+Chapter 3+

Caspian just stood at the door, completely dissociating from the scene in front of him while Noah gleefully scattered his things in a bid to find his missing money.

He made sure to throw what little clothes he had on the ground and kick all of his books down, spitefully stepping on them.

Noah pushing him out of the way to get out of the wrecked storage room was what snapped him out of it, the Alpha didn't say anything more to him, not even an apology as he hadn't found the money he accused him of stealing.

Laughter bubbled at the back of Caspian's throat again, and he wondered if he was going a little insane.

He gingerly entered the storage room, making sure to lock the door behind him in case Noah hadn't had enough. He carefully stepped over his strewn belongings, heading straight for the hidden notch in the wall behind a shelf where he hid his piggy bank.

He knew exactly what would have happened if Noah had found it, he would have taken everything inside even without a single proof that Caspian had been the one to take his money.

He knew well that Noah didn't at all lack for money, at least not to his knowledge so he had done all of this out of spite. He probably didn't even think that he was the one who took the money, that was more on-brand for him.

Caspian didn't arrange the things that Noah scattered, he just picked out a few of his clothes that were still good enough to wear and carefully folded them into his satchel. He returned his piggy bank to its safe spot and then went to sleep.

He wasn't sure if Noah hadn't returned the night before or if he had just locked himself up in his room but he didn't care.

He got up early the next morning, barely sleeping a wink, cleaned up, and went right to the storage room.

Now he finished packing up, putting a couple of his favorite books in the satchel, and also making sure to put in his heat suppressants - the only thing that was bought for him.

His first heat suppressants had been given to him by Noah, the Alpha had come to the stall-like room he had been living in before they started sharing an apartment and tossed a paper bag at him as well as some insults he couldn't remember now but Noah was far from creative, so it was definitely something along the lines of him being gay, disgusting, and stupid.

Caspian was grateful for them regardless, he would be devastated if he had to deal with his heats as well as everything that went on in his life… He smashed open his piggy bank on the ground and carefully picked up his money among the shards.

It all amounted to roughly a thousand dollars and he was grateful to his parents for spoiling him because he had just gotten the piggy bank shortly before the accident.

He safely stowed away the money, slung his satchel over his shoulders, and slipped out of the apartment. The storage was still a mess but he didn't care, he planned to never see it again.

Caspian could hear his own heartbeat as he went down to the ground floor, terrified that someone would stop him and demand where he was going but the handful of people that saw him didn't even give him a second glance.

He stopped at the utility room again to catch his breath even though he hadn't been running, his nerves were getting the best of him and he had to lean against a wall so he didn't throw up.

He felt completely better when he left the Pack House, the morning breeze doing a lot to settle him.

He went down a footworn path through the woods behind the Pack House to get to town, he walked briskly, wishing he could run but knowing that would only draw attention to himself.

Caspian had put on a beanie after he got out of the Pack House to better hide his identity, tucking all of his hair in. As he neared the bus stop his heart started to pound again, could he really do this? Was it really that easy to just leave?

He had already planned his route the day before, he would hop on a bus to the next town and then get a ticket for the train. It was so simple, he was an adult, he could do this.

Caspian marched up to get on the bus, his composed exterior a facade as he expected someone to yell his name or try to stop him but none of that happened.

There were a lot of people commuting from Moonstone to Beckley so in no time the bus was off. Caspian sat at a window seat, clutching his satchel for comfort, his head still down, heart racing.

No one seemed to notice him but he remained tense for the rest of the half-hour ride, breathing in a deep breath when he got down at Beckley.

Beckley was a much bigger town, he had been here a handful of times when his parents were still alive, so he still remembered how to get to get to the train station. It wasn't a short walk but he didn't mind, anything to save on cash.

Caspian didn't need to walk with his head down, although a lot of people from Moonstone worked in Beckley, it was unlikely that he would run into anyone he knew.

It was mid-morning and he couldn't believe he had gotten this far, a faint smile on his face as he picked up the pace.

He got himself doughnuts at the station before getting his ticket and settling down to wait for the train. The train would run for hours with the last stop being Haines and he had barely eaten the day before so he would hate to be stuck hungry on the ride.