MILLIE

I stare at the fragmented stone on the floor, my body cold. My senses are still tuned in to his. Our bond remains strong. The shattered stone didn't work.

Chairs scrape and heels clack on the floor as all hell breaks loose. Leander tumbles on the ground with another Alpha.

Do something, Millie. Do something!

My fingers twitch and my legs begin moving. I approach the giant wolves in the midst of a war. A female intercepts me—a Luna. She glares at me as if I'm the enemy, hellbent on protecting her mate.

I jolt to the left and then to the right. The Luna follows me, but her heels don't allow her the same swiftness. With her out of my way, I run towards the wolves.

"Stay back, Millie!" Alpha Driftwood yells as he stands protectively in front of his mate by the wall.

"Leander! Leander, stop!"

I thought that by the end of the night, I would be running into my newfound freedom. I never thought I would be running for Leander's arms. His news has shattered my reality. I thought I knew him, but it turns out that I've just begun to unmask the man.

He growls at me, a warning to stay away. To disengage. But he should know by now that I don't listen.

The other Alphas circle him, slowly inching closer as the Alpha of the Driftwood pack limps on a leg. Leander may have become Alpha through the trials instead of birthright like the other males, but he's clearly not lacking in agility.

He keeps his eyes on me, unalarmed by the approaching Alphas. As if they're fleas he could flick away.

Arrogant, powerful male.

He charges at me, shifting back to his human form. He runs like a bat from hell and throws me over a shoulder, throwing a golden goblet at an approaching Alpha. He runs out of the hall and down the steps, my lungs emptying as his broad shoulder digs into my belly.

I don't fight his hold. I go willingly.

We still have a lot to untangle.

He runs past all the parked vehicles and into the woods. He doesn't stop until twenty minutes later, when I'm about to puke.

He sets me down by a pond and I stumble.

"What the hell is going to happen?" I blurt.

He looks around, searching for assailants. "I can't return to the Mockingbird pack. They will prosecute me."

"Why did you do this?" I ask, my voice trembling. I can sense a terrible storm coming. One like I've never seen before.

"Because I couldn't risk you breaking the stone and it working."

"That's not what I meant!" I reply, dragging my hands through my hair. "Why cheat on the trials? How old are you?"

He sighs. "The age cut-off for the trials was seventeen. I was eighteen when I entered. I passed the age by three months. I was going to win the fucking trials regardless of how old I was."

"Why?" I whisper. "Why are you so confident?"

He growls. "Because I am an Alpha's son. That's why I could stand my fucking ground against those insufferable Alphas. It's my birthright as much as it is theirs."

He's an Alpha's son? Impossible!

"Now come. I need to get us out of here."

"Wait, wait." I raise my hands. "I still have more questions. I—"

He closes the distance between us, grabbing my shoulders. "I'm now a wanted man. I gave up my security because I was that desperate to keep you from severing the mate link. What more evidence do you want, Millie? I didn't reject you all those years ago. You were an underage girl flashing skin, and I didn't want to risk dishonoring you. I told you the truth back then. I wasn't attracted to you, because you were a child! I did not reject you. I just wanted you far away until you were of age, but of course, I couldn't tell you my secrets."

My mind reels and my stomach turns. I bend at the waist and dry heave.

"Trust me."

For the first time, he's giving me a choice. He's not dragging me; taking me. He's letting me decide which forked path to walk down even if he'd be splitting his heart in half in the process.

I'm lost. I know the Leander with cold, grey eyes clouded with secrets. I know the Leander that challenges me and frustrates me with his commands and standoffish demeanor.

But I don't know this Leander. The one that has his heart on his sleeve, answering all of my questions. The one telling me that he wants me now that I'm a woman and not a girl. Who swears he'll keep chasing me although he tore the world apart for me for five years.

I came here so determined to get rid of him, but now I'm not so sure. Now I'm recognizing my own stubbornness and ignorance. Now I'm daring to have a sparkle of hope.

But I don't want to have my heart broken a second time.

"I—I..."

"My men are nearby. I can smell them. We must go now."

"Go where?" I whisper. "They'll rip you out of the Alpha position. You can't return to the Mockingbird pack."

"I prepared for this day." He extends his hand. "I will take care of you."

I stare at his hand. My heart beats so hard that my body rocks. Slowly, I lift my hand. Our fingertips kiss. A ghostly touch that I barely register. But Leander doesn't hesitate to grip my hand, swallowing it in his larger one with his warmth and strength.

