A chance of freedom before betrayal
1807 Words
Ella’s POV
The woods swallowed me whole as I ran with everything I had in me. I didn't look back
Branches clawed at my skin, drawing thin, stinging lines across my arms. My lungs burned with every breath, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. My legs ached, my vision blurred, and still, I ran.
I'm seventeen years old, and I haven't met my wolf yet. But I didn’t need her to know that if they caught me now, everything would be over.
The trees finally broke into the edge of town, and my pulse jumped. I arrived at Hans’ house in no time and It looked like something out of a fairytale to me, it looked modest but very warm still. I will see him soon and I hope he accepts me without asking any questions.
I stood outside Hans’ apartment with trembling hands, with my heart punching my ribs like it was trying to escape me. The wind bit through my dress, but it wasn’t really the cold that made me shiver. . . it was fear. Fear of what I had just done, nothing good will come out of this if Hans doesn't agree to go somewhere away from here with me. Because in no time, my foster parents will come to find me here.
I knocked hard, and in no time, the door opened.
His eyes widened when he saw me with my messy hair, tear-streaked face, and shoes muddy from running. But I know what would surprise him more is the high-end dress on me and the mud on it. “Ella?” he breathed, he was clearly surprised. My parents hardly allow me to visit him.
They have never approved for me to date Hans, an Omega like me, when I could bring more influence and money by marrying the Alpha.
I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I just looked at him, begging him silently not to ask questions yet, not until I could explain and thankfully he stepped aside to let me in.
I rushed in and collapsed onto the couch, my legs giving out from under me. He shut the door slowly, and cautiously, like he wasn’t sure if this was real. When he came toward me, I finally managed to speak.
“They were going to give me to Alpha Cyril.”
Hans blinked. “What?”
“They arranged it. My foster parents. I was to be his bride, and they wanted me to represent Lora. I didn’t even get to say goodbye to you, so I ran.”
He sat beside me, and I felt the way his body stiffened at the name. Everyone knew Alpha Cyril to be ruthless and cold. No one in their right senses would like to cross him.
“I had to run,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “And I didn’t know where else to go.”
Hans reached for me, his touch is reassuring and I want to just tap into it and never worry about anything. “You did the right thing, Ella. You’re safe now. I swear I will protect you.”
And just like that, the tears spilled down my face again, this time from relief. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his chest.
We didn’t stay at his apartment just like I wanted and he had suggested it. That night, Hans packed a small bag with clothes and a few essentials. “They will come here first to find you, it's better we leave for a while,” he said. “If we start to move now, we will be gone by morning.”
We drove into the forest, past the northern ridges on his bike to a cabin his grandfather had once used. It was small but cozy, four walls, a fireplace, and a bed big enough for two. There was no phone signal, no internet, no cameras. Just us. They wouldn't find us here.
And the moment I stepped inside, I felt like I could breathe again.
The days that followed were the happiest I had ever been.
We woke up together every morning tangled in warm sheets, sunlight filtering through cracked blinds. Hans would make coffee and eggs over a sputtering stove, and we would eat by the window, watching birds flutter past. It felt peaceful, it felt like two old couples enjoying the last of their days in solitude.
We hiked during the day, sometimes collecting firewood, other times just walking hand in hand through the trees. I never imagined the world could be so quiet and so kind.
I told him things I never told anyone, about how I never felt like I belonged in that house. How Lora, my foster sister, always got the love and attention. How I had been raised more like a burden than a daughter.
Hans listened. And even though he knew all these, he didn't feel judgmental as I relayed my stories again.
He kissed my fingertips when I cried, and made me laugh when my nightmares wouldn’t let me sleep.
Some nights, we would lie on the floor beside the fire, whispering about running farther. “We could cross the border, and go live in the human world” he said once. “We will start new lives, no one will recognize us..”
And I believed him, I believed every word he said to me, I believed in the softness of his voice, in the arms that held me close, In the warmth that filled the cabin like it belonged to us, the fullness of joy made my heart glad.
