River washed her face as she looked at her gaunt reflection in the mirror. She felt like all her blood had drained from her body. Her red hair framed her face in curls as her blue eyes stared back at her. What had she gotten herself into? Had Hector not been her mate, she would have been leading her life quietly.
Her gaze went to her ***bridal gown that was hanging over her shoulders. She looked like a wraith in it. She wanted to change her gown but Hazel had said that it was customary for the offering to wear it especially when offered. If she changed it now, she was sure that Brianna would make a lot of hue and cry over it.
River went back to her room and sat on the only bed with a huff. She looked at the clock and realized that only fifteen minutes had gone by. Lena said that she would come in an hour. She plopped back with an exasperated sigh and closed her eyes. A heavy knock on the door made her sit upright. Her eyes darted to the clock and she realized that she had slept. all this time. She got up to open the door but Brianna nudged her to stop and went ahead to open the door.
“Lena!” Brianna almost squealed in anger. “What the ***are you doing here?”
Lena narrowed her eyes at Brianna. “I have come to meet my friend.”
Brianna folded her arms across her chest and in a cold voice said, “Well, you can’t.”
Lena pushed her aside saying, “This is not your home and you can’t order me around here!”
Shocked, Brianna balanced herself on her feet. Lena had never dared to even touch Brianna and now she pushed her? She lunged at Lena to push her down, but Lena was quicker. She jumped out of Brianna’s way and she fell flat on her stomach. The next moment Lena straddled her on her back, twisted her hand back and grabbed her hair. Yanking her head back, she said, “Just because I never touched you, didn’t mean that I couldn’t. I am older than you and have my wolf. You don’t. It means that I am stronger than you. The reason I never tackled you before was that I valued my friendship with River. I knew that if I touched you, your parents would hit River all the more.”
Brianna winced in pain. She hissed, “Wait till I tell this to Alpha Maxim, ***!”
Lena pulled her hair more sharply. “Go and tell him. I came right in front of him and he acknowledged my presence when I bowed to him. What will you tell him? Huh?” With a violent shove, she left Brianna’s head. Her forehead hit the floor and stars burst in her vision. Lena got up from her back as she kept lying on the floor and cried in pain. “Now that River is out of the equation, I don’t fear you!” She had spoken a lie to Brianna. She used her previous knowledge to enter Alpha’s house. She couldn’t make her presence known to anyone.
Brianna scrambled away from Lena, with her face full of fear. There was a big bump on her forehead.
When she touched it, she cried in pain.
“Stay the heck down, else I will chop you into a thousand pieces and send them flying across the woods,” Lena snarled at Brianna which ****her up for a long time. Scared that Lena would hurt her again, Brianna got up and walked back to the balcony. She took her phone out and dialed her mother’s number.
Lena looked at River who was watching her with awe. Lena winked at her and chuckled. “I am so happy that I gotta put that piece of ***in her place. More is to come! Muhahaha!” She let out an evil laugh. Then she picked up her black satchel and gave it to her. “It contains a pair of clothes and my cash. Take it and run.”
“Oh my God! Lena!” River got up with stifling a shriek of happiness and hugged her friend.
Lena laughed softly as the two friends hugged each other tightly. “You look ***in this gown,” Lena joked. “Just go and change!”
“What about you?” she asked, her gaze darting nervously at Brianna who was talking to someone on the phone.
Lena winked again. “I am a ghost, darling. I know how to slip out of here without being detected. I have done this a thousand times. In fact, I have put a map for you. Follow it and you will reach the nearest bus station in an hour. And don’t forget to apply that lotion on your body. It will hide your scent.”
“Thank you, Lena!” River said, her eyes full of gratitude.
Lena hugged her again. “Let’s meet in the human town!”
River giggled. “Yes, let us!”
With one last look at Brianna, Lena left, picking up River’s satchel. She knew that she had scared her enough not to enter the room for at least half an hour. That would be enough for River to escape.
River went to the bathroom. She opened Lena’s satchel and hurriedly took out the ***slacks and black shirt. She removed her bridal gown, applied the oil on her body to hide her smell and changed into the fresh clothes. She wore the jacket over her shirt and pulled the hoodie over. There was a small folded paper at the base with a wallet. When River opened the wallet, she was surprised to find a thousand dollars in it. Her chest squeezed with a warm feeling. Lena had given her a large amount to travel comfortably. “Thank you, Lena,” she murmured in appreciation. “I hope the Moon Goddess give you the best mate ever!”
Suddenly, gray ***gathered on the outside, startling her. Thunder struck deep into the forest and a heavy deluge followed.
She unfolded the paper. It was the map of Alpha’s Maxim’s house along with the town. There were red arrows in it that showed her the direction to follow.
River took a deep breath. After memorizing the map, she stashed it all in the bag. She was finally going to escape. She walked to the bathroom window and opened it to jump down
