The Alpha's Mate Who Cried Wolf novel Chapter 18

"You can't be serious?" Vanessa yells.

"Yes, I'm very serious. You will move out tomorrow."

"You can't kick me out, Ryker. You can't make me move out!"

"If you are not out by lunchtime tomorrow, I will drag you out of this packhouse myself," Ryker growls.

Standing up from the table, I walk away. 

"Astrid, where are you going? You haven't even touched your dinner," Ryker growls. 

"I lost my appetite. I will not stay here and listen to this scruffy little mutt anymore!"I storm off to my room and shut the door, locking it again.

If she thinks she can speak to me like that and treat me like that, she has another thing coming!  

Last night was awful. I wasn't able to get much sleep. I got up early before sunrise and headed downstairs to the kitchen to make myself breakfast. Entering, I freeze for a moment as Alice is there, cutting up fruit. Alice pauses and looks up to see me. She becomes angry and the knife in her handshakes. 

"Good morning, Alice," I say politely. She growls in a warning.

"I'm just going to get myself something to eat, and then I'll be gone," I say. 

"Permanently, I hope," she mutters.

"Alice, I get you're upset, but I planned none of this. I didn't even know werewolves existed until recently. Maybe if we get to know each other, we might come to tolerate each other. Maybe even be friends," I say. I yelp when her knife flies past my face and into the wall. 

"I will never be your friend, and you will never be my Luna! Mark my word, Vanessa will become the Luna of Shadow Crest! So I suggest you save yourself from the hurt and leave now. Because I can assure you, you won't live to see your eighteenth birthday!"Alice warns.

She is going to kill me! She is going to kill me if I stay! I don't want to leave Ryker or the others. How can I tell them without her finding out?

Bursting into tears, I dress quickly in jeans and a hoodie. I grab a small pack and place another set of clothes in it. Do I leave? Do I leave a note? Where will I go? I can't go back to my stepfather's house. Maybe I can camp in the woods for a few days. I can sneak food from the diner until I figure something out. The sun is rising. I have to leave now. 

I climb over the balcony and down the latticework beneath. I run opposite the shopping strip, hoping it leads me toward Jim's diner. A couple of hours pass me by when I'm deep in the woods, and I freeze at the faint howl of a wolf in the distance. I know it's Ryker, realising I'm gone. Falling to the ground, I cry. 

"Please forgive me, Ryker. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave you."

Standing, I wipe my tears. They're uncontrollable. I suddenly remember when Ryker explained he could smell my scent. I look around and grab some eucalyptus leaves from a low-hanging branch. Removing my hoodie and jeans, I rub the leaves down my legs all over myself. I put my clothes back on, sticking a handful of eucalyptus leaves into my hoodie and jeans pockets. I run further into the woods. After a while, I resort to walking because I'm exhausted. Ryker would have followed my scent until I used those leaves. I should probably change course, too, if he keeps going straight.

Changing my direction, I stop at a riverbank to drink some water, hoping it's clean enough. The sun is setting. I have to find shelter soon before it becomes dark. I wander around until I find a large hollow log on its side.

This will be perfect. I crawl into the hollow log and open my bag, covering myself with the other jumper to keep as warm as possible. I sleep curled up and use my bag as a pillow. The sun rises, and I'm surprised I slept all night.