Luna Aleksa's Escape

3. Caught in the act.

Last night I'd fallen asleep again while trying to settle the twins to sleep. I’d awakened a few hours later to see that Lachlan wasn’t home. He must have gotten home even later and slept in his office. I clearly needed the sleep, because I felt so energized. The last few days had really taken it out of me. I got up before the twins, so I started making waffles and berries for their breakfast.

I planned to go to work and hand them my resignation. Luckily, I worked in a town that was predominantly inhabited by humans. I was raised by humans, so when I met Lachlan, I pleaded with him to let me continue working in the human town. I got a job working for a realtor firm and worked my way up. Everyone at work was human, and as far as I knew, there were no links to the pack, so my secret was safe. Hopefully, later on down the track, I could get another job in the industry I loved.

As I started making the batter for the waffles, my mind wandered to Lachlan. I was scared to face him after what I’d seen, but I knew it needed to happen.

It’s not like I could avoid him forever. I’d made my mind up. I would leave with my pups tomorrow morning.

I’d tell Lachlan that the twins and I were having a mommy-twin day instead of the usual daycare and work, so by the time he realized we were gone, we should have some distance between us.

The twins had woken up and had eaten their breakfasts. They were all dressed and ready for the day. They were wearing matching tie-dyed t-shirts and short sets. It was art day at daycare, so I thought that would be a cute idea. They were also wearing matching tie-dyed caps.

We were walking downstairs when Lachlan and Sam entered the packhouse.

“Good morning Luna,” Sam said. He was the first to address me.

“Good morning, children,” Lachlan said as he walked past me, not bothering to greet me.

“How was your trip?” I asked them both. Hoping to make polite conversation, so as not to arouse suspicion.

“It didn’t go as planned, but we don’t have time to talk about it right now. Where are you off to?” Lachlan asked.

“I’m just dropping the twins off at daycare and then I’m off to work,” I replied with a small smile.

“What time will you be back?” Lachlan asked.

“Uh, probably 6 pm,” I replied.

“Uh, okay, well I’ll see you later,” Lachlan replied as he walked off.

Sam followed. “Have a great day Luna,’’ Sam said.

“Thank you, Sam, you too, don’t work too hard,” I said as I headed out the door with the twins.

I’d taken my usual route. First, I dropped the twins off at daycare, and then I headed to work, where I handed my boss, Luke, my resignation. Luke was visibly disappointed, but I’d made up a story about a sick relative and he told me there would always be a job here for me when I returned. I felt incredibly dishonest about lying to my working family. But I forgot all about that once the pain in my chest started again. I tried to work through it, but it was just too much. Luke allowed me to finish early and go home on sick leave, so I got into the car and I drove home. I needed to lie down.

I parked the SUV in front of the packhouse. As I entered, I saw the usual people mulling around; the kitchen staff, the maids, butlers, and cleaners stopped what they were doing and stared at me. They looked dumbfounded. Then it hit me. They all knew.

I ascended the stairs when my gamma Caleb pulled me aside.

“Luna, what are you doing home so early from work? And where are the twins?”

I looked at Caleb, and the realization hit me. He knew too. He had pledged his loyalty and allegiance to me and he was complicit in this.

“I’m not feeling well and I’ve come home to rest, now, if you don’t mind,” I said, not in the mood for more dishonesty from the one person I should’ve been able to trust.

“Luna, perhaps I should take you to the Pack Doctor? You might be coming down with something?” Caleb suggested.

“I don’t think there’s anything to worry about Caleb, thank you for your concern, but I just want to rest.” I pushed my way past Caleb and continued to walk to my room.

I heard the sounds, the moaning, the bed thrashing against the wall. They were at it again.

I stiffened on the spot, my fists balled at my sides, my jaw clenched and teeth gritted, and I was fighting with my wolf for control. The idea of running away didn’t appeal to me. I was livid. I wanted to storm in and confront them both.

I pushed the door wide open and stalked into the bedroom and stood rigid in my spot where I encountered my mate having s*x with my so-called best friend. Shock and confusion overwhelmed me, even though I knew what I was walking into. They realized they were not alone and turned to me at that moment.

