Chapter 7

Dylan ended up driving us to the same mall where we had met when I had been with Jace.

I smiled automatically, thinking that the day we met, was the first time I tried to escape- in this same place.

"What are you going to buy?" Dylan asked me. We were walking around inside the mall.

To my surprise, it wasn't as crowded as it had been the day Jace had brought me there. I thought it was a disadvantage to me, but I didn't let it get me down. 

More people meant it would be easier to get away from Dylan, not that it was going to be easy in any way.

"I was thinking I could buy a casual dress or something like that," I answered, walking into a store. Dylan nodded his head and didn't add anything else.

As I looked around at the clothes, pretending to be interested in them, Dylan would simply stand beside me. He would look around, look at me for a while, or stare at the clothes with a bored expression.

The way he stood, made it seem like he was my body guard. 

I grinned when I thought that was the perfect way to give me an edge with my escape plan.

"You know, you don't have to be next to me all the time," I told Dylan. I was holding a dress and didn't look up to see him as I said that.

I was attempting to make it sound like a normal conversation, not wanting Dylan to think I was trying to get rid of him.

"I don't mind," he replied.

"You kinda look like you do. Well, mainly, you look bored out of your mind."

"Bored, I am. But, I'll be fine."

"What if I want to surprise you with what I buy?" I asked him, getting closer and placing one of my hands on his chest. 

He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

I found it so odd for him to give me that look. Dylan has confidence like no other, but finding him being cocky or smirking at someone- even me- it was rare.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"That's part of the surprise, now go and let me find my clothes," I told him, untangling myself from his hold and shooing him away.

He chuckled and shook his head, which was something so casual, but made him look so desirable.

"Okay, shop all you want. I'll go check out some things in the shops next to the mall. We'll meet up front in an hour?"

"That sounds good," I replied, now my voice coming out softer than I wanted it too. 

He leaned in to give me a peck, but I placed my hands behind his head to giving him a lasting kiss.

I felt like tearing up in the middle of the store, but controlled myself.

Dylan seemed surprised by the way I attacked him. He replied to the kiss soon enough after recovering.

I broke the kiss, now thinking if I didn't let him go in that moment, I never would. 

The thing was, even if Dylan was possessive, got jealous for any little thing, hardly spoke to me, and confused me most of the time- he was my mate.

"What was that for?" He asked when I let him go.

"Something to remember me by while you're out in your shops," I said, turning away from him. I pretended to be interested in a rack of dresses.

My eyes were getting glassy and I didn't want him to notice I was about to break down if he didn't leave the store.

"I love you," Dylan whispered in my ear, before leaving.

He had never said that before. A tear rolled down my cheek and soon after, others followed it. 

I had my purse with me holding all the money I had brought, my jewelry, and money Dylan had given me.

I was carrying all my important documents and even chose to wear my most comfortable clothes. 

I would have to leave all my other clothes behind, but they were replaceable.

In that moment, I could walk away. Dylan would think I was shopping so I would have a clear opening.

But I couldn't even move. While my mind processed that I was ready to leave, my heart was stuck in those three little words.

I took a few moments to calm down. Being in this state would help no one, especially me. I looked at the dress in my hand. For some reason I wanted it.

Maybe it was because if my life wasn't messed up, I would've chosen that dress to be presented to Dylan's pack. 

Maybe it was because it simply was a beautiful dress. Maybe the reason was that the dress had been what I was holding the last time I saw Dylan.

I found myself in the register, paying for the dress. The cashier looked at me with a face of sympathy.

"Are you okay?" She asked me, while putting the dress in a bag, after I had paid for it.

"I will be," I replied, taking the bag from her and leaving the store.Instead of walking out through the entrance Dylan and I had used, I went through the back.

There were plenty of people there, and the parking lot on that side was full of cars as well. I didn't really mind, since I knew Dylan would only look for me through the front area.

Once I reached the end of the parking lot, I looked out to where the main city would lead. 

We were still about fifteen minutes away from it and it was a good way to loose Dylan. He would never find me if I kept making my way there.

Then I stared into the woods. For a while, I would be covering no man's land. I would have to shift in order to cover more land and faster. 

I could run for about three or four hours in my human form, but that would not be enough time.

If I was a wolf, I could run a full day before getting tired.

Without making a decision, I found myself walking into the woods. Being surrounded by greenery, trees, and water I heard in the distance- made me feel like home.

I walked more into the woods and tried to hear for any noise. 

When I assured myself that I was alone, I started removing my clothes and shoving them in my bag. I also placed the shopping bag with the dress I had bought, in it.

I had picked out a bigger purse, so that I could carry all my important things. It was a roomy bag, but things were tight and it looked packed since I had filled it up.

As soon as I got it to close, I shifted into my white wolf. Even if I had been out on a run yesterday, I missed the freedom that came whenever I shifted.

I grabbed the bag with my mouth and started jogging. Nothing was familiar, so I just had to find my direction and start heading the opposite way of home, and of Dylan.

I was running through the woods, keeping alert of my surroundings. I had been going for almost three hours. 

As I ran, I was thinking that by now, Dylan would be looking for me.

I wondered if he waited after the hour had passed or if he went in to look for me. The thoughts were fuzzing up my mind and were making me lose focus.

I stopped running and looked around to where I was. 

Something was off. 

I wanted to shift back to my human form, but it didn't feel safe. I took a deep breath and it was then when I noticed what was wrong.

I was in another pack's territory.

I looked around, trying to think when it was that I crossed the line and trespassed. 

The law of trespassers, especially for rogues, was death. Being distracted and wrapped up in my thought's had made me lose concentration without even noticing.

