Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Selene’s name flashed on the screen. I hadn’t spoken to her since she first reached out. But something about her message now seemed to pull me back from the edge. “I’ve found you some options. A fresh start, Ayla. No more looking over your shoulder. You deserve better.”
Her words struck a chord, and a fire flickered in my chest. I wasn’t about to let Lukas’s world be my cage anymore. If there was an escape, I’d find it.
I turned my back on the mansion and walked toward the road, ignoring the way the wind whipped through my hair. For the first time in ages, I didn’t feel like I was running. I was moving forward. The future was mine to shape.
Back at the mansion, Lukas was fuming. I could feel it through the bond, the seething anger as he realized I had slipped away.
But this time, I wasn’t afraid of him. I wasn’t afraid of his anger. I wasn’t afraid of anyone anymore.
The road was quiet, almost eerily so, but that only gave me more peace. With every step I took, I left the past behind. The whispers of the pack, the coldness of Lukas's eyes—none of that mattered anymore.