Chapter 14: 14- Jackpot
I could see all the Lycans running to the packhouse. They were bumping into me, but it was so crowded that they didn’t realize that they were bumping into an invisible girl.
A young slave had dropped her handkerchief, which I immediately picked up and dipped in a nearby pond.
I tied it around my face so that it kept me cool and relieved the burning. I wasn’t aware of what that bitch threw at me, but the burning was making it quite excruciating.
I jogged to the main gates of the packhouse boundary when someone yelled at the top of his lungs, "Aurora!"
This was Alpha Sebastian’s voice.
"Alpha Sebastian! No!" I stopped dead in my tracks as Beta Hunter’s voice reached me.
Tomorrow was supposed to be my dinner date with him.
Sorry, Alpha. Too late.
Without a backward glance, I crossed the gates.
There were plenty of people who could take care of their Alpha. This time, I needed to choose myself.
Instead of going to a werewolf packhouse, I needed to reach a human town. But first, I had to get out of this territory owned by werewolves and Lycans.
No future interactions with these beasts.
When I was at a safe distance, I started running at full throttle, hooting in excitement.
"Yahoo! I did it!" I jumped with joy, laughing loudly in the quiet forest where no one could see me for a while.
I was safe.
Now that the pack knew that I was dead, they would never try to look for me.
For them, I was dead forever.
A dead Luna.
***
I had no idea how long I kept running. Delis had asked me to cover the maximum distance in those two hours, or I had to apply that potion again to stay invisible.
I also had to be careful to keep my body odor suppressed to avoid rogues.
My legs hurt, but it was not the pain that stopped me. It was the burning of my face. My cheeks felt like they were on fire.
I looked around for the signs of a river or a pond. It was too dark to see anything. I had to wait for the morning.
Till then, I could control my thirst. But what about this pain? Urgh.
I had slowed down and was now walking blindly in the pitch-dark jungle. The moon had disappeared behind the clouds, and I was trying to decide if I should climb a tree and get some sleep.
In the absence of my wolf, I couldn’t see anything, nor could I smell danger.
If I wanted to spend my day constructively, it was wise to get some sleep. But I was hungry and thirsty, and I wanted to dab some water on my burning cheeks.
Oh, Goddess.
I felt the trunk of the tree with my hand and was about to climb up when I felt a drop of something on my cheek.
Before I could understand, it turned into two drops, then three, and then suddenly it started pouring heavily.
I giggled and took some rainwater in my hands. I drank it and then raised my face to let that rainwater wash away all the irritation.
Umm. It was soothing.
I tried climbing up the tree, but now it was slippery.
Sigh. I didn’t have any choice but to lie down under the tree. I sat down and rested my back against the trunk. The child inside me didn’t want to sleep.
The happiness of meeting a future where I would be considered an independent woman wasn’t letting me fall asleep.
I held the wet handkerchief and tied it back to my face. In case the rain stopped, I didn’t want to wake up due to the discomfort.
I leaned against the tree trunk, and the rain was soothing my burning cheeks through the fabric. Exhaustion washed over me, and before I knew it, I dozed off.
In my dream, Sebastian King was demanding an explanation angrily, "How dare you leave the packhouse? Come back right now!" His voice echoed through the void.
Even in the dream, his face wasn’t clear, nor could I see his eye color.
I crossed my arms and raised my chin to look at him with confidence, "You can’t control me anymore. Go and enjoy your life with your low-life minions, Sebastian."
He stepped closer, reaching out, "Why are you running away from me?" his fingers lightly brushing against my cheek, "Your presence pleases me, and I can’t get over this feeling..."
His words made my heart skip a beat.
I could see something warm and something wild in his eyes. This was not the Lycan Alpha I had heard about.
I had heard different names that people had given him.
Ruthless.
Heartless.
Cruel.
"What are you thinking, Aurora?" he smiled gently, "You belong to me."
I shook my head with a smirk, pulling a sword from my side, "I belong to no one, Sebastian! Now I’m free."
No one was allowed to say his name except his close ones. I was not his close one or his beloved one, still, I felt brave in that dream.
Before he could say anything else, with a swift motion, my blade cut through the air and slashed his chest.
In disbelief, he placed his palm on his injured chest and staggered back in shock, "Aurora!"
My eyes flew open, and I jolted awake when I heard my name. Nothing had prepared me for the unfamiliar faces that were leaning over, staring down at me in surprise.
I gasped, sitting up abruptly, "Goddess," I muttered to myself. I was supposed to use the potions for invisibility and to suppress my smell.
How could I be this careless?
One of the men smirked, "Looks like we have at last hit a Jackpot. Look at her green eyes. Beautiful!" he remarked with an evil grin.
My heart thudded in my chest. I didn’t need to smell them to tell that they were rogues.