Chapter 2

Storm

I woke up the next morning and it wasn't long before the thought that today was my last day with Kat sank in. Laying there, I felt the ache in my chest as the tears gathered in my eyes. I was going to miss her when I left here, but my leaving here had to happen. There was no other option for me. My survival depended on me getting out of here and making a life for myself elsewhere.

In this case, 'elsewhere,' being as far away from here as humanly possible. Thinking of how tomorrow I would no longer be living here in this pack, slightly eased the ache in my chest. Soon I would be free of this place for good. I was meeting Kat for lunch today at a local cafe in town. For Kat, it would just be a normal lunch, the same as we did each week, but for me, it would be a farewell lunch. The only thing was, I would have to make sure Kat didn't catch on to what I was up to.

I had told Logan that I would be spending the morning packing my bags for Ireland. Logan had reached out to one of his friends from school who made fake documents for cash on the side. He was incredibly talented, and his work was impeccable. Logan had arranged for all the documents that I would require and had gotten me into university under my new fake identity. His friend had also used the fake ID to make me fake school transcripts for my university application.

To guarantee me a spot in my chosen course, Logan had pledged a large donation to the university, so long as they accepted my application and pushed through my enrolment into my chosen course and provided me with accommodation within the dorm.

Logan had even set up two bank accounts using my new identity. He had emptied my bank accounts into his bank account and then had transferred my money into the new accounts that he had opened for me in my new identity.

The reason he had done it this way was so I would have access to my money and Mason could not track me or find out my new alias through my bank accounts and transactions. Logan had said he wouldn't put it past Mason to attempt to find me this way. We were lucky that Logan had opened the new accounts for me in a bank that didn't have a branch in our hometown.

Logan and I had travelled to a town three hours to set my new bank accounts up. The reason for this being that members of our pack worked in the banks and other various businesses within our hometown, and they could have provided Mason with information on mine and Logan's movements if we had done anything in our hometown.

Deciding I needed to shake a leg and make a start on my packing, I got up and had a shower and once I had gotten dressed, I began packing everything that I would be needing for my new life in Ireland. I packed two giant suitcases with the clothing items, shoes and boots I would need, making sure I had plenty of warm clothing. My clothing comprised of jeans and long-sleeved tee shirts, along with an assortment of work out clothing and laze around the house clothing, such as yoga pants and tee shirts.

I also packed an excellent selection of hoodies, along with the usual undergarments and sweatpants. I also threw in a few Jackets and an assortment of scarves and beanies. In a third large suitcase, I packed my personal items that I couldn't leave behind. Photo albums, personal documents that I might need containing my actual identity which I hid in the third suitcases lining so no one would find them. Then I added my makeup kit and four of my favourite leather belts. I then proceeded to pack all my valuables that I would never be able to replace and the jewellery my mother had left me when she died, along with a bedside digital clock/radio, and two laptops and my iPad and iPod and their chargers and a bag which contained my flash drives and portable hard drives.

I packed my journals I had filled up over the years, four of my favourite baseball caps and the boxes of adaptors Logan had brought for me to use since we had different electrical plug adaptors here in the states to what they used in Ireland. Next, I packed my toiletries items and two bath towels and once I had put everything into the suitcase; I placed my Nike backpack and stationery items I would need for university on top.

In a fourth suitcase, I packed my music stuff. This comprised of books, software, leads and accessories for my instruments. I then packed my favourite novels into the suitcase. After I had finished packing, I placed the suitcases and music instruments inside my walk-in wardrobe. My music instruments comprised my electric keyboard, which was a Roland 2000 Digital Stage Piano, my acoustic guitar, and my violin.

The plan was that Logan was going to take my luggage to the car with his luggage when he packed the car so no one would be suspicious, since everyone knew Logan was leaving. I was terrified that he would get caught when he carried my instruments downstairs to the garage to put in the car, and then our plan would end up shot to hell before we got out of the house. But Logan assured me he had a plan, so I just had to trust that he knew what he was doing. All I knew for certain was that if we got caught, Mason would end up killing the both of us for sure.

Once I came out of my wardrobe, I glanced over at the clock on my bedside table and saw it was time for me to meet Kat for lunch. Picking up my phone I sent a text to Logan letting him know I had finished packing my suitcases and had stored the four suitcases and music instruments in my walk-in wardrobe and that I was heading out to meet Kat for lunch. He replied in a short time, letting me know he would get my belongings and load them into the SUV that we would be taking to the airport.

