The Alpha's Runaway Daughter

Chapter 3

Cleo

We parted ways and I made my you towards my bedroom. I was fortunate that I didn’t have to go upstairs to where everyone else slept. My bedroom was on the first floor. It was a tiny room near the laundry room. It was my belief that back in the day when the house was first built, the room that was now my bedroom was most probably used as a sewing room. My room was bare with just a single bed and a wardrobe in it.

Once I was in my room, I grabbed my duffel bag and opening my wardrobe, I began to throw all of my belongings into my bag.

I didn’t have much to pack. Just some clothes, a photo album filled with pictures of my family before my mother had died, and some toiletries. Once I had everything in my bag, I zipped it up and was about to walk out of my room when I realised, I was still only wearing Eric’s jacket. I set my bag back down on my bed and opened it once more. Pulling out a pair of yoga pants and some underwear and a top, I quickly got dressed and zipped up my bag again.

I sat on my bed beside my bag and waited, hoping that Eric didn’t change his mind. I needed to get out of this place. I needed a shower. I felt disgusting. I hadn’t had my first shift yet, so my injuries were going to take the same amount of time to heal as a human’s injuries would. I was in pain physically, and I felt broken inside.

A gentle knock on my door had me looking up in fright, relieved to find Eric standing there holding a black Nike sports bag.

“Are you ready?” he asked gently.

I nodded, standing up and grabbing my bag. I picked his jacket up from my bed and handed it to him. He took it and stepped back from the door letting me get past him and step out of my room. I stopped in the hallway and murmured, “I will just follow you.”

He nodded and began walking down the hallway with me following behind him. We made our way out of the house and out to Eric’s car. I knew his car well. He had gotten it for his birthday a few months ago. It was a brand new dark blue LTZ 1500 Chevy Silverado. I remembered how happy Eric had been when he had been given the keys to it. I knew this car was his pride and joy. We walked up beside the truck and he opened the back door and put our bags in on the backseat. Then he opened the front passenger door for me.

“Are you sure you don’t want to put something on the seat for me to sit on? My back is still pretty bad. I would hate to get blood on your seat,” I told him.

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, gesturing for me to get in the truck.

I climbed in and once I was settled into the seat, he shut the door. A moment later he was making his way around to the driver’s side of the truck and climbing in. Once he was behind the wheel, he started the truck and a few seconds later we were out of there. The further we got from the packhouse, the easier I was finding it to breathe. I looked over to where Eric was sitting.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“To my grandparent’s place. They are a part of the Lightning Ridge pack. They were the former Beta’s there. Now my uncle and Aunt are the Beta’s of the pack,” he replied.

“What about the Alpha of that pack? Will he let us stay there?” I asked, feeling worried about having to deal with another pack hierarchy. I had just been betrayed by the one man who was biologically programmed to protect me. I had been betrayed by the highest-ranking pack members who had taken an oath to protect the members of their pack. And I was now placing what was left of my trust in the hands of the son of the man who had violated me and tried to take my innocence. As all of these thoughts raced through my mind, and I felt myself break a little bit more on the inside.

We drove through the night. By the time the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon, I could feel anxiety building within me. I knew that it wasn’t going to be long before members of the pack would start waking up. Were they already awake? I couldn’t help but wonder if the Beta and Gamma had come back to the basement to “play” some more only to find me missing. If they had, had they told my father? Had they raised the alarm which would have made my father send people out to find me? Or, had they seen I was gone and just assumed my father had released me? As all these thoughts raced through my head. All I could do was hope that it was the latter. The head start we had on leaving was the only thing we had going for us. I looked at Eric once more and asked, “Why are you helping me? Why are you so keen to leave the pack? You are the future Beta of that pack; your future is set. Why would you just throw that all away to help me?”

He looked over at me, eyeing me as thought I was crazy, and asked, “Are you serious right now?”

“What?” I asked, confused by his question.

“Your father allowed for you to be beaten and then left you with my father and the Gamma to be r***d. My own father would have happily took part in r****g you. And your brother, the guy who I would have to answer to if I was to become the pack Beta, stood by and watched you be abused... beaten. Do you honestly think I want to be involved in a pack like that?” he snarled, glancing at me once more. “There is no way I want to be a part of that pack after what they did to you.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He turned to look at me, a look of surprise upon his face. “For what?” he asked, surprise evident in his voice.

“For getting me out of there,” I replied.

“It’s nothing,” he replied.

“No. No don’t say that. It’s not nothing. It’s… it’s not… nothing,” I whispered, feeling myself tearing up again.

He didn’t say anything, and I looked out of my window to hide the tears that were building up in my eyes. What was I going to do? When we got to the Lightning Ridge pack, we would more than likely be subjected to an interrogation. I would have to relive my shame and torture to everyone. Everyone would know what I had been subjected too. There would be whispers and looks of pity, and disgust. Could I live with the endless judgement from the pack members?

I would be alone for the rest of my life because no man was going to ever be in a position to get close enough to hurt me. No man would ever be around me when I was vulnerable. My trust in men was gone. What little trust I had left in me, I was putting in Eric to save me.

Suddenly a though entered my mind. “Oh, Goddess, what if the Alpha of the Lightning Ridge pack doesn't let me stay there? What if he tries to send me back?” I whispered in horror, my voice breaking as the thought filled me with dread and fear.

“We will cross that bridge when we get to it,” Eric replied quietly.

“You don’t understand. If I get sent back there again, I honestly don't think I could survive those monsters a second time,” I said, my voice broken as tears trickled down my face. “Oh, Goddess Eric, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean…” I broke off realising I couldn’t back pedal from what I had just said.

“Cleo, it’s okay, I get it, I do. Now, don’t work yourself up over something that hasn’t happened yet. You have had a rough night. Don’t go borrowing trouble, okay,” Eric said, looking over at me. “I am right here. I am with you all the way. I promise you, whatever decisions we have to make, we will make them together. I won’t leave you alone. I am your Beta, okay? I will take care of you.”

“Thank you, Eric,” I whispered, glad that I had trusted him to help me get away from my father and his pack. “Once your father sees that we are both missing, is he going to know you have gone to your grandparents?” I asked, as I realized that my father might know where I was heading.

“I doubt it. Ever since I was a kid, I had always made it clear that I would love to be able to live my life free of werewolf law and hierarchy. My father will think we are just going to live in some city. Try not to stress over anything. Everything is going to be okay. You should try and get some sleep,” he replied.

“You haven’t slept either. I will sleep when you sleep,” I told him, making him look over at me and laugh.

“Okay, we will stop at a hotel,” he said, as he focused on the road once more.