The Secret One

15

Chapter 15

I step onto the stage, causing everyone to cheer. We decided to put Waylen on hold to celebrate. I will officially become Luna in the Blood Moon pack. "The pack run will happen!" Jake booms through the whole pack in front of us. Cheering breaks lose. Jake grabs my waist and pulls me in to kiss. Anya and Jameson stand to my left, while Jason and Storm stand to my right. Life is finally looking great for me. "I am excited to take the Luna title and carry this pack with Jake. So happy to become family!" I yell after Jake. I am crying, finally, not for sadness. I belong in the arms of my mate. I was surrounded by people who didn't give up on me. Tegan peaks up, "Ruth, something isn't right." My mouth flattens, causing Jake to look at me with his eyebrows down. I shake my head and throw on another smile. I am not doing this right now.

Storm saw my face, but I shook it off. Everyone is slowly getting in their spots for the pack run, and Tegan is still bugging me. "Ruth, listen to me!" Tegan screams at me. I didn't answer. I let her take over and shift into our wolf. Jake and I lead the pack into the woods. The feeling and the winter air are fresh on our fur. I howl up, causing a train effect to follow. I branch away.

Storm and Jameson follow me while Jake takes the other half of the pack. We will meet in the middle. We get to a waterfall and some switch back to humans and others to play in wolf form. All our mind links are down, so we can feel and hear everything from each other. I see Teddie get tackled by someone I haven't met yet. I run over and grab the other female off of Teddie. "What the hell!" I scream at the black heading girl. Storm is helping Teddie get off the ground. The black-headed girl growled, causing me to yelp.

She doesn't back down. She lunches at Teddie. I tackle her mid-air. "Enough!" Power drips from my voice. I slam the black-headed girl in a tree trunk. She tucks her head into her shoulder. I turn- I see everyone is looking down other than Storm. "Alpha," Is all he says to me. I sit there baffled. I turn and look down at the black-headed girl, "I am sorry, alpha, she spelt with my brother," She tramples out. I get off of her. "No one will speak a word of this. Do I make myself clear?" I inform everyone around me. I got yes alpha in return. I swallow and look back at Storm. "Beta," Tegan tells me.

We finished our run—and—met Jake's half. I run to him and throw myself at him. "Careful, little one," Jake says while catching me with a laugh. I tuck what happens in the woods away from my thoughts. I hope everyone will as well. We all calm down from the run as we enter the pack house, about to shower. The note sitting on the table catches my attention, as well as Jake's. I close my eyes and brace myself as I approach the table.

*Run, wolf, run. You may hide, but the cat always finds the mouse*

Those words. Run, wolf, run. Where the ones he would yell while looking for me. I tear the page in half and throw it on the ground. I run to the room, away from everyone, including Jake. I shut myself in the bathroom. I don't hear any knock, meaning Jake didn't follow. I bang my head against the wall and slide down the wall. I place my hands on my face and cry out. Not just Waylen but my whole life.

Younger me, abused me, free me, alpha me. Everything in my life has caused me pain. I let out a scream. A very sad, defeated scream.

I curl myself up on the floor and cry. Minutes have passed by—still nothing. There was no knocking or yelling outside the bathroom. I gather myself and stand up. I looked around and saw I had destroyed the bathroom. Towels and soap were everywhere. The bathroom mirror was shattered. Silent tears leave my eyes as I look down to see my hands bloody.

I turn to open the door. As I opened it, I saw five people sitting on the ground waiting for me. I drop to my knees and crawl to Jake. I feel everyone get close to us. My hiccups leave my mouth as I calm down. "I'm sorry," Those small words leave my mouth. No one said anything, but Jake tightened his hold on me. "The bathroom," I say, my voice breaking as I try to look. Jake places his hand on my head and pushes me back down so I can't look back. I hear someone get up and close the door, and the broken glass drags behind it. "Somehow, he is getting through," Jameson pipes out. "I know. In the picture I showed Ruth, there were two people. One was Kyle, Waylens' brother; the other was facing away, so I couldn't see who it was," Jake tells us, lowering his voice.

I don't remember going to sleep, but when I open my eyes, Jake is next to me, writing on maps. He noticed me awake and smiled. "Hi, Ruthy," I smile at the nickname. I dart my head at the bathroom door and see everything fixed. I look back at Jake with his eyebrow raised. Confusion is written all over my face. "That was taken care of. Don't worry about it," He tells me, smoothing down my hair and kissing my head. Jake folds the maps up and gets off the bed. "Let's get you cleaned up," he said, placing out his hand for me to take. Jake threw on the water to the shower and helped me get undressed. He smiles and removes his clothes as well.

He steps into the shower first, giving me a hand to follow in. We tease and play with each other as we wash ourselves. How did they clean up the bathroom without me hearing it? Turning the water off, Jake hands me two towels—one for my hair and the other for my body. I tell him thank you and follow him to the closet. "Can we eat now?" I question, making him chuckle.