Loved So Fondly

Chapter 4: obligation

Gorges du Verdon, France, April 22st 2021

Antoinette shoved the keys into the ignition of one of the many cars in the garage. She was oddly calm but she used it to her advantage. She could hear the guards shouting, bones cracking, and growls but she ignored them. She had bigger things to worry about. Like finding out where the hell she was and why the hell she was in a castle. She pressed the garage opener and accelerated out, drawing the guards attention to her.

"Notify the Alpha King." One of the guards shouted. Well that answers a lot. What the fuck did an Alpha king want with her?

"Where's the gamma?" Another demanded, that was her que to leave. She ignored the shouts of protest as she drove away from the castle. Wolves were chasing the car but at a distance, unbeknownst to her, the couldn't do anything that may cause her harm. She didn't slow down. Not when she felt her stomach drop. Not when every cell in her body begged her to return. Not when sweat started dripping down her forehead as she slowly overheated.

Toni didn't care. She wasn't going back. She hated alphas and everything that came with them. Eventually she had to pull over when the dizziness set in. Toni was aware that leaving your mate made you sick, so sick that the only thing that would heal you was going back to them. But she was human, she had ways around it. Like wolfsbane. It wouldn't affect her because she was human but it would sever the mate bond, at least for a little while. She'd have to drink the tea everyday but it didn't matter to her. As long as she was away from this Alpha King and Alaric.

She opened the trunk of the car she stole and grabbed her purse. They left it in the room she woke up in and apparently trusted her enough to not go through it. Stupid, if you asked her. She grabbed the tin box in her bag, opening up. This stuff tasted like shit without tea but her taking it now would mean Alaric wouldn't be able to track her down.

She took a beautiful purple flower petal out of the box and held it in her hands.

"Stop!" She heard a shout from behind her.

Toni froze but only for a moment, before she crawled into the back of the car, slamming the trunk door behind her. She crawled over the backseat and hopped into the front seat, starting the engine. Just as she slammed on the gas, the passenger door opened and Mathew climbed in, slamming it shut, "You sure you passed your driving test Luna?" He joked as she sped down the road.

"I have three guns on me right now Mathew, don't make me shoot you."

He chuckled lightly, "You going to pull over."

She snorted, "We're going for a ride Mathew, you can get out at the next gas station. I have places I need to be."

She went to eat the wolfsbane but he caught her hand, "Don't do that. You're going to hurt yourself." He muttered.

"I know what I'm doing Mathew, let go of my hand."

"I don't mean physically Luna. You do this, you take away the bond, when Alaric finds you, which his will, he'll never let you out of his sight. Their will be no getting comfortable phase. You rid that bond, he'll never forgive you."

She glances at him, "I think I can live with that."

Mathew still didn't let go of her arm, "Why are you so against being Alaric's mate?" He asked. The question had been one he was wondering for awhile.

Antoinette slams on the breaks, pulling to the side of the road. Her head was pounding but she ignored it, "Look Mathew, the last thing I'm looking for right now is a man to shed on my couch."

Mathew sighs, "He's coming Toni..." He trails off, smiling at her gently, "I'd suggest that when he finds you, you let him hold you. The last thing you want is his wolf to come out in a situation like this."