Capture

Sorry this is late. I had to take my dog to the vet last night to get stiches in his ear.

Chapter 26: Absconder

The week continued along in the same disjointed manner.

He made me stay with him at all times but as for the, um, mating, he hadn't forced the issue after attacking me. I found that he talked a lot, I wasn't planning for pleasantries and had no room to talk. The beast side was very much present at times. Sometimes if felt like two sets of eyes were leering at me. The tension led me to make mistakes that cost me: a smack acrossed the face for asking after the colony after he had baited me all nightlong, and his hands digging into my healing wounds every time I reacted badly to his romantic touches. 

He had hurt me and the entire time wavered between apologizing and blaming my actions, that it was all my fault. I never spoke of Manu, no matter how much I missed him. My human friends were never brought up again after that. 

I was thankful the morning a alarm rose me from my unsettled sleep. The Beta had been on leave since finding me, but today he was expected to report back to his work under the Alpha, like every other mated Natural. He groaned then released me. I heard the shower turn on and I basked in the comfortable bed by myself. 

He made it very clear that I wasn't to leave the house over dinner the night before.

"Mate," he started. He never called me, Natalie, but I had overheard him on the phone before referring to me as 'his Tally'. My best guess that it was some re-naming bullshit that Bram had used on my mother. It was probably Human-Natural  101 to try and instill Stockholm syndrome, pathetic. 

"The Alpha wants me back at work tomorrow. You have to stay here."

I nodded my head and returned to my plate. As if, I would want to go anywhere with him. On the inside, my mind had flashed between the things I would need and the route out that I had chosen.

I heard the distinct noise of the shower shutting off and I had to hold in my disappointment that he hadn't drown. The Natural shuffled about the room before coming to a rest by my side. He huffed. I peered through my eyelashes. His face was contemplating. I pretended to be asleep and ignore him. A small moan released of the Natural's mouth when a pair of lips descended against my skin.

Don't move. Don't move. Don't move. Don't move.

He eventually pulled away.

"One day, you will be very happy with me. I'll make sure of it." A hand was placed over my forehead and he left.

The front door slammed on his way out. I stayed where i was frozen, surrounded by the sounds of my own breathing. He could still turn around and come back for me. I waited there for a while before i began my preparations. 

I dressed in the clothing he had bought me, a long sleeves turtle neck and pants. I was uncomfortable in the way in had brought him joy but it was better than wearing his cloths, which he liked even better. I found a backpack in the hall closet. I packed it with all the food that i could carry and water bottles without it bulking out suspiciously, I really didn't need to be noticed. 

I discovered all the sharp objects in the house had been removed prior to me being here. There was evidence of an empty knife block in the kitchen. I couldn't find a junk drawer anywhere. We always had one at home, full of screwdrivers and mini eyeglass fixing kits. I ended up with the potato peeler, it wouldn't be much but it would have to do.

The plan of exit was through the laundry room window. It faced the backyard and blocked by hedges, the neighbors nor anyone on the front street should be able to see me. This window seemed older than the rest of the house, like it was part of an unfished renovations. The dimensions made it smaller than others, but the way that the Beta had sealed it was by using title adhesive. Not smart on his part, though waterproof, it came off with anything scrape.

I made sure not to leave a mess behind. A small Houdini act will save me sometime of him trying to figure out how I got out. Any time of his wasted was a good thing on my part. I popped out the window and closed it with ease. My next move was to get out of the territory, preferably somewhere human controlled, possibly another coven, or a rival pack. i made my way into the tree line. Either way I needed to head North and luckily, my mom's nickname for me was the human compass, I was never lost. 

I turned back to the house, my prison. I needed to keep moving but in one less childish motion, I flipped it and him off.