"Happy birthday, sis," I say gently to wake her up. And she sits up and smiles up at me. "So, how does it feel to be seventeen?"
"Strange, other than the other voice in my head, I don't feel any different," she says, with a huge grin on her face, and it takes me a minute to get what she means.
"So you got your wolf?" I ask, and she nods in response. "OH MY GODDESS, I'm so happy for you. What's her name? Is she sweet? Does she like you? Oh, I guess that was a stupid question. Of course, she likes you, sorry!"
"Hahaha, I love you, Rainie bug. Her name is Shina. She's very nice. And she said she likes you and me both. oh, and she also said she needs more of your cooking." She says with the brightest smile on her face.
"She even likes me and my cooking?" I ask, shocked that she even noticed my existence.
"Of course, sis, your cooking is amazing, and you're the sweetest person I know. What's not to like?" she says, making me smile.
"I love you, Jess," I say as I pull her into a hug. "And Shina too!"
Today is a bittersweet day. Not only is it my best friends' birthday, but she also got her wolf, so she will be able to scent out her mate if he's close enough, she can shift into her wolf, and she will be able to move into her own room in the pack house in a few days. But she'll officially not be an orphan anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy for her, and if anyone deserves to be happy and find her place in the world, it's her. But that leaves me alone again. But today isn't about me. It's about her. So I shake my lonely and depressing thoughts from my mind and start my morning routine before heading down to the kitchen to start breakfast. Since it's Saturday and there's no school. That means the kids don't have to be up early, which also means I don't have to rush for everything.
After the food is finished cooking, beds are made, and dirty clothes have been put in the wash, I went to the room that in a few days, I'll no longer share with my best friend. I'll be losing my best friend. Even when I move into the pack house as the pack slave, I won't be permitted to speak to her. Slaves aren't allowed to be seen or heard. Im so stuck in my thoughts that I don't even hear Jess come in and walk up behind me.
"Let's run away.." she says
"WHAT? You've lost your mind! They are full-grown wolves. They're faster than us, not to mention they could easily scent us out." I protest. "They would kill us both, not just me. I won't allow you to put yourself in danger for me. Not after you finally got your wolf and have your whole life ahead of you."
"Actually, I have a masking spray for me, and you have no scent at all, strangely. And Shina is the one who suggested it. She says the fact that you have no scent means you are important, and we need to get you out of this pack!" She states as she starts packing a big black duffle bag with our clothes.
"Im definitely not important. My own parents dumped me here because I wasn't even important to them. I'm a nobody." I say, slowly getting more depressed about my life before Jess smacks me in the back of my head.
"Don't you dare say that!! If you stay here, you'll die, you are my best friend, and I need you to stay alive and with me. You're my only family." she says, shocking me. What did she mean by that?
"What do you mean by 'if I stay, I'll die'?" I ask as I meet her gaze.
"I'm not supposed to tell you, but Alpha Max has decided on your seventeenth birthday you are to be executed. He refuses to have a witch as a pack slave in the packhouse." She says, her voice barely above a whisper and eyes on the verge of overflowing with tears. "He's scared you turn on the pack once you get your powers."
"But I wouldn't... Jess, you have to believe me." I say, panic laced in my voice. "I wouldn't... I couldn't."
"I know that Rainie bug..." She says as she wraps me up in a tight embrace. "But the Alpha has made his decision. That's why I need to get you out of here now!"
"Okay, I'll leave, but I can't let you leave your pack. This pack is your home. I'll leave tonight, but I'm going alone. I won't take anything else from you." I say, prepared to stand my ground.
"Sorry, but my sister isn't leaving alone. And if you try, Shina and I have already decided we will follow you!" Jess said defiantly, and I get the feeling she wasn't joking around. "Plus, this isn't my home anymore. Family is what makes a home. Plus, all those beatings and lashes Ms.Leana has given you over the years, the Alpha knew about them. Why do you think she got those bonuses? He was paying her to break you..."
"Okay," I say, absolutely defeated by all the information she just threw at me. "Where do we go? What do we do?"
"We will wait till 2 am when they are changing out patrols. Dress in all black and make sure you cover your hair. That bright red hair of yours will give us away instantly. When we get to the border of the pack's territory, I'll denounce the pack, and we'll run like hell south." She says, looking confident.
"Okay, let's get dinner and everything ready so the kids will at least be taken care of till Ms.Leana realizes we're gone," I say, putting the last of what I own into the duffle bag Jess hands me.
"Sounds like a plan!" She said, walking out of the room.