"Get packed and ready to leave
in thirty minutes," Lora had hissed as she left my room a few minutes ago,
or was it an hour ago?
The concept of time meant nothing to
me now. All I was conscious of was the never-ending pain that went on and on
and on.
A door slammed shut somewhere in the
house and I figured it was time to go. I picked myself off the floor, pushed to my feet, and shuffled over to my
suitcase. I emptied its contents and mechanically began to fold and pack my
clothes. My door creaked open, but I didn't look to see who was there. I simply
concentrated on the motions of packing, while I wished I had something to numb
the pain.
"You're finally leaving."
Erina's voice came from the direction
of the doorstep. My jaw clenched as I bit back an angry retort. Of course, she
would never miss an opportunity to gloat or torment me. This was the last
chance she was going to get before I was whisked out of her reach forever.
"I can't say I'm sorry to see
you go," she continued. "You're weak, a freak, a burden, so I'm sure
that I'm not the only one who will breathe more easily around here with you
gone."
My teeth ground against each other as
I yanked at a blouse so hard that it split along the seams. I flung it away.
"Ignore her. Ignore her," I
chanted under my breath.
"What was that?" Erina
cocked her head to the side. She was so close now that her skin nearly brushed
mine. She let out a derisive peal of laughter. "You're talking to yourself
now? Only crazy people do that, you know. Don't tell me you've added insanity
to your... condition. Oh well, even if you're actually crazy, I suppose it
won't matter now. Someone else will be responsible for you from now on."
"Get out of my room!" I
ground out.
Erina's painted lips curved into a
cruel smile.
"Finally," she crowed.
"For a moment there I was concerned that you had gone deaf as well as
dumb." She snapped her fingers impatiently at me when I just stood there,
glaring at her hatefully. "Go on. Pack! The soonest you're done, the
soonest you'll be out of here."
I didn't want to, but I heard the car
start up and stop somewhere close to the front of the house. If my father came
in and saw me dawdling... I packed my stuff faster.
Erina heaved a sigh. "That's
better. I'm sure Jason will come visit more often when he finds out you're gone
for good. It's hard for him to be around here when you're always moping about,
looking like something the cat dragged in..."
The rest of the words were drowned by
a roaring in my ears. At the mention of Jason's name, I saw red. Rage tasted
like metal on my tongue.
My voice shook with anger when I
said, "Keep Jason out of your mouth."
"Or what?" She smirked and tipped
me a conspirational wink. "Honestly, it's hard to literally out of my
mouth, especially when he's kissing me like I'm-"
With a choked roar of range, I lunged
at her. Laughing, she took a step back and wagged a finger at me.
"Easy there, princess," she
said.
"That better be the sound of
packing I hear in there, Kiara," Lora called from somewhere in the house.
"Or would you like to leave home without any clothes?"
I took several deep breaths, forcing
the anger back down. Going to Alpha Ryder's pack with only the clothes I had on
my back would be terrible.
"Where you about to hit
me?" Erina questioned. "Because of Jason? Get over him, already. He
never wanted you. Never will."
"That's a damned lie!"
She raised one finely arched brow.
"Is it now? I hate to break it to you, but Jason fancied me even when you
two were dating. It's not my fault that you were too blind to see the
signs."
"You're a backstabbing
little-"
"Language, Kiara.
Language."
"You betrayed me, took what's
mine. But I promise you, Erina, karma will catch up with you."
"Karma is a concept fools like
you believe in to make you feel better, dear stepsister. Life's not fair or
didn't you get the memo?"
"Why aren't you done yet?"
my father asked, glowering at me from the doorway.
Erina twiddled her fingers at me and sashayed
out of the room. Under his watchful eyes, I threw the rest of my things into
two suitcases and carried them out.
"We want to talk to you,"
he grumbled and jerked his head towards the living room.
"Finally." Lora sighed
theatrically when she saw that I was ready to go.
My father took his place at her side.
"We only think it's fair to let
you know what you're up against," he said. "Once you get to Alpha
Ryder's pack, you have to be on your best behavior. He's a hard man. You have
to do what you're told without hesitation, understand?"
I nodded numbly. He started to turn
away, but Lora, with her eyes fixed on me, pulled him back.
"I don't think she understands
yet," she said. "Alpha Ryder is a ruthless man. He expects respect
and immediate obedience at all times. There are rumors, terrible rumors..."
She paused dramatically. "of what he does to people who make him angry.
I'm tempted to believe that all those rumors are true."
I couldn't suppress a shudder. I too
had heard dark rumors concerning Alpha Ryder.
"I think she's got it now,"
Lora said happily. "Let's go."
In no time at all, I was in the
backseat of the car. The next moment, I was having a last glimpse of the house
I had grown up in. The image was tainted with the sight of Erina waving
cheerfully at me from an upstairs window. I curled in on myself as I watched
the road unfold before us. When we got to the borders of my pack, my father
accelerated, making the car go even faster. We were on the road for hours, and
then I began to perceive strange, unfamiliar scents that told me we were
nearing another pack. Finally, he came to a stop at a spot with a thick expanse
of forest on either side of the road.
"We're here," he said to
Lora.
As though his words had called them
forth, three heavily built men detached themselves from the muted browns and
greens of the forest. Lora and my father were already out of the car before
they got to us.
"She's in there," said my
father with a nod in my direction.
As one, the men turned their flat,
back eyes to me. It was then I lost my nerve. I stumbled out of the car, fell
painfully on one knee, got to my feet, and made a beeline for the forest. My
one thought? To get away.
"Get her," I heard Lora
shriek.
I didn't even hear them come up
behind me. The next thing I knew, my hands were pinned behind my back. I looked
into the merciless eyes of one of my captors. As I opened my mouth to scream,
something hit me in the back of the head, knocking me out.