Chapter Two

Tate

“These didn’t get picked up. Eat them before you up and blow away.” Eddie slid a paper plate with two ham-and-cheese croissants in front of me, along with a to-go cup of coffee. I’d had his coffee before. It was saturated with sugar and creamer but at this point, there was no way I would turn down the extra calories.

Besides, anything was better than another round of beans and rice, which had been on the menu for me for months. Maybe years. Sometimes I couldn’t decipher one day from the next.

“Go on,” he prompted, shoulder-checking me. This job had kept me afloat only a few weeks, but the people were nice and Eddie tried to help me whenever he could. “Take your break.”

I picked up the plate along with the coffee and scooted out the back door, bumping it open with my hip. A vintage metal stool sat outside under a rickety awning. Sometimes the other workers would come out here to smoke or talk on the phone, a habit forbidden inside Donut Heaven except for Eddie, who took orders from his personal cell. Plus, he was the owner. He could do whatever he wanted to.

I scarfed both of the warm croissants down in minutes, burning the roof of my mouth on hot cheese, and washing them down with the coffee. A noise from the far end of the alley made me turn my head. A black SUV was stopped on the road. The windows were tinted nearly black—nowhere near legal.

Tingling trickled down my body, starting at the top of my head, but I tried to keep cool. I finished my coffee and raised my nose into the air, taking in every bit of scent I could. My wolf picked up a lot of different odors—it was a busy alley, after all, but the stench of wolves from Brad’s pack rose above the others. Not him, of course. He had others to do his dirty work.

Ice filled my veins, but I couldn’t let on that I knew.

Fuck. I had only been here a few weeks, and I was more careful every time I moved.

I no longer had a phone. Eddie hired me under a false name and paid me cash out of the till. The apartment was in a fake name. No digital footprint. Nothing.

I’d burned all my IDs and social security cards a month ago.

They’d still found me.

The rest of the day, I swept like it would be my last time because with Brad’s packmates on my tail and the threats he had made still reverberating in my ears, it might’ve just been my last time sweeping—walking—breathing.

He’d said I was his. And if I left him, tried to be anyone’s but his, he would rather see me dead.

While I didn’t want to die, especially without really experiencing all life had to offer, I couldn’t keep this up forever. I lived out of a duffel bag. I worked for cash, with no steady income.

Roaches in dingy apartments and shady motels were sometimes the only people I talked to, and they weren’t people.

I was breathing. Walking. Talking. Eating. Barely sleeping.

But I wasn’t living—far from it.

I finished my shift, trying to keep my wits about me. Eddie and his staff didn’t ask many questions, which was good, but I hadn’t met a soul while I was on the run who didn’t suspect something.

I didn’t blame them. If I saw an omega who looked worse for wear and asking to be paid in cash, had no ID or phone, I would be suspicious as well.

“Anything else you need?” I asked the crew as I finished up. I would make sure to say goodbye to them since today would be the last time I saw them. I’d write their names down in my journal to remember all the people who participated in my life in even the smallest way.

“We’re fine. Have a good night, Henry.” Henry , the name I had given myself this time around. Next stop would have to be a new one. I had a list of those names in my journal as well.

I nodded and glanced over my shoulder a little but wished them well only in my head.

They would forget about me as though I were anyone else who passed through, and that was fine, especially if one of Ryder’s betas ever asked questions.

The black SUV followed me, no matter that I took back alleys and curves and turns. When I ascended the steps to my apartment, I spotted them only two blocks away.

There was the slim possibility that this was a random SUV.

Ryder wouldn’t stop until my heart no longer beat, or I succumbed to being his mate again.

In my heart, I only had once choice—I would never be his mate again.

Being with him was a slow, painful torture, though he never physically hurt me.

I packed up my toothbrush along with my few pieces of clothing before putting on my running shoes. A few moments later, I shaved off my beard and my hair and put on a red ball cap I found on the top shelf of the bedroom closet. I sat by the door, listening for any steps.

There was one bus in and out of this small town, and I had to wait until the last minute to catch it. The cover of night was my friend.

As soon as the sun set, I walked out and pulled my cap down low over my brow. I took the alleys again, darting in and out of shadows and lights. Yeah, the bus out of here would save me.

As the station came into view, I heard the screeching of tires and then the squeal of brakes behind me. Quickening my steps, I made it to the counter and bought the ticket.

“Please, please buy me some time?” I asked, flicking my gaze to the men now closing in.

The alpha ticket seller glanced behind me and nodded. “Go. Run.”

I sprinted to the bus and made it inside. I frequently relied on the kindness of strangers. First, the alpha at the bus ticket counter and now, this human at the wheel. “Can you please not let anyone else on?” I begged, even though there were plenty of seats empty.

“I’m running behind anyway.” She nodded and closed the door behind me.

The men had reached the bus and banged on the door as she drove away and I released a long exhale.

Got away.

Again.

As I slouched into the first empty seat, my heart was beating out of my chest. My calves were on fire. Terror made my chest seize up.

There was only so long I could keep up this pace.

Ryder would catch me eventually.

I was only delaying the inevitable.