Chapter 7 First escape

Chapter 7

AMARA

I walked back home slowly. It was getting hot and I felt my mother's words hanging in the corner of my mind, reminding me of the dangers of the dark.

But I didn't care. I don't care anymore. Anyone could come for me and take this miserable life. My feet dragged on the ground.

I didn't feel like going home, but I had no choice. I had to go home. My mind was full of so many things I wanted to do, but I had no idea where to start.

I wanted to find out the truth. The truth about my father. The feeling of my promise still gnawed at the back of my mind, and I was not ready to take it back.

I want to avenge the death of my father, but I needed to know how he died. Mother had just revealed to me, he died in the hands of the witches after me.

But what really happened? I needed to leave this environment and start a new life. But how could I live now? Even if I did, how would I survive? These are two in a million questions barraging my mind now.

And not to talk of this new-found power I have swirling inside me like a tsunami on a sea, calling and whispering for me to unleash it. I had so much to learn.

I had not even scratched the surface of my powers. Not only that, but I didn't even understand my strength yet. I didn't even know anything about it. I was just clueless about all this. What could I do? The magic I could cast? Nothing! I didn't know how to protect myself. What if I walked into danger without knowing it?

And even if my mother supported Elena, I still didn't want to leave her. She was my mother. I loved her. She had been my backbone, hid me all these years against her wishes, took care of me.

Going far away from her is not something I'd wish to do. Not like this. Not without her knowing. Not without a goodbye. But my heart felt pulled. Something was calling me. Something deep. Something strong. I needed to leave.

When I reached home, I expected to hear shouting. I knew Elena would have been back from the wolves gathering, so I expected to see anger on my mother's face. But instead, I saw something else.

Laughter.

I stopped at the door. I leaned in and listened. Elena was laughing. My mother was laughing with her. They were sitting close on the couch. My mother poured tea for her.

"Elena, you're always so strong," my mother said. "You remind me of how I used to be when I was your age."

Elena smiled. "You always say that."

"Because it's true," my mother said. "You'll do great things. I feel it."

I froze. My hands clenched into fists. My mother was telling a lie. We all knew Elena was not near being strong. We knew Elena was not a good example. She was the definition of a rebellious child and both of them were cat and mouse. Was she saying this to hurt me? Did she know I was approaching and decided to play this game?

I expected her to scold Elena for what she did but no? There was no word, not even a question about what happened in the woods. Not one look of concern for me. Not even demanding why she had to ridicule me. Instead, she was raining praises she didn't deserve.

I sealed my mouth as I walked past them into the room not saying anything. I threw myself on the bed and thought just maybe I was being foolish and childish.

But I couldn't help how I felt. I was sad and hurt and broken into pieces and filled with different thoughts. I stared at the ceiling. Then I looked at the moon through my window.

"I'm sorry, Mama," I whispered. "I love you, but I can't stay here anymore."

I waited, quietly sitting and watching the moon rise higher in the clouds, illuminating the earth. I waited for them to fall asleep. I listened to the silence. I counted the breaths between sounds. I moved slowly, step by step. I opened my bag and packed my clothes. Only a few. Just enough for what I was about to do. I don't need to be stranded with too many loads. I placed the small picture of my father inside. The one with him holding me as a baby.

I left a note. Nothing long. Just enough to say goodbye.

Then I left.

The road was quiet and the night was surprisingly cold.

I didn't look back. If I did, I would have cried and would have turned back, returned home, cried my eyes out, forgive my sister, pretend nothing ever happened, continue living my life and working at the inn and feel miserable for the rest of my life knowing fully well my sister manipulated the love of my life into rejecting me. But I didn't look back.

I approached the inn and stopped at the front of it, looking at it for a while. The wooden walls, the small door, the dim lantern swaying in the wind, the kitchen which used to be my favorite place. This was a place I had spent so many years working.

I thought of Eamon. His voice, his calm way of speaking. He hadn't questioned me when I talked to him, only advised me to leave.

I blinked several times, "Goodbye, Eamon."

The bus waited down the road. The driver was half asleep, leaning against the wheel. I paid him and got in. The seats were torn, the windows scratched. But at this particular moment, it was none of my business. I only cared that it would take me far away.

I had done my research while I was at the inn. The pack I was going to was one of the oldest and most feared. People said they were strong and they knew every werewolf tradition. Stefan rejected me because I knew nothing about my life. To pay him back for doing that, I was going to learn what I was and become, I'd learn to fight and also found the witches who killed my father.

Forgiveness wasn't an option.

The bus started moving as soon as other people got in. The road was rough, the ride shaky. I sat alone brooding about my life until a girl came and sat beside me. She had short brown hair and tired eyes.

"Hi," she said softly. "I'm Clara."

"Amara," I replied.

She smiled faintly. "Are you going to the pack too?"

"Yes."

"I've been looking for work," she sighed. "They say they hire humans too. I'll take anything they give me. Cleaning, cooking, anything."

I nodded, not bothering to inform her I wasn't fully human and was on this for a different mission. "I'll do the same."

We talked for a while. She told me about her family, about how she left because there was nothing for her back home. I didn't tell her much about me. Some things are better kept inside.

Hours passed. The bus rattled through empty roads. Trees stretched tall on both sides, blocking most of the moonlight. It felt like we were driving into the mouth of something alive.

Halfway through the journey, my skin prickled. The hairs at the back of my neck rose and chill ran down my skin, rattling me. And then my heart began thudding faster. It wasn't fear, not exactly. It was the same feeling I'd had before danger came. My instincts whispered to me.

I clenched my fists. My powers stirred under my skin, unprovoked, like they sensed something I could not see. The air around me felt heavier with the smell of the smoke from the engine.

Clara looked at me, noticing my discomfort. "You okay?"

I forced a small nod. "Yeah... just tired."

But I wasn't tired. I was wide awake. Every sound from outside made me flinch.

The driver all of a sudden slowed down. My pulse spiked as it came to a stop in the middle of the road.

"Why are we stopping?" Clara nudged me whilst shifting closer to me as if I'd protect her.

I turned to question the driver but he was shaking terribly on his seat like he had seen a ghost and he was looking straight ahead. I craned my neck looking out of the bus for what had gotten the driver so scared. And that's when I saw them. They're more like shapes in the dark but I knew this thing better. Wolves. They'd come out from between the trees, their eyes glowing faint gold, as they obstructed the way..

The bus doors opened.

A deep voice growled, "Everyone out. Now."

Panic exploded inside the bus. People screamed. Someone pushed past me. Clara grabbed my arm, shaking.

"Run?" she whispered.

"No," I shook my head slowly, cutting her a glance. "Too late."

One of them stepped into the bus. His face was half-hidden under a hood, but I saw his jaw tighten. His presence filled the space like smoke.

"Out," he repeated barking loudly.

We were herded off the bus. The night was too quiet. The only sound was breathing... ours and theirs.

I reached for the dagger hidden in my pocket. My father's dagger. I kept it close always. Even though I had no idea how to use it, I won't let these people take me without a fight.

One of them walked up to me. He was taller than the rest, his shoulders broad, his scent sharp. He reached out to the dagger in my pocket and snatched it. My eyes widened and he flashed me a wicked grin.

But he was looking me over slowly, like he already knew who I was.

"Take this one specially," he said, his voice rough. "Make sure she doesn't escape."

Another man stepped closer. "Why?"

"The Alpha wants her." His words were final.