Chapter 2 : A Way Through

Lynn

A loud banging on the door brought me out of a deep sleep. I dreamt of sailing on a ship far away from our little cabin. But when I opened my eyes and saw the wooden walls and the sharply defined plank door, that dream faded behind clouds of memory.

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, the banging on the door only increasing in volume.

I swung my naked legs from the blankets, stepped onto the floor, grabbed the simple robe next to the bed, and tugged it on before opening the front door.

My bed was in the main living area, while Clara and Aldith shared the other room. I thought it best to be in the front room next to the door if something happened.

As soon as I opened the door, I knew I had made the right decision.

Two burly men with unkempt hair hanging in greasy clumps stood on the other side. They were each wearing dark leather uniforms, signifying their rank and station. These were warriors. And they had come for Clara.

Feigning ignorance, I blinked my eyes in surprise at them.

“Can I help you?” I asked in my most ‘lady-like’ voice.

One of them, a tall guy with deep golden eyes and a wide-set jaw, looked me up and down and licked his lips with a quick wipe of his tongue.

I did nothing to keep my modesty but simply stood there and let them look at me. I couldn’t risk angering them just yet.

“Does a Clara Marsh live here?” the tall one asked.

I blinked a few more times as if I was still trying to clear the fog of sleep from my mind.

“Clara?” I said slowly. “Oh, yes! But she’s quite ill. I assume you are here regarding the post designating her as a breeder for Alpha Dryden?”

The man nodded and looked at his partners. “Yes. And we would appreciate it if she came quickly and quietly. We wouldn’t wish to disturb anyone else on this fine morning.”

He gave me a wide, wolfish grin, sharp teeth filling his already crowded mouth. His eyes looked far too large for his head, a state half between his wolf form and his human. A few shifters preferred this look, never quite letting go of either self.

Most warriors did this, in fact. It ensured they were always at their peak condition. Always strong. Always winning.

“I’m sorry. She’s ill,” I repeated.

One of the other men scowled at me, and the other scoffed. The tall one said, “And just what did this young woman so suddenly come down with?”

I shrugged, unsure what to say. “She’s been throwing up. All night, she’s been going at it. I doubt she will be able to move for days yet.”

As if on cue, I heard a series of gagging coming from the room behind me. The others must be awake, and they heard me. Good.

All three men winced at the retching and took a step back. “Right,” the tall one said.

He looked at the other two for acknowledgment, and when they nodded, he looked back at me. “We’ll come back then. I hope you’re not jerking our chains about this. The Lord doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

I shook my head. “Oh, no. Of course, not. I wouldn’t dream of lying to our dear ‘Lord’.” I tried and failed to hide the sarcasm in my voice, but the three men didn’t seem to take notice.

As soon as they stepped off the porch and walked away, I slammed the door and locked it as tightly as possible.

Clara and Aldith stepped into the room, each wearing the same fearful expression.

“Are they gone?” Clara whispered.

I nodded and stepped away from the door, shaking the adrenaline that had spiked my blood. “Yes, they’re gone.”

“But for how long?” Aldith commented in her usual pessimistic way.

“Long enough,” I answered as I shoved past her. I began grabbing clothes from my trunk and throwing them on without much regard for where they ended up.

“What are you doing?” Aldith asked, coming up from behind me.

I didn’t look back at her as I replied. “Town. We need to find a way out of here. We have no horse. No wagon. Someone may have something we can use.”

“Like what?” Aldith questioned, moving aside as I gathered my shoes from under my bed.

“I don’t know!” I snapped. I winced once I saw her jerk back at my tone. “I’m sorry,” I said softly. “It’s just….I don’t think we have much time. Those warriors won’t believe that excuse for long. They could come back at any point, and we need to be gone before they do.”

“So that’s it?” Clara asked. “We’re just going to pack up and leave? How are we going to survive? We barely have enough money as it is!”

I brushed her question off and threw on my overcoat. I turned to stare at my two confused sisters, eyes still puffy from sleep. “Stay here,” I ordered. “I’ll be back before evening. If, for some reason, I’m not, leave without me.”

Before either of them could protest, I opened the door and stepped out into the winter-chilled air.

The clouds were gray overhead, an unchanging scene of rolling waves cast in the sky. My breath stood out in wisps of air as I briskly walked down the path leading into the little town of Downsurry.

I was taking a risk, and I know it. But I had to do something. We couldn’t make the trip on our own, and we needed supplies.

I stopped. Trip to where?

Damn.

I looked up at the pale sky. I had no clue as to where we should go. I wasn’t very familiar with the surrounding territories. Dryden had ensured that by placing his warriors all around his territory’s boundary.

I sighed. I’d find something in Downsurry. I know I would. I had to.

---

By the time I made it past the first of the little wooden buildings, the sun was high in the sky, and merchants were out at their stalls and selling their goods.

It was a crowded day, people bustling about, going from one place to another.

I stopped at the bakery and bought two loaves of bread and a lump of cheese from a skeptical older woman. I placed the bundle in the woven basket I had brought with me and continued my march through the street.