He yanks me forward, reminding me of the Leander that I know. The determined, greedy, steadfast man. The Alpha that was born, not made. Whose title was inherited by blood, not the trials.

With our chests touching, he can feel my heart racing. But his heart beats steadily. He's not afraid, not nervous. Confident although his kingdom is falling apart around him and his Luna is slipping through his fingers like sand.

I grip his hand tightly, trying to hold the fuck on to something solid. Trying to not let a breakdown tear my mind apart.

I stare into his eyes that have never been brighter. The full moon is above us, blocking the sun and casting a chill into the night. But in Leander's arms, I only feel fire.

"Follow me," he murmurs.

"To whose territory?" I ask. He won't find shelter in any of the packs. All Alphas are out for his head.

"We're going to run until I can rebuild. Until I fulfill my revenge. And then I will give you the world."

I shake my head in disbelief. Give me the world? I don't want that. I want answers and peace. To shield away from the elite. I've had enough of the stares and sneers of Alphas and Lunas.

And what is this about revenge? Who is he seeking revenge on? I thought I was the only person that wronged him by running away years ago.

Leander takes my silence as submission. He grabs my hand and runs through the night, and I don't stop him.

My head throbs as I struggle with all of his revelations. He's an Alpha's son? He's older than me by two and a half years and cheated on the trials?

The questions stack, but Leander seems unbothered as he beelines for his men. It's as if he foresaw this day coming and prepared for it. Today, I have finally come to appreciate his unfazed demeanor.

After minutes of running, my hair is wild and my dress is clawed by branches. A sleek black car awaits on a dirt road, and Leander wastes no time in helping me inside and barking at the driver to go.

I look out the windows, but no one follows us.

"You know where to go," Leander tells his driver as he takes his cellphone, crushes it in his hand, and tosses it out the window.

He glances at my confused expression and says, "They'll track it."

"Who?"

"The council. They're not to be trusted."

But the council... is all that we have keeping us from anarchy. The only governing body that upholds the constitution. They penalized Leander for crossing into protected land to kidnap me and assured that they were seeking a way to legally remove me from his jurisdiction. To save me from Leander.

Now I'm supposed to believe they're the bad guys? For the sake of us all, I pray Leander's conspiracy is incorrect.

"So, we're going into hiding," I whisper as I finally connect the dots.

"For two weeks, yes, and then heading west to an... acquaintance's territory. I'm owed a favor. He knew that I would come to cash it eventually."

"A friend's territory? But only Alphas own territory."

He nods. "Correct."

But all the Alphas were gathered for the solstice. And none of them seemed pleased to see him. I want to know which one is indebted to him, but I have more important concerns.

"Are my parents going to be alright?"

"Yes. I've prepared security for them. They'll be watched from afar."

I become silent, simmering in relief as I watch him toss on shorts as best as he can in his seated position. He retrieves a radio and a sheet of paper from a backpack. He seems so concentrated that I hesitate to ask more questions.

A car follows us further down the road, and I assume it's Leander's men.

He accesses the radio. "Go to your Beta. Tell him that shit has hit the fan and I have officially been decommissioned. He'll know what to do."

So, our Beta is in on this, too? I hardly know Leander's right-hand man. He lives in the far south of the territory, training young men for combat.

It eases me to know that the Mockingbird pack won't be left without leadership. If Leander prepped our Beta, then the pack will be in good hands.

There are so many layers to this mess. I thought my mate bond was the only thing we had to worry about, but Leander was clearly juggling many more problems.

I feel a pang of guilt, but I quickly remind myself that I've been left in the darkness for years. Haunted by secrets. None of this is my fault, and Leander still has a lot to answer before he's safe from my glares.

I could have fought him, but I'm giving him a chance because my gut is telling me to do so.

If that damn stone had worked and severed our bond, I don't know where we would be right now. Would he have left me behind? Would I have ever heard his secrets?

We drive down the rocky road for hours, heading into the darkness. Leander mutters an order to fasten my seatbelt, although his is undone.

Yesterday, I would have sassed him for commanding me. I would have given him hell. But today is a different day. I realize the gravity of the situation, and Leander is too busy tapping on his laptop to care for my insolence.

So, I strap the seatbelt on and prepare for the wild ride ahead.