Chapter 7

Alpha Gael Romano - POV

"I don't think she must have gone that far. Send the warriors and search every house, restaurant, and street." I ordered, and Zachary nodded his head. 

"But what if she ran into the forest?" My beta asked me. "You know our land is vast and it would take us two hours to completely search the entire area." 

"Alert the border patrols. She would not be running in her human form, so it would be easier to catch her." I instructed, and he nodded his head and walked out of the office. I made my way back to my desk, grabbed the bottle of whiskey, and took a large gulp as the alcohol burned its way down my throat. 

I am not going to let you go, Isabella. 

I threw the bottle on the floor, making it break into tiny shards as I stormed out of my office. I ran out of my house and immediately shifted into my wolf as I ran into the forest. It's been thirty minutes now, and I haven't found that bitch neither have my warriors. 

I was running on the southern side of the border while I made sure to keep a close lookout for her. "Let her go, Gael," Zev spoke, but all I did was growl. My wolf may have a soft spot for that bitch, but I am not going to let that affect me. 

As I reached the edge of the southern border, I realized that she was not there. I was about to turn around and leave when I felt a link break within me. For a couple of moments, I was confused, when a dull ache coated my heart as the mate bond broke, and I heard Isabella's rejection ring throughout my head. "Isabella!" I growled in anger and frustration when I realized that she managed to escape from my grasp. 

Isabella Martini - POV

I was running all night, and I could feel Rose getting exhausted as well. "I think we should stop, Rose," I suggested, but she shook her head as she pushed her legs faster. I looked ahead when I saw the sky was beginning to have a few streaks of orange in it. 

"We haven't covered enough ground, Bella. I will run a few more miles." Rose said, and I didn't argue with her. The trees were zooming past me in a blur while I saw the animals in the forest scramble into their hiding places as they saw me run past them. 

Rose's speed began to decrease when she started to jog as we looked around our surroundings. The trees here seemed more spaced out, and the forest floor was moist under my paws. "Where are we?" 

"I don't know, but I know that we are close to a pack border," Rose exclaimed as she turned her head to the right. "Let's take some rest under that tree and then continue our journey later," she suggested, and I nodded my head. She walked towards a large tree and gave me control again as I felt my bones break, and soon I was back on my legs. 

I quickly grabbed the clothes from my bag and wore them again as I leaned against the tree and closed my eyes. My muscles were aching with the amount of running that I did, and I felt my eyes get heavy with sleep. "We will be safe here," Rose said in my head when I turned around to look at the trees. The tree I was leaning on was only a centimeter away from a pack border, and I knew that if I crossed that, I would immediately alert the pack. 

"Do you know what pack this might be?" I asked Rose, but she shook her head. 

"Don't worry, Bella. We are harmless, and I have a feeling that they would not kill us." Rose said, and this made me roll my eyes at her. We are basically a rogue right now after breaking our pack bond, and I know that not many packs go easy on rogues, especially the Black Knight pack.

Right then, my stomach grumbled in hunger as I placed my hand on it. I looked around to see if there was anything edible, but to my utter disappointment, there was nothing but grass and dead branches. "We can catch some fish from the nearby stream," Rose suggested, and that was when I heard the sound of the river. 

"We will take some rest before we find some food, Rose."

"Okay," she said as she retreated to the back of my mind. I closed my eyes, and within minutes, I was consumed by a dreamless sleep. 

"…feast…"

"…will have first…"

I was disturbed from my sleep when I heard a voice around me, when I squinted my eyes open, I came face to face with three men standing in front of me with huge smiles on their faces, showing me their rotten teeth. 

There were a lot of scars on their skin, and they were wearing clothes that would have seen better days while all of them looked like they were twice my age. Simply said, they were filthy and their strong scent only suggested that I was in a great deal of trouble. "Good evening, sweetheart." one of them uttered as he tried to come closer as I scrambled back. 

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you. We just want to have some fun." the other rogue said while I felt my heart start to race while precipitation began to form on my skin. 

"We should shift, Bella. I don't think we would have a chance if we don't." Rose said, and I know that is the best thing. 

"Go to hell, Bastard!" I screamed while I saw his eyes widen in anger, just before he could grab me, I pushed myself back as I gave Rose control. I landed on my paws as I growled at them to back off. 

"Oh, I love a good chase." the third rogue said, and all three of them changed into their wolves. Looking at the sheer size, I know that I will not be able to hold them back for long, but I will not go down without a fight.