Claws

Getaway

TW for guns and extreme violence in this chapter.

Last chapter!! Book three, To Be Good, will be published in a few minutes.

APOLLO

The trip back home was uneventful. I spent it planning my getaway.
As the highway flew past us in the SUV, I contemplated how Blizzard and I could get out and stay out of Blue Moon. Then, I thought about Aspen, and how to get her back. Eventually, I thought back to my old pack and whether or not we could bust them out of the Sanctuary.
This time, there was no attempted burglary, no restraints, and Luka even gave me a Twinkie for being a, quote unquote, "Good boy".
I guess being seven-hundred-thousand dollars richer will put a human in a good mood.
When we finally rolled back up to the mansion, both myself and the human were dog-tired from the trip. It was around seven in the evening and the sun had just set below the horizon.
Regardless of my exhaustion, I had to talk to Blizzard. I knew what I was going to tell her would break her heart, but I couldn't keep being studded out a secret from her. Guilt was eating my alive from the inside out.
     So after Luka unloaded me from the SUV, I told him, "Hey, I'm going to stretch my legs. I'll meet you back at the house."
     Too tired to argue, my Master let me do as I pleased. Once he was out of sight, I made my way to the back left corner of the ranch, to a lonely old oak tree. Once I was sure Luka was home, I let a deep, all-encompassing breath enter my lungs. Soon after, another followed, and another, and another, until I was howling at the moon for my mate.
     Blizzard responded not long after. Her howl was full of love and happiness to hear from me. I couldn't help but think that she wouldn't feel that way for long.
     A few minutes, my mate flew in my direction, tracking me down with a practiced expertise. My stomach flipped at the sight of her. Heart doing jump jacks, it took everything in me to fight back nausea and panic.
     Once Blizzard touched down, she noticed that I hadn't gotten up from my seat at the base of the tree to greet her. Cocking her head, she mrrrred "Are you okay?"
     A little whimper was my response. It was wholly pathetic and partially submissive. My mate crawled into my lap, stroking the side of my face with a worried expression.
     Before she could get a word in edgewise, I blurted out, "I cheated on you!"
     Blizzard was shocked at first. Then, the bird narrowed her eyes with a calculating face. "You're not funny." She tested. When I didn't respond, she repeated, "Apollo, you are not funny."
     "I'm so fucking sorry, Blizzard." I whispered to my mate.
     "Why would you do that?" Her voice started to break, and she slid backwards off of my lap. "We're mates! That's supposed to be forever!"
      "I couldn't stop myself." I murmured, "Blizzard, I'm sorry."
      "You couldn't stop yourself." She laughed, enraged. "That's the most pathetic excuse I've ever heard."
     When Blizzard rose to her feet to leave, I added, "Luka drugged me and studded me out."
     She stopped in her tracks. I kept going. "He completely restrained me in the middle of the night, drove me eight hours away from home, and made me do it." My voice grew quiet. "I didn't want to."
     My mate was by my side in an instant. She embraced me in a tight hug, enveloping the both us with her snow-white wings. She purred a soothing, "It's okay. I'm sorry."
"Thank god." I murmured into the bird's shoulder. "I thought you would hate me."
"I did before you explained what happened." Blizzard confessed, "But now that I know, how can I be upset with you?"
I melted into my mate's arms. Stress from the past two days leaked out of me through my eyes. Little sniffles left me, and Blizzard rocked me lovingly.
"They tied me down and put this device on my dick that literally sucked the semen out of me." I groaned to Blizzard. She only patted my back, continuing to rub in little circles.
"I was drugged and forced to breed a bird I barely knew, twice." I let the confessions roll out of me. "The first time I didn't remember a thing, but the second time I was completely aware. I feel like a piece of shit on the bottom of a shoe."
A few minutes of silence passed before I told Blizzard, "Let's run away."
The other lionheart looked me dead in the eyes. I watched her search them for something.
"What about Aspen?" She questioned.
"We'll find her." I promised. "We have to."
Blizzard seemed lost in thought.
I continued to convince her. "No beatings, no torture, no rape. We'd be able to build a family and keep our family."
"I love serving my Mistress." Blizzard hummed, "But I love you more."
"Let's do it." I pushed her.
After a moment's silence, Blizzard agreed, "Okay. I'm in."