Eva was on all fours, completely naked. She had a shocked look on her face initially, but then it turned into a smirk, and it appeared that she was clearly thrilled with herself. Lachlan, however, had a shocked look on his face, and he pushed Eva to the side and got up off the bed, and walked towards me, not caring that he was stark naked.

My entire body shook with anger. Amber was screaming out in my head, “Say something, do something! Mate has hurt us, mate disrespects us!”

Amber was going wild in my head, and she wanted me to let her out. She wanted to take that smirk right off Eva’s face. But I had to control myself, and control Amber.

There were other ways to handle this.

“How… how could you?” I said to Lachlan.

He paused. Then he took a breath. “This isn’t what it looks like, Aleksa,” Lachlan said. “I can explain everything!”

I turned to walk away, as even though I was mad when I walked into the room, I felt mentally broken, and I wanted to cry. Lachlan reached to grab my arm.

“Don’t touch me!” I yelled at him with venom. “I can’t even look at you right now! And as for you — you were supposed to be my best friend, and what about Sam? How could you?” I said to Eva. She said nothing. She just stood there with a smirk, not even trying to cover her naked body.

“Eva, leave this room now!” Lachlan said.

“No need! I will leave. I can’t stand the sight of you two!” I said, and then I ran towards the stairs. I didn’t know where I was going. All I knew was that I needed to get out of here. I shifted into my wolf and ran through the trees into the woods.

My bones slowly started to break and reconnect, my paws sprouted thick brown fur on them, my claws elongated as they hit the ground of the forest. I ran with wild fury. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I had no idea where I was heading at that stage. The only thought in my mind was to run as far from here as possible. I needed to find clarity. I didn’t need to think about what I had witnessed in my own bedroom. As my mind wandered to that place, I felt anger build up inside me.

After running for what seemed like forever, I reached my spot. It was at the far edge of Evergreen Pack territory, far from the packhouse, and no one ever seemed to come here. This was where I liked to go when I needed to clear my head. It was a small jewel-blue river that was almost crystal clear. You could see the time-worn pebbles glistening under the water. It ran through dividing the forest and pack lands, with dark and thick forest lining the other side of the river. It was so calming. My head slumped down and shifted into my human form. I broke down and let out all my tears, and before I knew it, I drifted off into darkness.

I heard someone yelling at me, and my eyes opened instantly. “Luna, it’s me, Caleb. Please wake up!” Caleb yelled pleadingly. I looked around at my surroundings and realized I must have fallen asleep.

“Luna, I’m so sorry. I knew what was happening, and I didn’t protect you! Please forgive me!” Caleb begged.

I looked at him, and I took a breath. Despite being my gamma and pledging to protect me from harm, he made his allegiance clear when he failed to inform me about what was happening right under my nose. He had seen me suffer these past years. He had taken me to countless doctor’s appointments, only to leave with no relief and no actual answers. I realized his decision was most likely made out of fear, but I still felt so betrayed.

“What’s done is done, Caleb. While I’m not happy with your actions, or rather inactions, but I know why you did what you did.” I sighed and looked at him with sadness on my face. “I need to pick up the twins. What time is it?” I asked, suddenly aware that I had no idea how long I had slept for.

“Lachlan picked them up a few hours ago, Luna,” Caleb said, looking at me with a look of pity on his face.

As I stood up from the edge of the riverbed, I realized I had left my clothes behind earlier when I shifted. It was at that moment that Caleb passed a plastic bag to me. I gave him a small half-smile. Then I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together. I needed to get home to Liam and Layla. And I needed to confront Lachlan.

This was the moment I’d hoped to avoid. I had planned to slip out early in the morning out of the guise of a mommy-twin day out.

However, everything had changed, as Lachlan and my so-called best friend Eva knew I knew.

I would need to act like the forgiving and naïve wife who believes this can be put behind her, and be very cautious. My plan was to convince Lachlan that I still loved him and wanted things to work. I would even appear to forgive Eva for her betrayal.

I would bide my time. I would convince them I was willing to overlook all of this.

And then, I’d leave this pack with my pups and we would start afresh. I would not become a prisoner in my own pack. I refused to become mistress to the wolf that I was fated to. The one who made me Luna.

While we walked through the woods to the packhouse, I mentally prepared myself for the confrontation with Lachlan.