CHAPTER 4. DELILAH'S POV

Earlier that day...

As the first rays of the sun came through the window, I excitedly jumped out of bed. It was quite odd to wake up feeling so... full of hope. For someone who was constantly anxious and dreading what was to come, this was an extremely rare occasion.

For the first sixteen years of my life, I was your typical happy and naive rich girl. Never mean to anyone, but also completely unaware of anyone else's problems. In my eyes, life was perfect in the Amethyst Pack and that was all that mattered.

Unfortunately, two years ago, I found out I was terribly mistaken. Our Alpha died and, on that same day, as my dad became the new Alpha of our pack, everything changed.

My world was shattered and that forced me to see things under a different light. I started to realize many things I had never noticed before about my pack, my friends and even my family. Everywhere I looked, I became a bit more disappointed with life. Due to that, I quickly went from the most popular girl in school to a loner and I honestly didn't mind it. At least I didn't have to pretend my life was perfect when it was far from it. I focused on training and studying with hopes that I could, one day, get the hell out of here. I couldn't stand the sight of my father anymore and I definitely didn't want to be the daughter he wanted me to be. 

Well, folks, today was my perfect chance to make that escape. 'Your last chance, you mean.' My wolf said, being more skeptical than I was. Venus - my wolf - hated the idea of becoming a rogue wolf, but far more than that, she hated the possibility of me getting married to Luca Sheridan, the Alpha of the Howlers Pack. And that was what was supposed to happen in exactly three days, on my 18th birthday, right after I came back from the Youth Conference. For my father, this was the perfect political move and, as his daughter, it was my obligation to comply. 

That is exactly why I had packed my backpack with all the cash I could get my hands on, my valuable jewelry and clothes that were easy to remove and hide, in case I needed to shift suddenly. If anyone cared to check my bag they would immediately know that this was most definitely not meant for the Youth Conference. Of course, nobody would do that. 

I made sure to spend the whole day studying maps and roads. It had become my routine for the past few months to do it every chance that I got. Why? I wanted to review my possible routes of escape, memorize some spots that would make good hide-outs and also I had to be certain that I would know my grounds better than anyone my father or Luca could sent after me. I knew why this marriage was important to them, consequently, I was sure they wouldn't just let me go. I had to be prepared. A couple of hours before the time the bus was scheduled to leave, I took a long shower and got ready. Ugh, who knows when I'll have the chance to take a shower again. I was so desperate to get out of this madness that the thought didn't even gross me out as much as it should have. 

Before I left, I double-checked everything in my bag, including the fake ID I had made for me by a human guy from the town nearby. As I came downstairs, my feet came to a halt. "Oh my..." My mother threw her arms around me, making my entire body tense up. For two years, she hasn't hugged me unless it was for show, which means we had company. I didn't hug her back, I couldn't pretend to care anymore. She was my dad's mate, she knew all about his plans. My eyes simply darted around the room filled with wedding decorations, looking for whover my mother was trying to impress, while I subtly sniffed. I smelled the horrible cologne before my eyes found our visitor. "Mrs. Sheridan." I said plainly, unable to force myself to fake politeness or happiness. 

"Isn't this all amazing, dear? Your wedding will be the most beautiful of all, thanks to your talented mother." Luca's mother said, either unaware of my indifference towards her or simply choosing to ignore it. I heard Venus growl and was forced to look around, so they wouldn't see my eyes shifting to my wolves', as she pushed forward, trying to take over. 

"Yes, incredible." I agreed not wanting to waste any more time in their presence, before raising my arm to look at my watch in a very exaggerated movement. "Oh, I'm late. I don't wanna miss the bus." I said, giving them a fake smile that showed no teeth. "Mom, Mrs. Sheridan, I will see you..." This time, a genuine smile took over, as Venus and I mentally completed my farewell: Never again. 

-

When I got on the bus, there were only two seats available. One was beside Thomas and the other one, beside a new girl. I had no intentions of making friends, however, I don't think I would be able to sit with Thomas without bawling my eyes out, so I chose the seat beside the new girl, hugging my backpack. 

I was not the only who changed after Thomas' dad had died. He used to be the most energetic kid I had ever met and ever since that horrible day, he has gradually gotten "shier". I knew that was not all. Some people judged it to be a normal change that came with adolescence, while others feared someone was wrong with his wolf, after all, his behavior didn't match an Alpha's aura, even though his wolf hadn't come out yet. I knew both groups were wrong, but... I sighed and shook my head, determined not to think about it. This was a problem from the life I was leaving behind. I had to completely let the pack go so I could break the bond. It was the first step to not being found.  

'You have to tell him the truth, Delilah.' Venus stated, sounding a little mad at me. 'I will, I promise. I won't leave without letting him know the truth.' 

"Shaking your head didn't really work, huh?" I heard someone say. The voice came from the new girl.

"What did you say?" I asked her, not really sure I heard her correctly.

"You walked in very deep in thought, then shook your head, as if you were trying to get rid of whatever was on your mind, but your face... I don't know, you looked like you were still deep in thought." She explained with a friendly smile. "I'm Hannah and I do the same thing." Hannah, the new girl, added, extending her hand to me. 

I shook her hand and found myself smiling back. "Hi, Hannah. I'm Delilah." I didn't want to dive into the conversation about my thoughts, but seeing as she was probably going to be the last human I would interact with for a while, I decided to try to be nice.  "So, how are you liking the pack so far?" I asked her as the bus started moving. Hannah's older sister was her only family and she had just married into the pack. She had pleadged to the Amethyst pack no longer than a month ago, but that was all I knew about her.

-

I was almost sad about only talking to Hannah today. She was not like the usual airheaded teenager and we hit it off right away. As we chatted, I was able to forget, even if just for a little while, about my shitty family and what I was about to do. We were in the middle of a debate about who was Jane Austen's best character when the bus got off the road. I was aware that it was raining, but I guess I was so focused on my conversation with Hannah that I didn't realize it was so bad. The next second, the bus flipped and, after that, I felt a sharp pain in my head before everything went dark.