I was standing in the middle of the grass, feeling the dirt squelch between my toes as I waited.

It wasn't long now, the full moon.

Here in the Bloodlust pack, nothing happened until the moon was at its absolute peak in the sky. Slowly, pack members would emerge from the shadows and join us in this cleared circle in the middle of Bloodlust's Southern Forests. No one spoke a single word, the only noise being the slow creaking of frogs and grasshoppers nestled amongst the plants. I stood next to Alexander, as proud and stoic as ever. I avoided his gaze completely, feeling awkward about our encounter that had only been a few hours ago. The most of his lips still remained on my skin, light bruises as proof. I hadn't covered them up this time, there being no obvious point.

A tattoo of a traitor, surrounded by marks of love from an alpha.

What a sight my chest must be now.

So... contradictory.

Vance stood along, Farren too, neither of their mates being able to participate. I wonder how many times Alexander had stood here waiting, wondering how long it would be before he had someone by his side to conduct the run with.

I shook the thought away.

I was beginning to feel the slow web of anxiety suffocating my breath. I had shifted plenty of times, and I had certainly shifted in the presence of others before, but technically, this would be the first meeting of Alexander's wolf and mine. I already knew that an Alpha's wolf dominated all others in terms of size, but especially because of the moon, neither of us would be in control.

It would be our wolves.

Usually I could trust my wolf to make sensible decisions, but when put in a situation with her mate... who knows.

Finally, the moon shifted just into place, casting the entire circle in the pale moonlight. As if on instinct, I raised my head, letting it shine onto my features.

It was refreshing, and I could feel my wolf pushing at the brink of my mind to come out.

Everyone was starting to shift, so for once, I listened to my wolf and obeyed. Only a second later, I was standing on all fours, my dark brown fur rusting in the wind.

Slowly, I turned my head, facing Alexander who too, had already shifted.

My breath got caught in my throat.

He was magnificent, standing larger than any wolf I had ever seen in my entire life. Brown hair like mine, though a few significant shades lighter. Suddenly, he lifted his head to the moon and began to howl, the entire pack quickly joining in as he did so.

And so did I, letting the sound echo around me as my wolf truly came to the front and foremost of my mind.

And then we started to run.

Alexander went first, and I was hot on his trail, the noise in the forest around us shifting to paws against the hard ground and lingering howls.

In a moment of defiance, I slipped in front of Alexander, choosing to then run circles around him, specifically since we were so far in front of the rest of the pack. Darting between the trees with a gleeful smile and my tongue hanging freely from my mouth.

Alexander raised his head a few times in confusion as I did so, his stride barely breaking at all. Yet I didn't stop, my entire body relishing in this feeling of freedom. My runs had always been cut short, one command and my whole body cracked back into my human form. But not today, not now, and not ever again.

I watched as Alexander gave a look behind him to Vance who quickly increased his speed as in one quick step, Alexander came tumbling my way, rolling out of the pathway and into the bushes and forests with me.

A quick yelp and the two of us were back on our feet. Suddenly, my wolf was a lot less playful, standing tall on alert.

Alexander dropped onto the floor, splaying his legs out on his floor as he let out a long whine, his tail strong and straight in the air as it slowly began wag.

That was all the incentive my wolf needed, jumping and tackling him with a quick reaction that immediately met my actions, rolling and jumping over each other with yelps of glee and teasing growls.

He pounced off me, running around in a quick circle before taking off further into the deeper woods, barking as an incentive to get me moving. I followed him, this time running directly next to him. We seemed to circle the woods for hours, the cold air completely filling my lungs as if I was running through the arctic. It was so calming, the way that the trees seemed to bend out of our way, creating a mystical path that I knew would instantly become one of my favourite places to come and destress.

Only the. the dark blue of the sky above us began to slowly move into a hazy pink did I find that Alexander and I's path led us back through the woods and out into the pack. Everything was quiet, no one on the streets as we ran along the back edges of peoples homes. Part of me wanted to dart back into the forest and spend the rest of my day there, but there was a slow ache begging me to just go to sleep, especially now that I could sleep on the bed without a guilty conscience.

And Cora and Ti, they should be finished within the next few hours.

Carefully, I started to slow my pace. my strides turning into steps before I shifted back mid-movement. Alexander, too, copied my action, sweat dripping down his face and immediately soaking his shirt.

"That was amazing," I breathed, "Goddess, I forgot how much I missed it."

Alexander softened, "Missed what?"

I shrugged, "Running, just being able to be my wolf without being forced back. The woods, all of it."

"You'll always be able to do it here," Alexander assured, quickly grasping my hand. "Your wolf is beautiful,"

"As is yours," I returned graciously. "I was worried you know, that my wolf would be so much worse. Considering how she can be, dragging you away from the run was just mild."

He raised a brow, "What a force our wolves will be together, since mine can barely stand to not throw everything to shit. He's certainly a wild spirit."