I slowly retracted my steps. Unless the pack was doing rounds right now, there shouldn't be anyone so out in their territory.

 I knew I was in the outskirts of their land, but I was still about a mile in.

My father many times tried to teach me about all the packs in the US and each time, I thought there were better things to do. 

Now, I knew why that was the wrong way to go.

For sure, I knew there were only twelve packs in the US, all located in the areas with the biggest greenery. To know which one I was trespassing and what they could do to me- that was still a mystery.

I was walking back, with my ears perked up- staying alert. I was about to make it out of their territory when I heard what I had been dreading.

Growls were coming from behind me and they sounded really pissed off.

I turned around and found a single gray wolf standing there, his stare on me and he was baring his teeth in a threating manner.

It was him against me, which wouldn't seem like a big deal. Except he was a male- which are usually stronger- he was twice my size, and he was an Alpha.

It was obvious I was stuck. I couldn't run away, or he would chase after me and probably kill me. 

If I stayed, he would probably kill me anyways for trespassing. In simple words- I was doomed.

I laughed inwardly at my luck.

I ran away from my Alpha, to escape the marriage of the Alpha from the neighboring pack. Then I landed myself with another Alpha who turned out to be my mate. 

After running away from him, I get trapped by a new Alpha who will probably be the one to break the cycle.

The way he would do it was what I wasn't interested in- he would just kill me.

The gray wolf walked away from me, behind some trees. I stood there confused, not knowing if I should take that chance to run. 

There was a big chance that he would catch me, so I decided to remain still.

He came back in his human form. I wasn't expecting him to be so young. From Dylan though, I should've assumed that there were other young Alphas. Dylan was 21 years old.

This guy looked around that age, possibly a few years older. He was wearing black basketball shorts and his upper body was bare.

 I could see his prominent muscles, which added to his intimidating image.

Even though my Alpha back home was older, the Alpha in front of me reminded me a lot of him. They both looked threatening and dangerous. 

Maybe that is the way Dylan looked to other people, because he was serious most of the time.

I got used to bending the rules with him because he was my mate and never really treated him like Alpha.

"You are trespassing," the Alpha said- his face remaining stoic and his voice expressionless. I nodded my head once.

"Go change," he ordered, and pointed at a big tree that was a few steps away.

I slowly made my way to it, keeping my attention with him. Even if I didn't have a chance against him, it didn't mean I would go without a fight if the need be.

I changed into my smug jeans, gray shirt, and sandals. My hair was pin-straight, so I just let it hang loose- not bothering to pick it up.

When I walked back to the Alpha, he just stared at me. I was feeling uncomfortable, but I didn't want to break the silence, especially if it could cost me my life.

He cleared his throat and once again got the look he had when I was still in wolf form.

"This is my land, and you're a rogue. Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," he said, in a warning tone.

I gave up. Either I was a really unlucky person or odds were just never in my favor. Maybe the werewolf spirits were punishing me for running away from my former pack or from Dylan.

Whatever it was, I wasn't interested anymore. While thinking of all that, I just stared at the guy.

I chuckled at him and shook my head.

"I don't have one," I finally replied after a while.

He raised an eyebrow and looked expectant. I had nothing else to say, so I remained silent.

"You are trespassing," he repeated, like if I hadn't heard him the first time.

"I am, sorry about that," I apologized.

"You," he started to say and then stopped himself.

"This is Imperial territory you entered," he rephrased my trespassing in a different way.

"Okay," I replied, not really knowing what to say to him.

"Why did you trespass?" He asked. I laughed, finding his behavior funny and unexpected. 

The moment I did, he started growling. It made me want to laugh even harder, so I did.

"Are you trying to disrespect me?" The Alpha asked, his voice sounding outraged. 

He took a step towards me, but we were still fairly apart from each other.

"I'm not, and sorry about trespassing, I really didn't mean to," I said, casually. 

I didn't understand why I wasn't freaked out about the guy in front of me, but I didn't really care. I guess I really had given up.

The Alpha stared at me once again, but didn't approach me anymore.

"So, what are you doing in my land? You are a rogue, and we all know what rogues are famous for," he said, letting the sentence hang.

"Right. I'm here to attack you and take over your land- probably killing you in the process," I said to him, like if we were talking about the weather.

He narrowed his eyes, but otherwise didn't look affected by what I had just said.

"I'm taking you to my house, where I will discuss with my Beta and third in command what to do with you," he stated.

"I'm not going with you," I replied.

"It wasn't a question, it was an order," he said, his voice sounding firm and I could tell he was using his Alpha voice with me. 

Before I met Dylan, I would've bowed down to it. Now, it didn't even shake me up. It made me want to laugh.

I really had to start considering the possibility that I had gone insane.

"You can either let me go and I won't come back, or you can kill me now. But I'm not going into your territory," I told him.

"You ARE in my territory. If you don't come with me, I will simply force you. You may be strong, but I'm stronger."

I stared at him, sizing him up. It wasn't really needed though. He was an Alpha. He would win time and time again.

"So you can't just decide on your own what to do with me? You need to check in on your Beta and third in command?" I asked him. 

My question really seemed to bother him. He stalked over to me and grabbed my arms.

"I am the Alpha. I don't need anyone's approval on my decisions," he said to my face. His eyes were shifting to a darker color, so I knew I had struck a nerve.

"Okay," I replied, shrugging my shoulders. Even though I was tempted to laugh, I didn't.

He gave me a look I didn't understand and again just stared at me for a long while.

"I'm taking you to my house," he stated.

 He let go of one of my shoulders, but grabbed the arm he was holding with more force. I had my bag in my hands and held on to it tight.

Maybe, running away from Dylan hadn't been my brightest idea.