Denied by Destiny: Trapped in the Shadows of the Mate Bond

- Cleo -

I spent the night asleep on the side of the road.

It must have been easily 2am or 3am when I left the Red Thorn pack, I hadn't thought past getting away from Mum. Hadn't even realised what time it was...I just knew I had to leave.

I pulled the car over when anger started to turn into hurt...my vision becoming blurry with tears and my breathing getting laboured from my sobs.

I just needed to sleep, I didn't care that I was alone, by the side of a road. I was exhausted.

I lowered the car seat down, laying back and curling up into a ball...crying myself to sleep.

There was something therapeutic about crying myself to sleep...something I hadn't done in a long time.

It means I have woken up stronger, more focused...it was now just me and bump.

I was startled awake by a female police officer who gently tapped on the car window before moving me along.

I guess Jaxon's car wasn't the type to be sat by the side of the road all night without raising suspicion.

The main problem, other than walking out on everything I've ever know, I didn't actually know where to go.

I couldn't go back, I won't go back.

I love my parents, there was no doubt about that, but my childhood wasn't without its challenges.

Do I want to raise a child in a home environment where some days I would be guessing Mum's behaviour still, and worrying about how she would be around a baby.

I've managed to find a petrol station that has a self serve coffee machine and pastries for breakfast. I didn't actually eat very much last night, my stomach calling out to be fed.

My phone is in my hand, numerous missed calls and text messages from Dad, Ares...even Mum, but also Jaxon.

I needed to get his car back to him, and I hadn't told him I was home...I didn't really get the chance before I was leaving again.

I can't even think on what is happening at the Dark Phantom pack right now, I can't. It wasn't just Callie's eyes...but also Josie's.

Not only had Jace betrayed his mate, but I had betrayed my best friend. Someone who had always been like a sister to me.

My fingers hover over an unsaved number, his text messages still in my phone's inbox. Could he help me? Do I want him to help me? Before I can stop myself I'm already dialling his number.

"Hello?" His grunt tone makes me immediately regret calling him. It was early, and a Sunday morning, I must have woken him. "Alpha Than... it's Cleo."

A pause and I lower the phone down to make sure it has r disconnected.

"Cleo?" I can hear him move the phone away from his ear, a swooshing noise as I guess he checks the caller ID.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yes, but that's okay. I thought it was my beta."

"No...just me." I feel awkward knowing I had woken him and trying to make general conversation with him. I needed to get to the point.noveldrama

"Is everything alright? Are you okay?" Genuine concern is laced within his voice.

"Erm..."

"Cleo?"

"So it would appear I am without a pack." The words taste bitter as they leave my mouth.

"Where are you?" A growl vibrates through the earpiece on the phone, shaking me to my core.

"At a petrol station."

"Which one, I'm coming to get you."

"No, I'm not in any danger."

"Come over to the pack."

I pause, hesitation on my part, was this such a good idea.

"Please, I'm worried..."

"I'm fine." I try to make the words sound believable but as I move my hand to my lip, I notice the trembling movement. I wasn't fine, I was a mess. "You are alone, and you sound upset otherwise...and let's be honest you wouldn't have called me."

He had a point.

I wouldn't have even considered calling him if things weren't so dire that I was now technically homeless.

"At least so I can check on your welfare....and the baby's."

"Okay." I bite down on my lip, at least it will give me time to consider my options.

I'm at the Amber Desert gates before I know it, an ominous sensation washing over me.

I could spent the next ten years

easily living in the human

community but when my child

reaches the teen years, their wolset

will start to press forward.

Potentially exposing the truth of our kind and, my child, making them feel like an outcast.

Well, they would be an outcast.

Whereas, here was a pack that could offer us a place to stay, a place to raise my child in the safety of a pack environment.

The gates are noticeably more

relaxed than the Red Thorn ones, and considerably more relaxed than the Dark Phantom steel fortress. This was a pack that didn't seem in danger of attacks any time soon.

As my car closes in on the gates they start to open, four male figures walking towards me...gate guards coming out to check my identity.

One of them moves to the driver side window, bending down to speak with me.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Alpha Than, I believe he is expecting me." My eyes move to the three other males that are circling the car... maybe the driver doesn't suit the style of vehicle and it is raising flags for them. They aren't wrong.

""Name Miss?"

"Cleo Arancea, of the Red Thorn pack." As soon as I announce my full name, his eyes shoot to the other guards, before entering a mind-link. "Head directly to the Alpha house, you are expected."