Feral Obsession

Chapter Twenty-Three

The weather was perfect for it. Madison said her scenting abilities were always wonky when it was windy. Made it hard to pinpoint where any scent was coming from, when it was scattered all over the place.

It was one of the windiest afternoons they had had in a while. Ruby was up to seven mile runs, and she was getting quick at it, too. The afternoon lull had hit, and Kierson was holed up in his office with Thomas. Madison was starting to make dinner, and most of the wolves in the house were either napping or watching TV.

It was the perfect moment.

She tried not to seem too keyed up as she told Madison she was going to train for a little bit. "Come get me when dinner is ready," she told her, praying her voice didn't wobble. Madison just smiled and nodded. She was making stew again, and appeared to be none the wiser of Ruby's plans.

And it was time. Ruby didn't run down the road at first. She went to the training area and stretched, so that if anyone was watching, they would think she was doing what she always did. She tried not to look at the house, tried not to seem suspicious.

Her heart was already racing when she started her jog in the woods, not yet at the driveway. She figured she would run on her normal running path first, and then find the driveway. It was all going to plan, even if she felt sick to her stomach.

She didn't look over her shoulder, even if she wanted to.

When her running path came across the driveway, she veered off the path and up the driveway. She figured she would run in the woods next to the driveway, just in case anyone drove down it. She didn't want to be found out, not that quickly.

Her brain was spinning. What would she do with her jobs? Once they learned of her kidnapping, would they take her back? She had an inkling that the answer was no, and it felt heavy in her chest.

I'll be fine, she told herself. She pushed herself to run faster, keeping her breathing under control. But it was hard, when she was so nervous at getting caught. Usually, the pack left her alone, but Thomas or Kierson would realize she was gone immediately if they went searching for her.

And they could run so much faster than she could in wolf form.

That thought alone had her speeding up her pace again. She had no clue how far she had run, and she had no way of timing her run, so she couldn't even base it off of that. Usually, she could make it pretty far without being out of breath, but her adrenaline at escaping had her feeling all out of whack.

Maybe I should just go back. Do this another time. She almost did turn around, right then, thinking it would be for the best. Dinner would be done soon, and she could pretend nothing had happened. No thoughts of escaping, not in her little human mind.

She could smile with Madison, sneak glances at Thomas, train with Kierson. She could live there, on this compound, for forever.

But it was too late. She was too far into her escape plan for that.

She pushed and pushed, her legs burning, her heart trying to jump out of her chest, her mind whirling. They could find her at any moment. The only plus was that the wind was pushing her forward, not going against her. That not only would help her scent train be hidden, but it made it a little easier to keep going.

Right as Ruby began to worry the driveway was indeed longer than five miles, she saw the end. She pushed herself into a sprint, her blood roaring in her ears. Fuck keeping a pace so she could continue running straight to the police. Ruby needed to find civilization, and she needed to find it now.