Chapter 13

Serena’s POV

The cabin felt like a cold, hollow shell. I sat at the small, wobbly table, the wooden surface rough beneath my palms. 

My hands were shaking, but I forced myself to grip the pen. I had to write this. It was the last thing I would ever do for the Thornblood pack. 

Every word felt like I was cutting a final thread that had held me to a life that had turned into a nightmare.

"Is it done?" Gale asked. He stood by the door, his eyes darting to the dark trees outside. His bags were already packed by his feet. He looked at me with sad, tired eyes, worried that we were running out of time.

"Almost," I said. I stared at the blank paper. I wanted to tell Caden how much he hurt me. I wanted to scream, to break things, to let all the pain out. But I didn't. I held my head high. Pride was all I had left in this world.

"Don't write too much," Gale warned, stepping closer. "We need to go now. The sun will be up soon, and the guards will be back."

I nodded and began to write. My hand moved fast, the ink staining the page. “Caden, you threw away the best thing you ever had. You think you won, but you have no idea what is coming. Watch your back. — Serena.”

I put the pen down and placed the paper right in the center of the table. I stood up, feeling a strange, quiet strength. "That is it. Let’s go."

"I found a wagon," Gale said, opening the door carefully. "It will take us far away from here. To my home. It is safe there."

I looked around the tiny cabin one last time. It was dusty and old, but it was where I finally learned the truth. I finally saw who Caden really was. "I am ready," I said, stepping over the threshold.

We walked out into the dark night. The woods were very quiet, and the air was cold. I felt like someone was watching us, but I didn't look back. I just kept walking toward the dirt road.

"Do you think they will follow us?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper in the gloom.

Gale shook his head. "They will try. But I know these woods better than any of them. We will be ghosts by the time the sun rises."

I gripped my small bag tighter. Inside was the ledger, the proof of their sins. It felt heavy, like a stone, but it was the only thing that kept me moving. "I hope they read every word of that letter," I said. "I hope it burns their eyes."

Gale smiled, but his eyes were grim. "They will be too busy looking for us to worry about their reputation for long. But once they see what you took, they will realize the game has changed."

"Wait," Gale whispered suddenly, grabbing my arm. He pulled me into the shadows of a big, dark tree.

We heard the sound of wheels on the path. A fancy carriage was coming. It stopped right in front of my cabin.

"That is Belinda," I whispered, my heart beating fast. "She is coming to check on me. She does not trust me."

"Stay down," Gale breathed, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

We watched from the dark. Belinda stepped out of the carriage. She looked angry and mean, her face twisted. She walked up to the door and kicked it open with her foot.

"Serena!" she yelled into the cabin. "Come out here right now! I know you are in there!"

She didn't hear an answer. She stomped inside, her heavy boots making loud, angry noises on the floor.

"She is going to find the note," Gale said quietly.

Inside the cabin, we saw Belinda stop. She saw the white paper sitting on the table. 

She walked over and picked it up. Her face turned bright red. She looked like she wanted to break the paper in two.

"What is she doing?" I asked, leaning forward despite the danger.

"She is reading it," Gale replied.

Belinda let out a shriek that made the birds in the trees fly away in a panic. She crumpled the letter into a tiny ball and threw it against the wall.

"She found it," I said, a small, proud smile appearing on my face.

"Good," Gale said, pulling me toward the road. "Now she knows we are gone. Let’s run."

We started to run as fast as we could. Behind us, we heard Belinda start to scream. She sounded like a wild animal. She was shouting loud orders to her guards, demanding they find us.

"They will find nothing," I said, my lungs burning as we sprinted across the tall grass.

"Exactly," Gale grunted. "We leave no trail. No tracks. Nothing."

"What happens if they do find us?" I asked, my voice catching on a sob of fear.

Gale stopped for a second, looking me in the eye. "Then they will have to fight both of us. And I promise you, Serena, they are not ready for that fight."

"She is calling for help!" I said, my breath hitching.

"It is too late for her," Gale promised, grabbing my hand to help me over a log. "We are already free."

The forest grew thicker, the branches scraping against our clothes like long, wooden fingers. I ignored the sting. 

I ignored the fear. Every step took me further away from the man who had lied to me, and closer to the life I had forgotten I could have.

"The wagon is just past the ridge," Gale told me, pointing toward a faint light in the distance.

We reached the wagon and jumped in. The driver started the horses. As the wagon began to move away, I looked back one last time at the tiny cabin. 

Belinda was standing in the doorway, waving the letter in the air and screaming into the night.

"She looks so small from here," I remarked, watching the cabin fade into the darkness.

"That is because she is," Gale said, sitting back and crossing his arms. "She is small, and she is mean, and she is scared."

I looked at the ledger in my lap. I was scared too, but it was a different kind of fear. It was the fear of the unknown, not the fear of being trapped.

"Do you feel sad?" Gale asked as we rode away into the dark.

"No," I said, looking ahead at the long road. "I feel ready."