Luna Aleksa's Escape

8. It was time.

Kali POV

At only twenty years of age, I was the gamma female of the Evergreen Pack. I wasn’t originally from this pack. I’d moved here about two years ago when I met Caleb, my fated mate. Caleb was a dreamboat, at six-foot-three inches, and of muscular athletic build. He had a light tan and dark brown, short hair. We were at a club in a nearby human town when we bumped into each other. It was true love at first sight. The pull of the mate bond only intensified it further. We had been pretty much inseparable since.

We’d enjoyed our time here together in the Evergreen Pack. Everyone was so welcoming to me, especially Aleksa. We bonded instantly. We actually came to this pack around the same time. It’s funny how things work out.

When Caleb explained to me the drastic turn of events between Alpha Lachlan and Aleksa, I was beyond shocked. I had learned recently that he hadn’t been faithful to the mate bond. I had seen the increasing pain Aleksa had been in and I had figured something wasn’t right, although it wasn’t my place to say anything and imagine if I had made an accusation and got it wrong. Caleb had told me to let it go for now. He had hoped Lachlan would come to his senses—but that hadn’t happened. When Caleb had told me of Lachlan throwing Aleksa into the dungeons, I was livid. I wanted to go down to the dungeons immediately and let her out, but Caleb and I both knew that would not end so well for all of us.

When Caleb came home and told me of his conversation with Aleksa, I was relieved. I was anxious initially, but I was more glad that we would do something to right this wrong. Don’t get me wrong, Lachlan was nothing but polite to me, but I was not okay with how he was treating Aleksa. That didn’t sit right with me. Aleksa was one of my best friends. Eva was too, but I could never look at her the same now. She had broken a sacred bond between two mates, not to mention betraying her own mate, Sam. My heart broke for Sam, but he could take care of himself when the time came. Our mission was to get Aleksa and the twins out of here safe and sound and as soon as possible. That was, after all, our sacred role as gammas to our luna.

I had a vital part to play in this plan. Because I was training to become an Early Childhood Teacher at our pack daycare, I was in the unique position where I could access the twins without raising any suspicion. I had thought about this a lot over the past few days and I would move the twins to the training grounds after lunch while my colleagues were taking their tea breaks. I would say that I was settling the twins for their afternoon nap and escaped through the window with them. Thank goodness the nursery was on the first floor. I would leave their stroller outside the window, strap them in, then walk them quickly to the training grounds. No one would think twice about a teacher and pack gamma, pushing the twins in a stroller.

I was about to leave the house; I took a look back and said goodbye to the place I had called home, when I reminded myself that home is where the heart is. I was doing a noble thing. I was helping to free my best friend and her pups from a bad situation. Their lives would never be the same after the fallout of all of that has transpired here at Evergreen.

I grabbed my backpack. I would leave all of my belongings behind, but they were all material possessions. We would start fresh in my cousin’s pack.

Being that we were gammas in this pack, my cousin had invited us to join the warrior squad in his pack, which would be an honor for us. It was a kind offer, especially considering we were seeking refuge there.

I firmly believed that we wouldn’t be tracked there because Lachlan had no knowledge of my cousin, Alpha Caden, and his pack, the Crimson Moon Pack.

With the door closed behind me, I embarked on my journey to the pack daycare. I didn’t feel anxious. I felt determined. As I jumped into my car, I took one last look at the place we called home and I turned the keys in the ignition. I looked ahead and prepared myself for the mission.

Caleb POV

At twenty years old, I was the gamma male of the Evergreen Pack. I was mated to the beautiful Kali. My beautiful mate Kali was truly a vision with her long reddish auburn colored hair and green eyes, standing at five-foot-five inches, and of athletic build.

We had built a life for ourselves here at Evergreen and had a close relationship with the other ranking members of our pack.

I had known Lachlan my whole life. Lachlan, Sam, and I were always close as pups. We grew up together as our parents were part of the pack hierarchy. We were trained from a young age, and we always knew what was expected of us, as well as what was ahead of us, as we prepared to take over our parents’ roles and do what generations before us had done.

