013.

Cassie.

My breath hitched as I leaned toward the rolled-down window, squinting through the dim light of the car’s interior to see who was inside.

And then my eyes widened in shock.

“Jake?” I whispered, barely able to form the word.

His expression was unreadable, but I felt the intensity of his gaze. It took me a second to remember how to breathe, and when I did, it was shallow and panicked. I’d been caught.

“I—” My voice cracked, and the bags slipped from my hands, heavy and useless against my side.

Jake rolled his eyes, his face twisting with impatience, “Get in, Cassie.”

I didn’t move, my legs feeling as if they’d been glued to the ground. I’d never said more than a greeting to Jake in my entire life. We weren’t friends, and I assumed he was like the rest of the pack members who didn’t like me.

“I can’t,” I mumbled, shifting backward, with my heartbeat hammering louder than my own thoughts. Jake raised an eyebrow.

“I’m trying to help you,” he said, his voice a low, hurried whisper. “But if you don’t get in the car now, it won’t be long before they find you. I’m sure you know the only thing keeping you hidden is your weak wolf.”

Cy whimpered in the back of my mind, she didn’t like that one bit. 

I bit my lip, torn between survival and distrust for Jake. My gaze darting to the scout wolves prowling nearby. One of them raised his nose to the sky, sniffing in my direction, and I felt panic rise, clawing at me from the inside.

I slipped into the car immediately, shutting the door softly behind me, and Jake hit the gas before I had time to fully buckle myself in.

“Seatbelt,” he muttered, not taking his eyes off the road.

With shaky hands, I pulled the strap over my chest, clicking it into place as the car sped down the winding road away from the bus stop.

It was silent inside the car, but the tension was thick enough to fill every corner. Jake drove with one hand on the wheel, his eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched. He looked over at me for a split second, and the hint of a smirk tugged at his lips.

“You think I’m taking you to him, don’t you?” he asked, his voice tinged with amusement.

I stiffened. 

“Aren’t you?” I managed, my voice barely above a whisper.

He scoffed, a hollow sound in the dark. 

“No, Cassie. I’m not taking you to Axel.” His words sounded genuine, but I didn’t dare believe them.

“Then why are you helping me?” I asked, the doubt in my voice almost pleading. No one had ever helped me, not like this, and the thought that Jake—Axel’s own cousin—might actually be on my side was too much to hope for.

He was quiet for a long moment, his expression calm as he kept his eyes on the road. Finally, he spoke, his tone softer than I’d expected. 

“I’ve never been a fan of how everyone treated you at Red Hollow,” he said. “I think it’s good you’re trying to leave. No one deserves to be chained to that pack, especially someone who went through everything you did.”

The words hit me like a wave, and before I knew it, my vision was blurring, tears spilling over without warning. 

I looked away, pressing my hand to my mouth as if I could hold back the sobs that were clawing their way up my throat. The kindness in Jake’s voice—it was something I hadn’t felt since my parent's death. For the first time, someone had seen what I’d been through, and for a moment, the weight of it all felt too much to bear.

“Don’t cry,” he murmured, handing me a small packet of wipes from the glove compartment. 

I took the wipes, wiping at my face, struggling to pull myself together. My gaze drifted to the bags on my lap, my fingers tracing over them. 

“I only took the money because I needed it,” I said quietly, almost to myself, as if saying it aloud might make it easier to believe.

Jake’s brow furrowed, his expression flickering with confusion, “The money?”

I nodded, wiping my tears away as I took a steadying breath, “Isn’t that why he sent the scouts after me? Because I stole his money?”

For a second, Jake’s mouth fell open, and then he let out a laugh, loud and genuine. 

“You stole his money?”

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. 

“If he’s not after me for the money, then why is he after me?” I asked, my voice breaking as I struggled to make sense of it all.

Jake’s laughter faded, replaced by a look I couldn’t quite read. He took a long breath, his gaze shifting back to the road. 

“Whatever the reason, it shouldn’t matter to you now, Cassie. You’re getting out of here, and that’s all that should matter to you.”

I nodded, though confusion gnawed at me. 

Jake’s answer didn’t satisfy me, but I was too drained to push him further. I focused my attention on the road, Jake and I were quiet as he drove.

After what felt like hours–but in reality was twenty minutes– Jake pulled off the main road and stopped near a rundown hotel. I glanced at it, feeling a pang of disappointment, hoping he wasn’t planning to leave me there. I got out of the car regardless.

“You’re not going to stay here,” he said, almost as if he could read my mind, “Find somewhere less obvious to rest. When the sun rises, leave the state if you have to. Axel won’t stop looking for you tonight.” He paused, looking at me with a mix of sympathy and warning, “Be careful.”

I opened my mouth to thank him, but before I could get the words out, he was already pulling away, leaving me standing alone in the dark, my arm halfway up as if to wave goodbye. I took a deep, shuddering breath, the reality of my situation settling heavily on my shoulders.

I wandered around the cold streets for a while, my senses alert in case of any scout wolves, until I found myself at a dingy little motel, the kind of place no one would look twice at. 

The room was small and stale with a single bed pushed against the wall with thin blankets that smelled faintly of dust. I sat on the edge of the bed, hugging my bags to my chest as exhaustion set in. My whole body ached, and yet sleep felt impossible.

As I sat there in the quiet, my mind drifted to Cam. Images of him flooded my thoughts, unprovoked and merciless. His soft laugh that had once filled my days with light, his loud cries. The weight of his body as I’d held him that last time, cold and still, robbed of the life he’d barely begun to live.

A sob tore from my throat, and before I knew it, I was crying in earnest, my body shaking as the weight of my grief came crashing down. My little boy was gone, buried in the ground of a place I’d never see again. I’d lost him, and now, I’d lost everything else, too.

Through my tears, I made a vow, my voice a raw whisper in the darkness. “I’ll never forgive Axel, no matter what!”