thane, and Axels‘ wolf was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, and she seemed to carry this air around her.
I didn’t want to think too much about it. I picked up her clothes. Getting myself seated on her back was considerably easier than it had been with Axel.
Before I could settle, she zipped into the forest. She was right, this was far faster, and
couldn’t help but wonder how she was willing to do all these just so I could leave. Did she hate me that much, or did she love… Thane that so much?
She stopped after a few minutes. I climbed down from her, and she shifted back to her human form, taking her clothes from my hands and putting them back on.
“The soldiers are over there, she pointed out into the woods, but I saw no one. “I am expected to guard this part. The moment you walk out, you are no longer in the pack territory. Just as I promised, you will be free, and in exchange, you never return here.”
I turn away from her, running forward into the woods. The further I was from the pack, the safer I felt, and soon I was sure no one had caught up with me. I panted, weary from the rur was out of practice with running long distances.
Now I was out of the pack; what was the next move?
I had no one to go to; I was in the middle of nowhere, maybe in the territory of another. I hadn’t brought along anything, not water, food, or money. I couldn’t do that as it would only create more suspicions.
There was a movement in the woods, close enough that I had heard it.
My heart slammed in my chest as I backed away. I took a turn and ran towards that route, but now I could feel it; I was being followed.
My legs were already weak from all the running, but I pushed them to their limit; still, whoever was behind me was gaining ground. Of course, I just had to trip over a piece of fallen and decayed tree branch, and that’s all it took for my pursuer to finally get to me.
“You miss me, Riley?” The very familiar voice belonging to Ryker whispered into my ears.
Ryker gripped me by the hair, his hold painfully tight. Panic filled me; of course I could
Charter Sixty
threaten him that Thane would find him if he hurt me, but we both knew that I had been running away.
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Ryker looked… different; his eyes had dark circles around them, and his hair was untidy, like he
hadn’t bothered to pass a brush through it for weeks. He looked like crap, and despite my fright, that gave me a sick kind of satisfaction.
The question now was, What was he doing here, so far away from his own pack?
Beatrix.
I had been a fool, thinking she was actually going to help me. I had been a fool for thinking I would be free. I knew she had to be involved in this. How else would Ryker know that I would be here at exactly this time? The betrayal stabbed deep.
“Let go of me,” I said to him. Despite the fear I felt, I was determined to fight this time.
He gripped my top and ripped it apart leaving the upper side handing loose, partly revealing the sports bra I wore beneath it. I knew what he wanted to do. I struggled harder than I had ever done, elbowing him in the ribs. He backed away, surprised by the attack but not fazed. I kicked him in the crotch, and he bowed over, giving me the chance to knock my knee to his
nose.
This had only annoyed him.
my
“You got better” he says right before he threw me to the floor, and then I felt his kicks against ribs. I whimper in pain, but he hadn’t stopped there; more kicks landed on my abdomen, and then he stepped on my hand, adding intense pressure to my knuckle. I cried out, but he didn’t pull away till I heard the snap of my
of my bones.
Just then Ryker backed away. I noticed why. Thane stood there, leaning against a tree and watching. No, he didn’t come to my aid; he had allowed Ryker to have his own fair share before making his presence known.
He wasn’t alone. Axel walked forward from the shadows of the thick trees. The look on their faces was cold, just as it had been down at the chamber when Thane had tortured the man.
I didn’t feel even a single bit of relief that I had been saved from Ryker. With the way they stared, I almost wish that I had gone willing with Ryker.
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