His

In Spite Of The Dark

I sat on the window seat watching him. He was leading his warriors through a training session and his back was to me so that I could bore holes into him without him returning my glare. It had not happened yet - that undeniable draw to my mate was obviously there but the bond that made it impossible to leave him had not formed. I could still run and it wouldn't hurt. Too much, anyway. A cold fear slithered through me and I turned my back on him, rising to my feet. The longer I stayed and became accustomed to that Alpha's presence the more trapped I would become. The idea of being his slave, prisoner, reminded me of The Hole. I would be a caged bird. My heart pounded out an uneven rhythm and my breaths escaped shallow and erratic. I grabbed for the edge of the dresser.

"Evangeline? Are you okay?"

My head snapped up and I saw Sadie standing in the doorway. I breathed in hard and forced myself to stand upright.

"Yes, Sadie. Is there something you need," I asked stiffly.

Her frown only deepened but I just rolled my eyes at her silence and brushed past her out into the hall. It wasn't justified, my treatment of her, but I didn't have it in me to pretend for her. All I wanted was to be left alone and all Sadie wanted was to follow me around like a lost puppy. I went down to the kitchen and took a glass from the cabinet.

"Why are you so unhappy here?" Sadie asked with a bit more of an edge in her tone.

I just shook my head and turned on the faucet. Her footsteps echoed as she rounded the kitchen island and stood behind me. Right above the sink was a picture window opening up to the backyard. Snow had fallen the night before and children were sprawling in it, making angels and throwing snow balls at one another.

"We've treated you with kindness, you've gotten everything you've asked for," Sadie insisted, growing more upset.

A she-wolf, probably one of the children's mother, came out into the yard, a pom-pom hat in her hand. She grabbed the shoulder of a boy rolling haphazardly in the snow and dusted the whiteness from his dark hair. Gently, the woman placed the hat on the boy's head before pressing a kiss to the top of it.

"What is your fucking problem?!"

The glass in my hand imploded at the pressure of my grip and glass shot all over the sink and counter. Blood dripped from my hand as I spun around to face Sadie.

"My mate is a murderer! My pack is under totalitarian rule by that same animal! I am a prisoner! I have lost my family, my friends, my life as I knew it and you have the audacity to ask me what my fucking problem is?!"

The girl stared slack jawed at me and the whole first floor had gone silent. Everyone was staring at me with a menagerie of emotions: hurt, disappointment, anger, disgust... fear. I stormed past Sadie and shoved my feet into my boots.

"You can't leave," Sadie whispered. "He'll go after you."

Wrenching my coat on, I snarled "let 'im."

I ran across the yard, aware that I was leaving a trail of blood from my hand in my wake. It probably resembled a scene from Argo. My first goal was to make it to the treeline and out of sight. The pack house was in the dead center of the territory and that meant going in any direction would be a long hike. In all honesty though, I did not intend to "escape"; I just wanted a minute far away from them. And so I simply started walking in a random direction away from the pack house.

The woods were a striking black and white. The sky was a milky overcast and pearly white snow coated the forest floor that was stippled with black, bare trees. I tramped through the snow aimlessly, taking deep breaths through my mouth so that so that I could taste the cold on my tongue. I didn't know how far I got before the burning sensation in my hand become unbearable and I needed to sit. Picking a large tree, I sunk down and rested my back against its trunk to examine my hand.