I snuck outside of the Alpha residence and made my way towards the eight-foot concrete wall which surrounded the Alpha residence. Crouching behind an enormous tree in the garden, I watched as two of Mason's guards made their way past my hiding spot. As they went around doing their perimeter rotations, they were lost in their own discussion and oblivious to my presence.

Even though these guards were assigned to protect the entire Alpha family, Mason had turned the guards against me just as he had done everyone else within the pack. So, if they caught on to my presence, it would mean trouble for me for sure.

I waited until the guards were out of sight and when I could no longer see them; I ran over to the wall hiding amongst the trees near the wall. When I was sure the coast was clear, I climbed the tree that was situated closest to the eight-foot-high concrete wall.

Gripping to a branch, I carefully crawled across it. Once I was perched on top of the wall, I waited until I saw Kat's Jeep approaching. The Jeep came to a stop beside the wall where I was kneeling. Getting to my feet, but remaining in a crouched position, I manoeuvred myself over to the edge of the wall and jumped off the wall and onto the roof of the black Jeep. Once on the roof, I slipped into the car through the sunroof.

"What the actual fuck?" Asher asked, looking at me in shock as I slid into the car.

"It was the fastest way out of the compound," I explained in a 'duh' tone, hiding my surprise that he was driving Kat's car and Lucas was riding shotgun while Kat was sitting in the back. Like, what the hell? Why would Kat allow herself to be kicked to the backseat of her own car?

"Do you need to sneak out a lot?" Lucas asked, turning in his seat, and looking at me and interrupting my train of thought.

"Yes, she does. Storm here happened to be blessed with a controlling family," Kat explained, looking over at me.

"Good night, was it you two?" I asked Kat, changing the subject as I watched her.

"It was an incredible night, ain't that right sweetheart?" Lucas replied, looking at Kat with love in his eyes.

Kat looked over at me and smirked as she mouthed 'gigantic cock', and I laughed at her, unable to help myself.

We drove through the main street of Sugar Land, Texas, which had been home to me my whole life, and made our way to our favourite cafe where we were having lunch. I was enjoying my last day in Kat's company, even though with each passing moment I could literally feel my heart breaking a bit more. I could see that Kat and Lucas were looking happy and in love, just like all fated mates are when they are in the early stages of finding each other.

It was that exciting beginning stage of the relationship, where you are giddy from first finding each other and learning as much as you could about each other. I had heard that finding your mate was an exciting roller coaster experience. But for me, it was one adventure that I hoped I would never have to go on. I never wanted to find my mate!

We made our way into the café and took a seat, then ordered our lunch. To say I was uncomfortable with having Asher and Lucas present while we had our lunch was understating things. There was something off about Asher. Something about him just didn't sit right with me. I couldn't explain it, but he made me extremely uncomfortable in his presence.

"So, Storm, did you end up getting into trouble when you got home last night?" Kat asked, looking across the table at me from where she sat beside Lucas.

"No, Logan and I snuck in without being caught," I replied.

"That's good," she said, giving me a smile.

As I sat there, Asher draped his arm over the back of my seat making the hair on the back of my next stand up at his proximity. His behaviour was annoying me. It was almost as if the guy couldn't take a hint. While I was trying hard to ignore the dangerous vibes I was getting from Asher and trying to enjoy my last lunch with my best friend. I was doing my best not to dwell on the fact that early in the morning before Kat had even woken up. I would get on a plane and fly off to my new life on the other side of the world and I wasn't even going to give her a proper goodbye.

There would be no more thanksgiving dinners together, no more Christmases, Easters holidays, Birthdays, or vacations spent together. There would be no more sneaking out of the house to meet her for impromptu shopping trips or trips to the movies or the nightclub. No more meals at various cafes and restaurants. This was it. After all the time we had spent together, in all the long years we had known each other, this was where it would all come to an end, here in this little café in our hometown.

After being locked in my own thoughts for a while, I began feeling as if I could not keep my emotions in check long enough to make it through lunch, and I was believing that I might need a little help to deal with my emotions. They were now on the rollercoaster ride from hell. Holding my phone in my lap, hiding it under the table so it was out of the view of Kat and the others, I sent a text to Logan asking him to come and pick me up from the cafe.

