Chapter 93: Running Away

Chapter 93: Running Away
Mirage’s P.O.V

I opened my eyes to the sound of the clock ticking on the wall. It was well past midnight and the packhouse was eerily silent.

Alex slept beside me almost soundlessly, his breathing even and his arms wrapped around my waist lightly.

I hated this guilty feeling as I looked up at his peaceful face, moving aside the hair on his forehead with feather-light fingers.

Just as softly, I took his hand from my waist and placed it on my pillow as I got up from the bed and moved away slowly, so as not to cause much disturbance. The herb that I had mixed in his food wasn’t any high grade sleeping pill that was filled with chemicals, so I was a little skeptical about its workings. But seeing Alex sleeping so peacefully gave me relief. It meant that the herb was working.

Getting out of bed, I headed for the closet to get dressed in a pair of jeans and a white top with a dark green jacket on top to keep out the cold from my bones. But even as I dressed, everything I did felt robotic…like I wasn’t in control of my hands or legs, but it was years of programming that was allowing me to do the small, tedious tasks.

Coming out of the closet once I was dressed, I placed my hair up into a messy bun and turned towards the bed once more. Alex was still fast asleep; his face devoid of any worries or fears.

I felt my lips tremble at the thought of leaving him, my heart freezing inside my chest at what I was about to do.

This was it. This was goodbye to all the good times and all the fond memories I had. Because there was a high chance that I was going to freeze up just at the sight of my tormentor and I wouldn’t be able to go through my plan.

But no matter what happens, I needed to leave. For the sake of the pack…and for Alex’s sake as well.

Julian was suffering because of me. And it wouldn’t be long before Alistair starts to target others in this pack.

But as I tried to turn away from him…to leave without a word, my legs felt as heavy as lead. My heart sank as I looked back at Alex once again. Desperation made me want to wake him up, to tell him everything I was about to do and to have him tell me that I was stupid and an idiot to think that I could pull this off without him.

Why did it have to come to this? I thought I had finally come out of the shadows of my past…of all the horrible things that I had to go through over the last two years.

No Council, no army, no amount of magic could help the way my heart was ripping to pieces as I stood staring at the face of my mate, silently telling him goodbye forever. Because this was going to be forever. Once I went to Alistair, I wasn’t going to make it out alive…or sane.

Julian’s innocent face came to my mind and I closed my eyes tightly, shutting out everything else from my mind. When I opened my eyes next, I had made up my mind and my resolve was unbreakable.

One step at a time. One slow step, after the other. That’s how I made it to the door and then, I turned the knob and pulled it open to the dimly lit hallways. Once outside, I closed the door just as softly, to avoid making any noises.

Walking was just as difficult and with every step I took, it became even harder. My feet wobbled and I miss-stepped a couple of times. It’s like my mind and body weren’t cooperating. No wonder. Who in their right minds would want to go back to their tormentor of their own free will?

Alistair knew exactly how difficult this was going to be for me and he was enjoying every minute of it.

I exited the pack building through the front door. The night was cold and foggy and it was difficult to see much ahead of me, which was odd for the season.

But as I stepped off the stairs and onto the concrete road that led outside the pack, I think I understood why everything felt so odd.

There was magic at play; some kind of twisted form of magic that only Alistair’s pet witch could use. Even the guards who were supposed to be on patrol duty at this time of the night seemed to be missing; and so were the guards at the door that guarded the huge iron gates to the estate.

I walked closer to the gates, wondering what to do from here on out. But I didn’t have to wonder for long. Because a shadowy figure came into view right outside the gates.

My heart slammed against my ribcage in fear, thinking that Alistair had come into pack territory himself to get me. But when the fog subsided a little and I finally got to see the shadow properly, I found out that it wasn’t a man, but a woman’s shadow. The closer I walked to the gate, the clearer her face became and to say that I was surprised would be an understatement.

She looked like a Japanese doll. Her long black hair was loose at the back and held back with a bow like hair-band at the front. Her eyes were a dark colour, unclear at the moment because of the lack of proper lighting and she had a small oval shaped face and a bit downcast eyes that looked big for her face. A few bangs hung loose on her forehead and her lips were painted a devil red.

But the weirdest feature about her was the doll-like dress that she wore that was like a Lolita. It was all black and white and she held a bright red fan in one hand.

Overall, the only word I could describe he as was beautiful. Despite the odd dress sense and the way a chill ran down my spine as I neared her…she was extremely beautiful.

“You must be Mirage.” The girl spoke in a sing-song voice that almost instantly put me at ease. “My name is Akiko. This will be our first official meeting.”

It was strange how I suddenly felt so relaxed in front of her. Was this some kind of magic? As I placed my hands on the gates, I didn’t really care if it was magic or not…I just felt like I needed to go to her.

“Come, Mirage.” Akiko gave me a sweet smile, tilting her head to the side. “Come over.”

I pushed the gates with all the strength I had and they creaked open slowly. They were heavy, but I didn’t care. Once it was open, I stepped out of the pack territory…and onto the other side of the barrier that Freya had put all over the pack lands.

A vial appeared in Akiko’s hand as if from thin air and then she placed it on the floor just outside the gates before she stepped back from it. Somewhere at the back of my mind, it registered that this was the vial containing the cure for Julian’s poison. For once, Alistair was going to save someone’s life instead of taking it, and just that knowledge was enough to give me peace.

“Come,” Akiko extended her hands for me and I took them without question, feeling the coolness of her skin under my palm. “Let’s go…Alistair awaits.”