Lachlan wasn’t always like this. In our younger years, he was looking forward to meeting his fated mate one day, and having a luna to nurture the pack. He had never saved himself for his mate, and sure he was a bit of a player in his teenage years, but we all thought that once he had met his Luna, he would leave all that behind. And he had appeared to, for the most part. Sure, I had seen flirtations, but nothing overly concerning. Lachlan and Eva had this thing going just before Sam had turned eighteen and realized they were mates, but as far as I knew, that had ended once Sam knew Eva was his mate, and Aleksa had arrived.

It wasn’t until Aleksa started getting unexplained pain that I wondered what might be going on. And then I saw it with my own eyes. I couldn’t believe it. He and Eva were going at it in his office one morning. The packhouse was pretty quiet, and if I didn’t have a pressing matter for him to attend to, I would have been none the wiser.

I had seen Sam struggling over the past year, too. The thing with Sam was that he was already suspicious that Eva might have been cheating on him, and had asked someone to follow her, but nothing had come of it as yet. I wondered if Eva caught on and bribed or threatened the omega he enlisted to help. I wouldn’t put it past Eva or Lachlan to do that. Eva was a talented liar and always convinced Sam otherwise, and he had no concrete proof, so he didn’t press it.

I couldn’t tell Aleksa what I knew, even though I wanted to desperately. I had sworn to protect her from harm, and I struggled to do so almost every day. I had failed Liam and Layla, too. Lachlan had put me under an alpha command and I could not fight it. Hence, not being able to tell Aleksa what was going on.

In a way, I was glad that she knew, but I was fearful for her. She was not in a good position currently. I did not know Lachlan would turn like that and lock her in the dungeon. Aleksa was such a strong and independent woman. How he thought she would be okay with this was beyond me.

I knew I had no choice other than to help her escape. I couldn’t help her before, but I could surely help her now. And when I told Kali about everything that had happened, she was determined to help me. I really lucked out in the mate department.

Kali was everything I had dreamed of and more. Her kindness and thoughtfulness were truly remarkable. She was feisty and sexy. She was such a loyal friend, and she was so strong. Kali and Aleksa were the best of friends, so I knew she would want to help.

It’s going to be a big change for us. After this, we would have to leave Evergreen, too. We couldn’t stay here after we betrayed Lachlan by helping his mate and pups flee. But we had a plan. We would go to Kali’s cousin’s pack.

Kali’s cousin’s pack was only a few states away from Evergreen, so hopefully we could get some distance between us before they tracked us down.

Kali’s previous pack was a witch-friendly pack. Witches are usually common enemies of werewolves, but hundreds of years ago, her pack had made a treaty with a nearby coven and they agreed to live on their lands but share neutral territory. Over time, both sides made more of an effort to be on friendlier terms. Kali’s Aunt Meadow was a witch, and when Kali reached out to her, she agreed to help us by making a potion that would hide our scents. Which would make it harder for us to be tracked. That should buy us some more time. We would also share this potion with Aleksa and the others, as Aunt Meadow had made a big batch for us all to share.

As I walked towards the packhouse, I looked around and took it all in. I never dreamed that I would leave this pack. It had been all I’d ever known. I grew up here. Generations of my family grew up here. I had hoped one day my children would grow up here also and one day take on the gamma role within the pack.

I didn’t regret what I was doing. I was fulfilling my sacred vow to protect my Luna. And I knew as long as I was with Kali, it didn’t matter where we were. But it would be hard leaving the people we love behind.

I reminded myself that I didn’t have time to entertain these thoughts right now. In order to avoid suspicion, I had to carry on with my day. I walked into the packhouse to have breakfast. I was alone today as Kali had already made her way to the daycare center for her placement. I would get some breakfast and then continue with my usual daily duties.

Time flew by pretty quickly, and before I knew it, it was lunchtime. I wasn’t hungry. We needed to move quickly, so it was best I skipped lunch and ate light. A mindlink comes through and Alpha Lachlan instructs everyone to report to the large dining hall for the pack meeting.

I turned and headed to the large dining hall. Although I wouldn’t be staying long, I needed to make an appearance. I quickly sent a private mindlink to Aleksa and Kali, letting them know it was time.