One week later, on the seventh morning.
Hans was chopping wood outside. I watched him from the window, smiling at how clumsy he looked in oversized gloves. My heart fluttered just watching him. This will now be my life and I love it.
We were eating at the table in the room when the knock came.
Three loud, deliberate raps against the door and I froze.
It couldn’t be them. No one knew we were here. Only Hans and I.
Hans looked at me, confused as I was before the door swung open, and my heart was practically ripped in two.
How?
My foster mother’s hand came down hard and fast against my cheek the moment she saw me. I stumbled back into the wall, with my cheek stinging. Her face was contorted with rage and victory. My foster father stood behind her, smug, arms crossed.
“You little ungrateful b***h,” she spat. “Did you really think you could run away from the Alpha?”
I blinked away the tears in my eyes.
But before she could strike again, a cold voice cut through the air.
“That’s enough.”
A tall man stepped forward, dressed in dark combat gear. . . Probably one of Alpha Cyril’s Betas. His presence was undeniable, his power filling the small room like a storm.
“She belongs to Alpha Cyril now. You do not harm the Alpha’s bride,” he said flatly.
“We are only trying to discipline her?” my foster father scoffed.
The Beta’s eyes narrowed. “Touch her again, and it will be considered treason against the Alpha.”
My foster mother’s lips curled in disgust but she obeyed. “Oh, of course,” she then said sweetly. “We wouldn’t want to damage Alpha Cyril’s precious new toy.” I wonder how someone can be so fast at changing their expressions.
She stepped back from me, turned toward Hans instead.
“Maybe I should teach this filthy stray a lesson for hiding her,” she muttered, eyes gleaming as she stalked toward him.
“No!” I shouted, moving in front of her. “This was my plan. I made him help me. I promise he didn’t want to. Please, he didn’t do anything. Please don't hurt him.”
She smiled slowly and then focused on me with a twisted expression. “Oh, sweetheart,” she said, drawing out every syllable with mock pity. “Why do you think we could find this place so easily?”
I blinked “What?”
My foster mother laughed then, low and cruel. “You really thought we tracked you all the way out here by luck?”
I turned slowly to look at Hans, who is now standing by the door, his head lowered in shame, he is not looking at me to deny what my foster mother had just accused him of. He is looking down at his feet.
I staggered back, as though the air had been punched out of me. “You told them where we were?”
He wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I am sorry, They offered me a chance at life, they offered me money, protection and a future.”
I stared at him, my throat closing as tears welled in his eyes but I'm furious and scared, he had betrayed me. “I didn’t want to. But your parents said they would kill me and you if I didn’t. . .”
I backed away before he could finish his sentence. “No,” I whispered. “You promised. You said we would leave and have a better life. I chose you but you chose money over me, over what we shared”
He choked out. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought maybe Alpha Cyril wouldn’t hurt you if. . . if you went willingly.”
I laughed. A bitter, broken laugh that didn’t sound like me. “You thought he wouldn’t hurt me?”
He took a step forward, but I shoved him hard. “Don’t touch me.”
The soldiers moved in then, grabbing my arms. I kicked and screamed as they dragged me through the door. I bit one of them hard enough to taste blood, but it didn’t matter, they were beasts, and it probably felt like just stings to them.
Hans stood there, unmoving but his eyes were wet.
“I loved you,” I whispered, struggling against their grip. “I trusted you.”
But he didn’t respond.
The ride to Alpha Cyril’s pack was long and cold. I stared out the window, but I didn’t see anything.
My reflection looked like a stranger. I have empty eyes, pale lips, and my cheek is still red from the slap my foster mother gave me.
My body was here, yes. But something inside me had splintered beyond repair.
I remembered the nights by the fire. The way Hans whispered promises against my skin.
Lies.
All of it.
What truly shatters me isn’t the damn deal, It’s the betrayal by someone I love and trusted.
Oh, I feel hollow, like I’m not even living.
I'm just existing.
- Writer
