Chapter 9

Nine

VANESSA

L ater that night, I walked along the road holding Gabe's hand.

It was two a.m., but he was wide awake and refused to be carried. I waited until everyone fell asleep before we snuck out the front door. The pack had no idea I had planned to escape. The hard part was keeping Gabe quiet when leaving the house because he chose that moment to wake up.

We were so far from the actual city I worried we'd never find a bus stop.

The roads were empty at this time of night, and I worried for our safety. I'd see a homeless person sitting huddled in a corner every once in a while or a shady character staring at us. When I finally spotted a bus station, I sighed in relief.

I walked up to the little window with the teller behind it.

"How much is a ticket to Texas?" I asked. I heard about that state from Bruce and his dreams of moving there.

He gave me a toothless smile and pointed to the sign next to the window. Looking at the chart, I saw it would be at least a hundred dollars.

Releasing my suitcase, I reached for my purse, letting go of Gabe's hand.

"Don't go anywhere," I ordered as he squatted on the ground next to me, staring at a beetle on the wall. I dug around in my purse for change and turned to the teller. "Just give me a moment, please." Digging around in my purse, I finally found the wad of twenty-dollar bills squashed at the bottom. Pulling it out, I counted them out and was about to hand it over.

I stopped when I noticed Gabe wasn't around my legs anymore. My heart was racing, and I couldn't see him anywhere around me.

I spun around and saw a long black car driving away.

"Gabe!" I shouted, running to the road. I noticed a badge had fallen to the ground. It looked familiar as I picked it up. It was red and gold with an emblem of a wolf in front of it.

The Royal Pack. And they had taken my son.

I dropped to my knees and screamed, tears rushing down my face.

Jack

Rolling over in bed, I couldn't sleep.

I couldn't stop thinking about the mind-blowing sex with Vanessa. What the hell was the harm in keeping her as my omega? I knew in my heart I could protect her. She was my omega, and I felt it in every being in my body. When I envisioned her being with a different alpha, my stomach turned.

After being tortured by my thoughts for a couple of hours, I couldn't wait anymore.

I had to tell her without another minute to lose.

Getting out of bed, I pulled my sweatpants on and walked across the hallway to her room. I knocked on the door. No answer. Maybe she was sleeping now. I could tell her tomorrow anyway.

It was so late. I was losing my fucking mind.

I noticed the door was partly open, so I pushed it open all the way. When I saw the empty bed, my heart nearly stopped.

"Vanessa?"

The room was bare. Her purple suitcase was gone.

No, no, no . Then I remembered her words about never seeing her again. Fuck! I slammed a fist down on the nightstand, causing the lamp to fall to the floor.

"Yo, what's up?" asked Liam, dragging his lanky body into the room as he stretched.

"She left! She fucking up and left," I said, my heart racing. Did she usually do this? Have one-night stands and then disappear? Did she think I was going to abandon her in Howl's Edge?

"What?!" said Liam, his eyes opening wide- taking in the empty room. "She couldn't have gone far."

"We need to go find her," I said. "Wake Ryan up, and we're getting the hell out of here."

Liam drove as I looked out the windows at the empty roads like a maniac. I was running on no sleep, but my brain was on alert.

"The bus stop is around here," said Ryan. "I don't see her."

"She has to be here," I said harshly, my eyes peeled and watching for her slim figure to walk around any corner. When I saw her, my heart dropped. She was leaning against a concrete wall, with her face in her hands, clearly crying. "Stop here. She's right there!"

Her suitcase sat abandoned next to her, and she wore a pink sweater with black leggings.

When the car stopped, I jumped out and ran towards her. She looked up, looking shaken and distraught.

"Where's Gabe?" I asked, not seeing the little tyke anywhere. Her eyes were bloodshot as she silently shook her head. Goosebumps covered every inch of my skin. I froze, standing still.

"They took him," she blubbered, unable to hold it in any longer. She collapsed against my chest and loudly sobbed.

"Who took him?" I asked frantically. "We need to find him."

"Gabe!" Ryan started shouting up and down the road.

"No, they took him," she said. Her sentences didn't make sense to me as she blabbered about the Royal Pack.

"You mean the Royal Pack took him?"

That was impossible.

"Yes," she cried out. "We need to go to Howl's Edge."

"Okay," I said without hesitating. I had to take charge. "Liam, drive us to the plane. Ryan, let's go. Gabe isn't here."

"Thank you," she sighed into my chest, her body limp against mine.

"We'll get you there, baby," I said, rubbing her back as we sat in the back of the car with Ryan and Liam up front. "Why do you think the Royal Pack took Gabe?"

"He's the rightful heir. Their only son," she said, shuddering.

"What?!"

The news took me completely by surprise. I had no idea she was that close to the Royal Pack. She slept with the alpha kings…I had no idea how I felt about it.

"That's why I had to leave Howl's Edge," she said, rubbing her tears. "Gabe is probably so scared without me. I'm such a horrible mother."

"How do you know the Royal Pack took him, though? And no, you're not a horrible mother," I said, trying to comfort her as much as possible. I couldn't understand her pain. But I couldn't imagine losing any of my family members.

She pulled out a badge with the emblem of the Royal Pack. Shock rolled over me when I saw it. She was telling the truth.