As I went, my stomach turned at the stench coming from the doorways where people, mostly children, sat hunched, bathed in their own sweat and oils, shivering. Some had pale yellow eyes, and others had shiny copper. But all of them were Omegas, and none of them were well-off.

But, what sickened me the most, was the eyes that turned away when I walked toward them.

I was used to how people averted their gaze when I came near. They were afraid to look me in the eyes, afraid of what would happen if they showed recognition.

Ever since my sisters and I were thrown out of the castle, no one was allowed to show us sympathy. We were the lowest of the low, lower even than these children huddled in doorways for warmth.

We only had a home at all because I built it myself. I refused to let us live in squalor. These children, however, never had someone to take care of them. They never had someone to show them love.

Their parents were more than likely executed for committing crimes against the Alpha, likely sympathetic toward my parents.

Anyone who had favored the old Alpha was systematically wiped out, excluding my sisters and me.

I figured the reason Dryden spared us was the very reason we were running for. He wanted to breed us, starting with Clara.

Over my dead body.

Suddenly, a voice cut through my thoughts.

“Didn’t you hear? There is work out there! There’s another territory just across the woods. They have jobs, food, shelter, and everything we’ve been denied!”

I stopped dead in my tracks, my heart thundering in my chest.

“Shut up!” another voice whispered angrily somewhere nearby.

I looked to my left and right, trying to find the source of the conversation. And then, I found them, two men huddled close in a nearby ally. They didn’t notice me as I crept closer.

“Do you want to get caught?” the second man asked in hushed tones. “Stop that talk right now, before someone hears!”

“But don’t you realize? If we could get out of here, we could be free. The Alpha here doesn’t care about us. He’d rather let us starve while he hunts the last animals out of the woods. We’re wolves. We don’t belong in a cage!”

“You’re right. We don’t, but that’s exactly where you’ll end up if you don’t….”

The man never got to finish his sentence.

A second later, a tall man I recognized stepped out of the shadows and grabbed each of them by the collar.

“What do we have here?” he smirked, his thick hair blowing into his face as he spoke. It clung to his gnarled skin like glue, his sweat coating each strand.

His bright yellow eyes flicked to each individual, and he licked his lips as if preparing for a meal; his canines protruded from his upper lip.

Another shorter man walked up next to him.

“Looks like we’ve got some wannabe runaways, Cole. Lord Dryden won’t like that one bit. No, he won’t, will he?” He directed the question to the two shaking men, who were already regretting speaking out against the Alpha.

“Nossir,” Cole replied with a grin. “He won’t. We’ll get one mighty reward for bringing the two of you in. You wanted to be out of the cold? Didn’t like the food and shelter your Alpha provided for you? Well, that’s fine. You won’t have to deal with all that any longer.”

Cole threw the two against the wall, causing a sickening crunch as their skulls caved against the stone.

“Dammit!” the other man shouted. “I didn’t say to KILL them, did I?”

Cole shrugged. “They were just Omegas. They won’t be missed.”

Cole spat into the surrounding snow and wiped his nose with a hand. He coughed once and looked up…directly at me.

Oh no.

“Hey! Aren’t you…?”

Before he could finish, I spun on my heels, fleeing down another alley past several citizens. I threw myself into a shrub just as the two warriors ran past. They went on without seeing me, even though I was certain my heartbeat could be heard from a mile away.

If those warriors were anything like their master, I was screwed. But, thankfully, not every shifter had enhanced hearing.

The two ran off in the other direction, shouting words at one another I couldn’t decipher through the dense foliage I’d hidden in.

The dead and gnarled branches of the shrub poked and scratched at my skin, but I ignored it. The pain seemed like a million miles away.

So, there was another territory, and it had work available. Would they take us in? Would they accept us?

I shook my head. No, that’s impossible. We’d be castoffs, runaways, no more than sacks of cloth. Unless…unless they didn’t know who we were. That was the only way.

We’d have to lie our way out of this if we wanted to survive.

Before they met their untimely demise, those two men had said that the other territory was on the other side of the woods. The woods were just north of our cabin. If we left under cover of night, we might just be able to sneak around the security perimeter and get to the other side.

It was a risk, a big risk. But, for Clara, it was one worth taking.

I had enough food to last us a few days, at least. We could probably pick up more supplies on the way. The only other thing would be to get a team of horses, but the empty room in my pocket told me that wasn’t going to happen.

We’d either have to hitch a ride or go on foot, both of which had their own set of dangers.

I sighed and stood on unsteady legs as I climbed out of the shrub, carefully looking to ensure no one was looking.

We really only had one option. Go on foot. If we asked for a ride, that would raise too many questions, and I didn’t think anyone would be willing to travel at night outside the territory, no matter how much they were paid, not that we had the money anyways.

All I could do was hope and pray that we’d make it out of this alive.

The image of the two dead men sent a shiver through my spine. We were really going to do it—we were going to flee the pack. And I would do everything in my power to ensure we didn’t meet the same fate.