Chapter two

LILY

“No…Please…” 

I struggled against my mothers grip, tears pooling to my eyes as I tried to pry her hands away from my neck but her grip was stronger than mine. I couldn't blame her if she had this much hate for me after everything that her sister had done to her.

She was merely projecting the hate that she had on her sister towards me, the child who had come from such an abominable act. Maybe I should never have been born. If my origin was this dirty then what use did I have in this world?

As her grip on my neck tightened I could feel the world sl;ipping away from me, at the corners of my eyes  darkness slowly crept in ready to claim me. I knew she was choking me to death.

Suddenly there was a clattering noise from upstairs coming from the direction of the door of the cellar. Sally cocked her head to that direction, freeing me as she took to the stairs intent on finding out what had caused the noise.

I breathed deeply.

“Wake up Lily,” It’s Casey, she’s trying to motivate me:”Think about Lee!”

Yes, I can’t die here, Lee is still waiting for me . Now that Sally's away, If I wasted this window of opportunity then it would be my own fault. Drying my tears I staggered to my feet intent on escaping.

Taking the stairs two at a time i made my way out of the cellar

I needed to heal my wounds and the only way I was going to be able to do that faster was if I shifted into my wolf form, the wounds would be gone automatically when I would make the shift back to human.

Making my way out of the pack house I started towards the woods that were adjacent to the house, the words of my boyfriend echoing in my head.

Meet me, in the woods by the bank of the small lake, we are going to elope today.

This lingered louder and louder in my head and soon became my last hope.

I looked up at the sky. The moon was out in all its silver glory casting a dark silvery reflection onto the ground in front of me. I took a deep breath and welcomed the powers that the moon was offering, allowing my wolf to come to the surface.

“It’s okay Lily, let me help and heal your wounds,” she said, and I closed my eyes and let Casy  take over.

The shift began and soon I was bounding towards the forest, the wind caressing the fur on my body, my wounds healing just beneath the flesh and bone of my wolf. Casey and Lee were my only comfort, in a world where everyone treated me with scorn, they were the only ones that made me feel loved.

 As I ran deeper and deeper into the woods towards the location Lee had given me the images of luna Sally’s eyes filled with hate flashed by me. My father who detested me because of what he had done, my sister who saw me as nothing more than a rat eating the crumbs from the table in the Alphas house.

It’s okay, Casey  said. Suffering is but a passing thing. What matters is the individual that is left after the suffering has passed. You have so much to give lily and it’s not your fault if people detest you. You're unique to me and I will always be your wolf.

I sniffed the air, and I could scent the river up ahead. Lee had a cottage close by where the both of us always stayed whenever we met up here. I moved with a burst of speed and soon I could hear the rushing water up ahead. 

As soon as I reached the banks, I shifted back to my human form, the gash in my leg gone, the dull throbbing pain at the base of my skull was gone too. I looked around me to see if I could spot Lee, but I couldn’t.

Maybe he was running late. Either way I was prepared to wait, I was tired of the pack, there was nothing for me back there; if running away with Lee was going to give me some modicum of happiness then I was willing to take it. We would become rogues since we had run away from our pack, but I didn’t care, as long as I was with Lee everything was going to be alright.

“Lily.” Lee was standing there, calling me with an usual tone. But I didn’t notice that because…Goddess I felt the mate bond! 

The Moon Goddess hadn’t deserted me after all, she had given me Lee as a source of comfort.

I scented him even before he touched me on the shoulder. Turning around I embraced him, my heart swelling with joy. He had come after all, maybe I did deserve him.

“Come with me,” Lee said, moving towards the direction of the cottage.

He hadn’t hugged me back, but I didn’t care, he was here and that was all that mattered. I didn’t know if I should tell him the truth I had just discovered today, would he still like me after that, would he see me in a different light.

But as I followed Lee to the cottage, his broad back was the only thing I could see. I had the feeling that something was wrong.

“Lee?’

He stopped and turned to face me.

“Yes Lily.”

“Are you all right?”

He nodded and stretched out his hands.

“Come with me.”

I put my hands in his, feeling warmth surrounding me, feeling my wolf happy as we cleared the remaining distance to the cottage. Soft yellow light was filtering through one of the windows to rest on the leaves outside.

As we entered the house I was hit by a familiar scent. Lee opened the door to the cottage fully and I could see my sister perfectly outlined on one of the chairs in the living room area. She had her head bowed into the surface of her palms and she was crying.

I was shocked and unconsciously moved forward to her. But then Lee stood before her, showing a posture of protection.

“Lily, you shouldn’t hurt Lisa any further!  Lee started, ignoring the shock and hurt on my face. “I,Lee Evans, reject you, Lily Alderwood.”