Chapter 27

Harper’s POV

I should’ve known that Vera and Mason were planning something.

It’s possible that my mind was entirely preoccupied with escaping that I failed to realize that a bunch of secret meetings after the wedding ceremony of the marriage that would save their pack was interrupted by the alpha being exposed as a woman abuser would mean something important.

The second wedding was planned when no one else, namely Levi, would know what was going on in enough time to come and save the day. I’d felt like I was practically held under gunpoint to go through with what was an elopement more than anything and complete the marriage bond with Mason.

Which only felt like it enhanced the blood curse he’d put on me.

Over the past couple of days, I noticed that he’d been able to feel my emotions and be more in tune with thoughts more than before.

Which meant that I really had to keep them closed. I didn’t have much time to go over my final escape plan in my head. If Mason even caught a hint of that, it would all be over for me. Not to mention I was at the edge of my seat, hoping that I’d be able to hide the moment I got the text message from Alpha Glenn that told me everything was ready.

Of course, that didn’t mean that I’d completely given up.

There was no way that I’d be able to stay with the Ridgewood Pack and under Mason’s thumb as his wife for the rest of my life.

Despite being fully married and bonded to Mason, we hadn’t completed the pack induction ceremony. Which meant that while I may have been a luna in title, but it wasn’t official through bonds and connections.

My only saving grace at that point.

If the whole pack could track me down, there wouldn’t be a single chance that I would ever make it off the property without escorts that could also track my every move in public.

So, in all technicality, I was still a rogue. Which meant that the alpha and luna of the Red Moon Pack shouldn’t have any problem taking me in.

That alone spurred so many questions from Mason, I didn’t know if I would be able to satisfy him without giving myself away. In the end, all I had to do was keep telling him that I was enraged with the stunt that Levi pulled at our original wedding and assure him that it meant I would be able to be solely bonded to him and his pack. It took a lot, but he finally believed me and let it go.

It even made him happier than before, probably because it made him think that he fully had me and that there was no way that I would ever be able to be free of him.

It was a couple of days after our elopement that I received the text message that I’d been waiting on from the same number as before.

Meet us by the border, in the forest behind the diner we met in before.

A flare of excitement ran through me before I could fully suppress it.

“Harper?” Mason’s warning tone caught my attention from across his office. Before he never wanted me in there with him, but he’d been insisting I keep him company since we bonded.

I quickly deleted the text message and clicked on a different thread, this one was from the photographer that’d been hired to witness the ceremony. She’d sent me a couple of teaser photos. I clicked on one that was of us right after the bonding was complete.

Turning the phone so he could see, I smiled as thoroughly as I could. “Sorry, I just got excited because our photographer sent me the first couple of photos. Look how cute we are!”

I wanted to throw up. I hated playing this game with him. I knew it would all be over soon, but it couldn’t come fast enough.

That night, I put all my energy into faking sleep next to Mason. I focused on slowing my heartbeat, making sure that my breathing was deep and measured. I couldn’t worry about whether it was working or not. That would definitely make him suspicious. Luckily, he seemed pretty tired that night and fell asleep within a half hour.

I didn’t dare move a muscle for another hour or so, just to make sure that he was in deep sleep so I wouldn’t wake him up. As calmly as I could so my emotions wouldn’t spike and bother him, I moved out from under his arm at the painstakingly slow pace.

Standing in the dark room, I strained my hearing to catch any sign of him waking up. Nothing. I crept towards the door, making as little noise as possible.

I wouldn’t take anything with me, it was too risky. It was better if I could get out with nothing on me and start fresh. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing it, but I couldn’t get too excited.

Moving through the halls of the Ridgeway packhouse was another challenge. It was past midnight, so there shouldn’t be too many people milling around, but there was always security and a roaming guard I needed to watch out for.

I’d memorized the layout of all the cameras, so I knew exactly how to get through using blind spots. Since Mason had me in his office so much, I’d also been able to peek at the guard shifts, so if I timed everything right, I shouldn’t run into anyone either.

It took everything in me, but I was able to make it to the garage and open the safe with all the keys without being discovered or letting my emotions get ahead of me. It was too late to rely on a bus like last time, so I had to get more creative. I grabbed the keys to the smallest and fastest car, clicking the buttons to make it beep.

This would be the hardest part of my getaway plan, but if I could make it to the edge of pack territory then I would be out of here forever.

Clicking the garage opener, I slid out into the driveway, praying that no one would be there and if they were, they wouldn’t think anything too suspicious even if that was a longshot.

I hit the gas before hitting the other button that would open the main gates at the edge of the property.

Then, it was just me and the open road.

“Glad you could make it,” Alpha Glenn said with a smile when I exited the car that had been my saving grace.

I did it. I actually did it. Even though I had no idea how I managed to pull it off, I would finally be free from the worst experience of my whole life.

It looked like the alpha and luna of the Red Moon Pack had been prepared for trouble. There were multiple members of their pack standing around on high alert. A bit of guilt tugged at my stomach. No matter how grateful I was to them, I knew that they were also putting themselves in danger all because I made a stupid mistake by believing Mason despite all of the red flags.

I pushed the thoughts away, locking them away to mentally process later. If they weren’t my only hope, I wouldn’t dream of dragging them into it. There were no other options. After this whole mess was sorted out, I would find a way to make it up to them and repay them for everything.

“Are you okay, Harper?” his luna asked me, looking at me with concern in her eyes.

I nodded, still trying to keep my heart rate steady. I wasn’t far enough that I wouldn’t alert Mason. Although, the whole pack was probably already well aware of my disappearance.

Despite being so hopeful now that I stood in front of them, I couldn’t help worrying that Mason would be able to find out what was going on and where I was. Even if I was in their pack territory, if their witch couldn’t or wouldn’t help me, anything less than protection from the Alpha Council probably wouldn’t stop him from invading their territory.

The sound of tires screeching pulled me out of my thoughts. I couldn’t control myself anymore as my heart thudded wildly in my chest, so hard that I felt like it would break through and fall to the ground at my feet.

Five cars pulled behind the one I drove. I instantly recognized Mason’s and all the headlights washed over us, catching us red handed.