I saw the needle on the table and knew I only had one chance to make my move. Before the last tech had left for the night, he’d placed a pair of scissors on the table close to me and gave me a look. I couldn’t figure out why he did that until Madden came in. Then I knew. He was giving me a chance.
While his back was turned, I grabbed the scissors and cut the straps binding me. Before I could form any sort of plan, Madden turned around and I swung out, slicing the scissors across his throat. In one move, my captor was on the floor, bleeding to death.
I waited, scissors in hand, and watched until the light left his eyes. I wanted to make sure that he never did this to anyone ever again and that no other shifters would suffer through what I had to. I took what I could in the short amount of time I had. I found the other shifters and set them free. They all took off as fast as they could without a second glance. I went outside and found some gasoline in a storage building nearby.
Watching the fire take hold, I made sure that there wasn’t going to be anything left but ash. Once that was clear, I got out of there and started running. I ran into some shifters a few days later and they helped me out. All I could think about was finding Winnie at that point. I didn’t think about what I had done, but even now I don’t regret it.
When I get to a clearing in the woods, I stop and try to catch my breath. How could my mate want me if I killed her father? Would she even be able to look at me if she knew the truth of what I’d done?
There’s a burning in my chest, and I know it’s because I’m separated from her. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I’ll do if she pushes me away. The last few days have been the sweetest I’ve ever known. I never thought I’d have something like that again. She pushed back all the darkness that’s always been present in me. When I was with her, it was gone. I saw nothing but her. My perfect little mate.
I want to go back to our cabin and tell her what I did, but what happens if she pushes me away? My bear whines at the thought, knowing it would rip us apart. Being rejected by a mate doesn’t happen with shifters, but she’s human. This could send me into shock.
I drop to my knees in the snow, putting my head in my hands. I have no idea what I’m going to do. I feel lost.
“Koda?”
The voice of the Alpha has me looking up. Stone is close by, but I didn’t even hear him approach. I’m so lost in my own thoughts and pain that I’ve pushed out everything else.
“Are you all right, brother?”
He comes over and kneels down beside me, looking over my body, I assume, for injury.
“My mate,” I say, and I feel the pain slice through my heart.
“Is she hurt?” he asks, like he already knows about her. Maybe her brothers had come to him after I’d left the note.
“No. It’s nothing like that.”
Stone puts his hand on my shoulder, and I feel the weight of the Alpha speaking to me. It’s not in my nature to bow down to anyone, but belonging to this pack means doing what my pack leader tells me to, and for that, my bear will listen.
“Koda. Tell me what’s wrong.”
I let out a deep sigh and explain what happened with Snow and me. How I found her and how she is my mate, and then I tell him about her confession, who her father was, and what that meant to me.
“I don’t want to do anything that will cause my mate pain. But I fear that if I tell her the truth, she may push me away.” The weight of my words is nearly crushing me, and the pain in my body is worsening. I can’t be away from her for this long without consequences.
“I’ll go with you, brother. We’ll talk to her together.”
I nod. There’s no disagreeing with the Alpha. And maybe he will make her understand what pushing me away means. He’s better with people than I am. I often feel at a loss for words. After being held captive for so long, some of my social skills aren’t what they used to be.
I get up from the ground, and he follows me back to my cabin. When I get within sight, I’m shocked that the door is wide open. Shocked that I would have done that. I was so upset when I went outside that I forgot to lock the door. I left her unprotected. Panic hits me hard and fast like nothing I’ve ever felt before, going all the way down to my bones.