I wiggled closer, resting my head on his shoulder as we walked, grabbing onto his hand as we walked up the stairs into the house. My first priority was a shower, then Cora and Ti. Now that the moon had left the sky, my wolf had settled back down, completely dormant meaning that my focus had moved from runs and my mate back to reality and some sense.

I pulled away from Alexander, my heart burning as I ran up the stairs and into our bedroom. I grabbed an outfit for the day, jeans and a long sleeved, tight black shirt. I dropped them to the tiled floor as I heavily lifted my arms, taking off the singlet and tights that were slick to my skin with sweat.

I twisted the knobs, relishing in the ice-cold water that quickly came out of the head. My entire body felt at peace. I didn't feel shit about Alexander, I didn't feel annoyed at my situation here, I didn't feel wrong for abandoning Cora and Ti.

I felt... satisfied.

And every single time I thought like that, every single time I felt fine, I remembered the agreement. The three months I had been given.

Why couldn't I just stay?

The items that they still had, the information about my past that I knew they had.

That was incentive enough for me.

---------------------------------

When I walked into the cells, I heard nothing, no screams, no begging, no nothing. That was how I knew that the withdrawal was completely and utterly over.

Ti was closest, so I came into her cell first. Carefully opening up the door,

"Ti?"

A hopeless sob in response.

I meant down next to her curled-up body. wrapping my arm around her as I clicked the key into the shackles that bound her to the wall.

I sat her up straight, "Can you feel anything broken? Anything that you may have injured a little more?"

She wiped a hand over her face as she shook her head. "I healed myself as I went, I'm not too sure how but I did."

"Are you able to walk?"

Ti nodded, "I'll be able too, I just need to get on my feet."

I moved my hands to help heave her upwards. Ti's hand shot out to the wall, bracing herself for a moment as she took a long breath.

The two of us then started to move, slowly and surely against the wall towards the cell where Cora was.

As I peered in, the first thing I noticed was the water. The broken pipe was even worse now, the water running down the hallway for at least 5 metres leading up to the cell.

As Cora noticed me, she cracked a weary smile, "I think I made it worse."

"It needed to be fixed anyway, I wouldn't worry about it." I huffed, unlocking the cell and moving toward her.

Her dress was ripped, shreds of material that had stuck themselves to her skin. Long black lines ran down her cheeks, makeup running down every inch of her face.

I unlocked the shackles, "Any injuries?"

A moment of hesitation, "Sprained wrist, the water managed to keep me from thrashing around too much."

I let out a breath. "That's a relief. The afterwards is much easier when your body doesn't need to focus on healing your physical injuries."

Cora brought herself up, her entire body shaking with a perfect mask planted on her face. "I bet you came out of here all broken up, huh?"

I scoffed as I moved out of the cell back to where Ti was, "Three major injuries, Xander almost had me hospitalised. I nearly gave him a concussion."

She let out a short chuckle, "What an alpha male."

I leaned against the cell bars as Cora and Ti leaned against the stone wall, taking a moment to recoup.

"The shit that I saw- that I remembered," Ti shuddered, "I don't remember using my magic for murder, to create brews and all that that did more harm than good. And yet, I saw it, as clear as day."

"I don't remember taking half a million dollars from a man's pocket, sealing it with a kiss before leaving to never see him again. I don't remember sending all those people bankrupt." Cora admitted. "I don't remember, but I do. I can't even pretend that it was a dream."

"You remember all that stuff first. The withdrawal pulls it all forward to the front of your mind since it's what banished it to the back in the first place." I swallowed. "Then you remember the abuse, and the torture, and the treatment from the leaders. You realise how wrong every little action was, curse yourself for even thinking that it was good."

"When do the nightmares start?" Ti whispered.

"A few days, maybe more. Depends on your mind I suppose. I'm not sure when they stop," I bit my cheek. "Some nights are fine, most aren't. I guess it's really just getting over it all."

"Those people up there must be strong." Cora said, "Knowing who we are, what we've done to them and their allies, what we would do if given the order and yet still offering us refuge."

"If the Alpha wasn't my mate, I doubt that we would be receiving such treatment. I should give thanks to the Moon Goddess more often." I furrowed my brows.

"And what's next?" Ti asked. "Where do we go from here?"

"A shower first off, get rid of the blood and grime, then of course Cora, we'll strap your wrist." I pondered. "And then we heal. You heal. You begin that journey of normalcy, and we'll do it together. Nothing else can happen until that."

Cora let out a breath. "So that's what we'll do. The organisation, they don't control us anymore. We'll get through this."

Ti linked arms with Cora who then linked arms with me. "Besides, who else would be able to get through this better than us? And the three of us together? Within a month, we won't even be able to remember that we worked for them."

I felt a rush of positivity. "Exactly, they won't even know what hit them."

And just like that, the three of us were walking down the hallway to go back up into the main house. Albeit, slowly, but walking all the same.

The three of us together, making this journey together.

Yet I wondered how long it would truly take to be ok again.

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