When Logan arrived, he sat with us and had a brief chat with everybody so we wouldn't appear suspicious before announcing we had to go because we had somewhere that we needed to be. Thankful Logan had come up with an excuse for us to leave, I got up from the table and hugged my best friend for the very last time. I held onto her tight and when I let her go, I saw the curious look she gave me.

So that she didn't ask me questions that I wouldn't be able to answer, I simply said, "I will call you tomorrow and see where you are at and what your plans are, maybe we can go do something together, okay?" Seeming happy with that, Kat smiled at me and nodded.

As soon as we got into Logan's SUV, unable to hold my emotions at bay anymore, I burst into tears. Logan looked at me for a moment before he started the car and headed out of town. It wasn't long before he parked by Brook's Lake and let me cry, getting it out of my system before we had to go back to the house.

"Tell me I am doing the right thing," I whispered, looking over at him. I needed his reassurance that there was no other way for me to survive. That leaving here was the best thing for us.

Logan reached out and wrapped his arms around me, drawing me in to a hug. "It's the only way that I can keep you alive, baby girl. If I go to Germany and leave you here alone with Mason and the pack, you will die for sure, and I could never live with myself. There is no other way. This way, I will be giving you a chance at a life of your own making," he replied as he continued to hug me, letting me cry.

After I had gotten my act together, we slowly made our way back home. "I have packed your suitcases and instruments, along with my luggage into the back of the car, no one saw me loading everything into the car or carrying everything through the house, so we are in the clear so far as that goes," he told me as he pointed towards the back of the car.

I turned in my seat and looked to where he was pointing, seeing the suitcases and my instruments in the trunk of the SUV. With the extra dark tint on the windows, no one could see the luggage packed in the back of the car, so I believed him when he said that so far, we were in the clear, all I could think was, we were almost free!

"What time are we flying out, in the morning?" I asked, needing to be distracted from my own thoughts as I turned back around in my seat.

"Be up at three o'clock in the morning, our pilot has scheduled a four-thirty am departure. Now, I figured we would buy breakfast on our way to the airport so we don't have to be here longer than necessary, maybe we could just stop at Macca's or something for breakfast. It's important we get out fast and clear," he explained.

"Okay, I trust you," I told him, giving him a weak smile as I wiped my eyes. When we got back to the house, I made my way up to my room and grabbed my Louis Vuitton backpack and started making sure I had everything I would be needing for our trip in the morning. I placed my phone charger and current journal in my backpack, which also contained a B6 sized notebook and an assortment of pens and two sharpie markers. Throwing my Louis Vuitton wallet into my backpack, both the wallet and backpack had been gifts from Logan two months ago. They were two of his just because gifts that he sometimes got me. Logan had a habit of buying me random gifts whenever he wanted to surprise me. I didn't have the paperwork for my new identity yet. Logan had the documents for my new identity tucked away in a safe place. He had said he would give them to me when we got to the airport, so I didn't have to worry about anybody else discovering them and messing up our plans. Making my way into my walk-in wardrobe I opened the wall safe and grabbed out the cash that I had hidden in there, which turned out to be a little over fifteen thousand dollars. I put the money into my bag along with a mini makeup kit, a mini manicure kit, a hairbrush, and a bottle of my favourite perfume along with a tin of body spray and my favourite lip gloss, I also added a tin of breath mints, a pack of gum and a black beanie. I wanted the beanie handy in case it was icy weather when we landed.

Setting my backpack on one of the shelves in my wardrobe, I started arranging my outfit for tomorrow. Selecting a pair of black yoga pants with lime green pin stripes that ran down the side along with a lime green long sleeved tee shirt and a dark purple zip up jacket and a pair of Nike runners. I put the clothes on the shelf beside my backpack ready for the morning.

With my outfit and everything I needed ready for tomorrow morning; I made my way downstairs where I found Logan on the couch watching a movie. When Logan saw me, he smiled, and I sat beside him on the couch and watched the movie until it was time for us to make our way into the dining room for dinner. When we got into the dining room, I felt relieved when I saw that Logan and I were the only ones who would be eating dinner that evening. Everyone else must have been out, as there were no other places set at the table.

