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Nineteen
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FATED ESCAPE Twenty
I can’t afford to turn away from something that might mean the difference between survival and starvation.“Come back to the house. I’ll have Adela look at your ankle tomorrow,” Mack says in his frustratingly calm tone, making all the sense in the world.Because he’s an alpha, Aerin. They’re used to winning all arguments and convincing you to do things you don’t want. That’s just the way they are.“I’ll take you wherever you want to go. I said I’d do it before, and if that’s what you want, that’s what I’ll do.”I can’t believe him. I know this is just another way to trap me here. Somehow, he’s guessed what I am, even if he hasn’t mentioned it yet. I can’t trust him.But I also know that I don’t have another choice. I can’t be pregnant and stumbling around in the rain like this with nothing. I’ve fallen before, and luckily the only thing I hurt was my pride. The next time it might be something I can’t get back up from. Like my neck.Without a word, I turn around and limp my way back
FATED ESCAPE Twenty One
She doesn’t convince me to stay; she doesn’t convince me of anything. All she does is smile softly as she places a hand on my arm. “There’s a great deal of strength in you Aerin. Perhaps once you stop running, you might use some of it. Take it from someone who’s lived a long life, the power to create and heal will always be stronger than the power to destroy.”Before I can work out what she means, or even ask her, she rises and heads for the door. “Now, don’t forget that book I gave you. The crutches too, and take care.”After Adela closes the door gently behind her and I hear her soft tread on the stairs, I turn my gaze back to the window and the view I know I’m going to think about—and miss—for a long time once I’ve gone.I wish I’d asked her about why Mack and his pack are here, and why he took the name Winters. I want to know what happened to his mother, and whether her being an omega is the reason he’s able to read me so well. But mostly, I want to know why he didn’t tell me th
FATED ESCAPE Twenty Two
The dark anticipation lighting his eyes tells me exactly what kind of talking he intends on doing, the physical kind. With his fists, or most likely, with teeth and claws. “You can even judge the winner between us. How does that sound?”Shane is the alpha of one of the most aggressive packs in the country, while Mack is alpha of a pack so tiny it wouldn’t even register to the Dacres. I won’t be judging a fight; I’ll be watching an execution.I don’t say a word, just quietly return to Shane, who grabs my hair again, making me cry out even louder than I did before.He leans into my face. “Try running again, Aerin, and see what I do.”As I stare into his eyes, I realize he hates that I’m his mate, that it’s me and not Bree. He’s always been closed off to me, and in a way, I was relieved he kept his distance. But now I wish I’d known how he really felt.I could’ve saved myself so much pain if I’d run away long ago.When I lower my gaze to the ground, Shane makes a sound of disgust becaus
FATED ESCAPE Twenty Three
I place my hand on my belly as I stare out of the window, trying to visualize mine and my baby’s future. There’s no way Shane would be the kind of father any child should have. He’ll be worse than my father, who at least was only cold and distant. He was never cruel like Shane.When a bus pulls up beside the gas station, I shift my focus to it.The bus driver who gets out isn’t the same one who brought me here, though he’s wearing a familiar blue uniform. I watch him step out of the bus and head straight for the tiny shop attached to the gas station.Just outside, Shane fills up the car. The fumes are so strong that I don’t know how it doesn’t bother him at all, given how sensitive our noses are. He’s gazing into the distance, looking distracted. I guess he’s thinking about Bree. Or maybe he’s thinking about getting rid of me so he can be free to be with her instead of me.Minutes pass, and then the bus driver emerges from the shop and heads toward the bus. Whether he’d stopped to us
FATED ESCAPE Twenty Four
“It might have something to do with a certain girl tossing his car keys into the forest, and him snarling at the people on a nearby bus who offered to help him look for them. He was still looking when I came after you, and I couldn’t help but notice in completely the wrong place.”My mouth falls open in surprise because I hadn’t thought I’d tossed the keys that far, or that he’d have such difficulties finding them.Before I can ask Mack how he can be so sure Shane was looking for his keys in the wrong place, he steps out of the forest. I take in the blue Sedan parked at the side of the road, which I’m guessing must be his.After helping me into the passenger seat and closing my door, Mack rounds the car and climbs in. Once he’s started the engine, he doesn’t move. Instead, he turns to me and his eyes dip down. “Seatbelt, love.”I smile at him and buckle up as he does the same, and then in no time at all, we’re heading back toward Winter Lake before I can think to ask him about Shane.
FATED ESCAPE Twenty Five
Mack shrugs. “It might. It might not. But I’m guessing you probably haven’t eaten a decent meal in a while if you’ve been driving for hours to get here. The diner in town can give you a chance to eat and rest.”Is he being serious?By now, even Shane, who’s stopped a few feet away, is looking as stunned as I feel. I’ve long since abandoned my mission to drag Mack inside, to observe him instead. I consider pinching myself because I’m becoming increasingly convinced that I didn’t wake up from my nap and none of this is happening.Shane blinks. “Are you suggesting I rest and eat before I come back and kill you?”“No,” Mack says, still in the same calm tone. “I’m saying that tonight when we fight, I wouldn’t want you thinking for even a second that the reason you lost was because you weren’t well-rested. This way, you’ll know you had just as much rest as I did.”I stare at the back of Mack’s head with my mouth hanging half-opened. Slowly, I lift one hand to my arm and pinch myself. I don
FATED ESCAPE Twenty Six
I get ready to close my eyes because, despite the Winter Lake Pack’s utter confidence in their alpha, they don’t know Shane the way I do.Before I can close my eyes, Mack steps out of the way of Shane’s attack with time to spare. I inhale sharply because I did not see that coming. As I’m busy coughing and choking because it felt like air went down the wrong way, Mack makes his move.Bennett, or someone—I’m not about to take my eyes away from the fight to see—claps me on my back as I stare, stunned, as Mack, with a speed and a ferocity I’m not expecting, clamps his jaws around Shane’s throat and slams him hard enough to the ground that I flinch.No matter how hard Shane struggles and fights, nothing he can do can get Mack to release his grip.Slowly, Mack’s jaws tighten until it’s clear what’s going to happen if Shane doesn’t stop fighting.To my utter disbelief, with my mouth hanging open, I watch the impossible happen. Shane stills his struggles and concedes the fight.He won. Mack w
FATED ESCAPE Twenty Seven
“You want to stay for lunch, Bennett? I told my father to let me live my own life, and we’re having a celebratory meal. By meal, I mean a pile of bacon.”Bennett blinks at me and shifts his confused gaze to Mack. “Yeah, just bacon,” Mack confirms.After a long pause, Bennett shakes his head, only this time, the hint of a smile curves his lips. “Uh, no. I’m good. I need to get back to the shop.”We say our goodbyes and once he’s disappeared back around the house, I follow Mack inside. I’m heading for the kitchen when Mack grabs my hand and tugs me upstairs instead.“But…bacon?” I cry out mournfully, turning to gaze back down the stairs.“We have to work up an appetite first, and stop looking at me like I just kicked your puppy,” Mack says when he glimpses the expression on my face.“You promised me bacon and failed to deliver.”“But I note you’re not stopping me,” Mack says, as he backs me to his—no, to our bed with his hands on my hips.“Aren’t I?” When the back of my legs hit the bed
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