Agony greeted her when she woke up. Rolf was running his hands over her legs, squeezing sharply in several spots until she heard bone snap under his hands.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

Rolf's head snapped up. "Shit, you're awake." She saw him scramble for something and then a prick in her thigh sent soothing numbness across her body.

"To answer your question," he said, his face set with worry. "I'm rebreaking the bones that didn't set properly, so you can actually walk when you get out of here."

"That sounds like shit," she muttered. "Bones?" she said, emphasizing the 's'.

"Rigaldo broke every bone bigger than a fingernail in your body," he snarled through gritted teeth. "And then ordered Rory and Elise not to enter this room. I've been trying to set them all myself, but there's only so much I can do."

"That's a lot of bones," she mumbled, glad she couldn't remember it. And doubly glad that he'd given her something strong so she couldn't feel any of it either.

"Yes," he said dryly. "A lot of bones. And a lot of organs shredded by bone shards too." He lifted her shirt off her stomach to reveal lines and lines of stitch work.

"Ouch," she muttered. "How long was I out?"

" Two weeks. When you told me not to worry," he growled, "I didn't realize you meant because you were going to piss him off enough to finish you off." He took a breath. "I'd like to think I'm a pretty good doctor, but I have no idea how you fucking survived."

"Stubbornness," she replied. "Apparently."

Rolf sighed heavily. "I've never been afraid of him in my life, but when he walked out of here and just told me to 'do my thing'." He shook his head. "With absolutely zero remorse." Rolf moved around so he could take her hand. "Natania, as soon as you can walk we are getting you the fuck out of here."

"How?" Natania said, gesturing to her head. "We have an unbreakable tracking bond in our heads."

"Witches can break it," he said, "or vampires. And it's not like a GPS. He'll know if you're close or far away, and what direction, but he won't be able to pinpoint your exact location unless he's very close. We get you forty, fifty, one hundred miles away, and you just keep running until you find someone you can trust to break it."

"You make it sound easy," she groaned.

"We'll make it easy," Rolf said. "And as long as Alistair is here, I doubt he'll go hunt you himself, which means he will have to rely on much weaker connections to your pack."

"What about the bargain?" Natania said. Bargain magic would compel him to hunt her down, no matter what.

"The bargain was completed the day Leah died," Rolf told her, his eyes filled with grief. "You broke, and they were both set free." Natania flinched and he squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry for what you've been through," he told her. "But you're going to survive."

The day Rolf cleared her to go home, she was still sore, especially in her stomach, but there was nothing else Rolf could do, Rigaldo dragged her back into his bed, waking her up multiple times throughout the night to satisfy himself. She closed her eyes and bore it, she needed him to stay calm and not injure her again before Rolf could figure out a way to get her away. When the bond told her he was getting angry about her lack of participation, she slid her hands up his chest, and dragged his mouth to hers.

Surprised pleasure flittered to life in him. "You're learning," he whispered against her mouth. Natania resisted the urge to shudder and deepened the kiss, pulling his hands up to her chest and skimming her nails across his back.

She could bear it, she would bear it, and then she would escape.

Rigaldo's hands gentled as he slid them over her body and he slowed his pace so it no longer hurt with every thrust. "I love you," he murmured, trailing feather soft kisses down her neck.

Natania didn't quite have enough will to go that far in her charade, so she dragged his mouth back to hers instead, so he wouldn't expect a response.

It didn't take long before Rolf asked her to help him with loading some herbs in his truck. "I ordered chamomile," Rolf said when she approached with Rigaldo on her heels. "And they sent me thyme, you know what thyme is used for? Cooking! Why would a clinic need ten boxes of dried thyme? And it smells like shit," he added. "I'm going to load it up today then head out tomorrow to exchange it. I've already sent the runners with some of the boxes, but there's three left for us."

"Why did you ask for Natania to help you?" Rigaldo asked, narrowing his eyes with suspicion.