Logan and I ate our meal quietly, we didn't speak, not wanting to risk being overheard by anybody. After dinner, we got an early night. Once I had made my way back upstairs to my bedroom, I cleaned my teeth before I shifted into my wolf form and curled up on my bed. I felt as though I had only just closed my eyes when Logan was shaking me awake. When I saw him, I jumped out of bed and making my way into my adjoining bathroom. I shifted back into my human form and took a hot shower. I felt just like a little kid on Christmas morning. This was the start of my new life; I was getting out of this hell hole. Soon I was going to be free! Once I was finished getting dressed, I did my hair and makeup. Once I was done, I grabbed my backpack and slipped it onto my shoulders, before quickly grabbing my two pillows and the bedding off my bed. I made my way out of my bedroom, heading downstairs.

When I got downstairs, I saw Logan sitting on the lounge chair waiting for me. As soon as he saw me, he smiled and got up before he grabbed my bedding out of my arms leaving me holding my two pillows. We quickly made our way out to Logan's car and after he had put my bedding in the backseat with his, we got into the car, and it wasn't long before we were leaving the compound and heading towards Houston International Airport.

Logan had planned for one of his friends to meet him at the airport, so he could drive Logan's SUV back to the compound for him. I knew I would have to be hiding on the plane before this friend of his turned up so I wouldn't run the risk of being seen. On the way to the airport, we drove through a McDonald's drive-thru and brought our breakfast. Leaving the McDonalds, it wasn't long before we pulled up at a park and ate our breakfast as we sat in the car.

While we were eating our breakfast, Logan leaned over and pulled a cell phone and charger out of the glove box of the SUV and handed them to me. Seeing my confusion, he said, "It's an untraceable cell phone with SMS encryption. Now remove your SD card from your phone so you have your photos and videos. But you can't take your current cell phone with you. Mason could track it. Don't worry though, I have put my phone number in this one in case you need me, and I have saved this phones number into my phone. This phone is untraceable. But even though the phone is untraceable, you can't reach out to Kat! So that means no social media, no emails, we can't risk Mason finding you. I know it sucks, but you have got to let her and anyone else you care for go, as much as it hurts, you need to leave them behind. This isn't just for your safety; it is also for theirs. Imagine what Mason could do to anyone he had reason to believe you were in contact with. I mean it shouldn't be too hard to imagine given what he has done to you. So, let them go. Okay? This is your best chance to make a good life for yourself, so embrace it."

After uploading my media files to my iCloud account, I did what he had said and put the SD memory card into my new phone. Then I opened my backpack and removed the phone charger for my old phone and sat it on the floor in the back of the SUV, before putting the new charger into my backpack. I played with the new phone as I continued to eat my breakfast.

"You'll be able to finish putting your apps on it and setting it up when we get on the plane. It will give you something to do during the flight. I have also set up a new PayPal account for you and it has already been linked to your App Store on the new phone, and because it is a good app to have, and you never listen to me regarding such things, I set up a Spotify account on there for you. You'll be able to download music onto it on the flight. Grab your old phone and make a list of the apps you have on your phone, so you don't forget to download any of them onto your new phone, and just make sure to save all of your media files to your SD card. When you have finished making your list, reset your phone back to its original factory settings and wipe your personal information from it," Logan said to me, smiling at my obvious excitement.

I nodded, knowing he was right, and then I set about doing what he said. After I had made the list, I put my notebook back into my backpack then I reset my phone back to factory settings, before turning off my old phone. I threw my old phone into the backseat with the charger. After we had finished eating our breakfast, Logan quickly got out of the car and put our trash in the waste bin in the park before we made our way to the airport. When we arrived at the airport, we immediately set about grabbing our luggage out of the back of the car before loading the luggage on to our private Gulf Stream G650. The plane was a combined Christmas present to Logan and I last year from our Grandparents, my mom's parents, who adored the two of us.

The three-man flight crew who had always been loyal to us set about preparing for our flight. Logan had told me that the flight crew would not be returning to the states, for which I was relieved. Logan had assured me he had purchased a secluded property with a cabin, which had its own private runway and hangar that the flight crew would stay in. The property was in the French countryside and Logan had purchased it in our grandmother's maiden name. I was glad he had done this, as I knew that the flight crew, just like so many others, were not happy in the pack under Mason's rule. We departed on time and I was so excited but also scared to start my new life, I was going to be free to be doing things my own way. This was going to be an exciting experience; I was sure of it.