The Hunters

Chapter Thirteen: Fight for Freedom

There was a knock on the door and my body seized up. Ever since that incident a few days ago, I felt terror whenever there was a knock.

"It's me, Kira," I heard her voice from behind the door. I got up from the desk and let her in. She stepped inside holding a folded peice of paper in her hand. "I'm here to get your laundry," she told me then handed me the peice of paper she was holding onto.

"Don't let anyone see it. It's a note from River," she said more quietly as if someone would hear us. We knew that wasn't possible. The only people on the third floor were Alpha Remus and I. Kira and I were here alone.

I walked over and sat on the bed, hurriedly opening the folded paper. Kira sat beside me, curious. The note from River read,

"I hope you are okay Alana. Do not let this tyrant fool you. Remember what he did to our home and families. We are prisoners, not members of the pack. We can't stay here. I'm working on getting us out. When the time comes, Kira will come get you and bring you to me in secret. I will get us out of here very soon, I promise."

Tears welled up in my eyes. I whiped them away with my hand. I missed being able to see River. I folded the note and handed it back to Kira.

"I can't let Alpha Remus find this. If I keep it, he certainly will," I told her.

She took it back from me and nodded, "Okay."

"Do you want to escape with us?" I asked.

"No. I don't want to be a rogue. I'm afraid of what's out there and I'm only an omega. My wolf is not strong," she said and chuckled. "River asked me the same thing."

"My wolf is not strong either and we will have River to help us. She is strong, she was the future Beta of our pack," I explained, hoping that it would change her mind.

"I'm not treated like you are here. I may have to clean and do lots of laundry, but as long as I don't push the boundaries, I'm not abused at all. I've heard stories and seen rogues who've wandered into our territory. They've lived a rough life. For you maybe it's worth it, but not for me," she said. I decided not to push her any further. I would miss her when I finally escaped, if I could escape Alpha Remus's grasp. She had become a friend to me over the past month and a half that I have been trapped in Alpha Remus's room.

"I understand," I told her simply. After that, she collected the laundry and left the room.

A few more days had passed and still no word from River. I had been more distant to Alpha Remus since then and he was starting to notice. He began to joke around saying that maybe I was being moody because I was pregnant with his heir. I waved it off the first tike, but then I began to wonder if I was. I didn't feel like I was, but the fear quickly became instilled in me.

Would I still be willing to leave if I was pregnant? I was afraid, but I kept reminding myself of River's note.

Another couple of days passed and I was starting to lose hope. Maybe I was being impatient. Kira came bouncing into the room one day.

"Today is the day for you," she said. "Alpha Remus is out in the training yard with the warriors and his beta. They are testing the new warriors and doing a special training regiment today," she explained.

"What does that have to do with me?" I asked her.

"River is waiting for you," she smiled. "Grab your stuff and let's hurry." I heard the words I thought would never come. I quickly grabbed and threw in some of the new clothes I had gotten from my stay here. I slung the back pack over my shoulder and followed Kira down to the first floor of the pack house.

I saw River waiting for me in the kitchen. I ran up to her and embraced her immediately. I felt tears once again threatening to fall, but River pushed me away. I looked at her with a confused expression.

"There's no time, we have got to go quick," she said lowly.

"It's all clear," I heard Cade's voice from behind the counter. I whirled around to see him. I wanted to hug him, but River grabbed my hand and began to tug me in the direction of the door.

"See ya, Alina," he said with a smile.

We were leaving both Kira and Cade behind, but I knew it was what they both wanted. With one last sad look at them both, I hurried out the door with River. We were finally making our escape. The last time we attempted this, we were stopped by one of the warriors and Alpha Remus. It was when he discovered that my eyes were purple.

I was doubting we were finally going to make it. Everyone was outside, even if we planned on running in the opposite direction. It was broad daylight and I knew some of the pack members would see us leaving. The question was, would they realize we were fleeing? How fast would they mindlink Alpha Remus? And could they get to us before we were had too much of a head start for them to catch up?

We sprinted out into the open. There were not many pack members that were roaming around outside. I didn't pay them any attention. I hoped they didn't notice us, or realize what was happening too quickly. We ran as fast as we possibly could. The wind whistled in my ears and whipped against my face. We ran through the open rolling hills and began nearing the evergreen forest that surrounded the area.

Our feet pounded against the ground, but my racing heart beat pounded even louder as it drummed wildly in my chest. We were almost free. We were so close. If they had realized what was happening, we didn't know. All we knew is that the tree line grew closer and closer.

We still had too much wolfsbane in our system to shift into our wolves. Once they knew we were gone, they would shift and hunt us down. Their wolves would be faster and have more endurance than us in our human forms. This seemed hopeless, and yet somehow we reached the treeline. By then, I felt a stitch in my side and I began to stumble over my own feet.

"We can't stop, Alina. Push through it!" She snapped at me. "We have come too far, they will kill us if they catch us." Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I pushed myself to keep going.

We ran until we collapsed, and even then, we hid in the forest behind a bunch of bushes as if that was going to save us. We looked at each other desperately trying to catch our breath. We were gasping too much to even speak.

How long could we keep going like this until they catch us and kill us? Surely, they knew by now that we had escaped.

We sat there until we had caught our breath and rested our legs for a few moments. Then, we started running again. I didn't know where we were going and I didn't care. All I knew is that we needed to get as far away from the New Moon Pack as possible.