Rolf turned up his smile. "I wanted to see how well her injuries were doing with some light work. That way, I'm right there if she starts to struggle."

Rigaldo calmed and clapped Rolf on the back gratefully. "That sounds great." He turned back to Natania and kissed her hand. "Don't overdo it, and let Rolf know if you feel anything off."

Natania bowed her head in agreement.

"Someone's in a good mood," Rolf noted as Rigaldo walked away.

"Don't mention it," she growled.

"Whatever you say," Rolf handed her a box, then passed one to Rory and they started the long hike down. "You need to be here by 4am tomorrow, that's when I'm leaving," he told her silently.

She nodded once. "I'll be there."

That night, Natania dragged Rigaldo to bed herself, much to his enthusiasm. She had already prepared two cups of tea, and offered him one after the first round, for hydration, and to soothe her throat. She tried not to roll her eyes at the look in his eye when she said that. He took the cup without hesitation, it had been sitting so it wasn't scalding and he chugged it down in one go.

She drank hers a bit more slowly while he stared at her, placing her mug down when she heard the telltale sign of his heartbeat slowing. Natania crawled on top of him, trailing kisses up his chest. It didn't take long before his movements became sluggish, and he finally drifted off, thanks to the effects of the valerian root she had crushed into his tea.

She had added a few other sleep aids just to be safe, so hopefully, he'd sleep for a while. She grabbed the pack she'd prepared the night before, just a few necessities, some clothing, toothpaste, her id and other documents, things she'd need, and the paintings she still had from Leah, including the one Naomi had left for her. Then she ate a plate of food, and started running, taking the same path she had the day before with the box of thyme so her scent would blend in.

Her stomach started to ache about halfway down and she was forced to slow her pace, glad she had given herself plenty of time to make it. By the time she made it to the truck, her mouth tasted of blood, but fuck if she was going to turn around when she was so close. Natania leaped into the truck, where Rolf had already dumped the excessive pile of thyme 'by accident' and she burrowed into it, moving the boxes to hide her from view and coating her pelt in the heavy scent.

When Rolf arrived alone an hour later, he did a cursory check to confirm she had made it, then hopped in and started the engine.

The bond told her Rigaldo was still deeply asleep. By the time he woke up, there'd be enough distance between them that he couldn't tell where she was, or at least, that was what they hoped. Natania took the chance to get some sleep herself, dozing off to the gentle hum of the truck.

The sound of the hatch opening woke her, Natania crawled out of the pile of herbs, blinking in the bright light of the sun. "How far away are we?" she asked with a yawn.

"Far enough, I hope," Rolf answered, reaching over to brush herb dust off her pelt. "Are you ready?"

Natania nodded, leaping to the ground, and holding back a whine as her stomach protested. She didn't know what was wrong, but Rolf needed to leave if he was going to make it back on time, he couldn't be held up checking her over.

Rolf scratched his head. "I'm going to miss you."

Natania shifted forms so she could crush him in a hug. "Thank you," she said, burrowing her face in his shoulder. "For everything."

Rolf hugged her back for a long moment, then pulled back and brushed the hair from her face. "You keep running," he said. "Find someone to break your bond before you try to settle anywhere."

She nodded and he showed her an envelope of cash before stuffing it in her backpack. "I only took what I thought he wouldn't miss, so it won't last long, but hopefully get you started. Try to stay in cities, there are prides and packs all around here, a city is your best chance of blending in." He hugged her one more time. "You be safe Natania, and you survive."

"Thank you," she told him again. Rolf kissed her forehead.

"Go," he said, "and don't look back."

"Tell Rory I'm proud of him," Natania said, hefting her bag further up her shoulders then shifting.

"I will. Now go." He turned his back on her and climbed into this truck without looking back.

For all his talk of hiding in cities, he had dropped her off on a random mountain road, hidden from view. She couldn't even see a city to run to, but the bonds to her pack, achingly far away, told her what direction not to go. Natania waited until Rolf's truck was out of sight, and started running.