Chapter 1
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One
Lucia struggled to keep her footing as she trekked up the snowy hill. As the wind harshly blew the falling snow into her face she didn’t try to shield herself. Instead, she did her best to shield the one thing that was important to her, her son, Stellan. He was the only thing that kept her going and the reason she was running away. Her husband was abusive, cruel, heartless, and the Alpha of her pack. However, Sterling, her husband, never officially married her, or rather, never claimed her as his mate. He never marked her knowing that once he did, a bond would form between them making her Alpha female to their pack, a title he did not want to share with anyone.
Lucia was promised to Sterling when she was born and he was only five years old. Sterling’s father, Clinton, was the Alpha of the pack at the time was a strong leader. He cared for his pack and kept them safe. When Sterling turned 19, he attacked and killed his father and claimed the title of Alpha. Then, at the age of 14, Sterling went to Lucia’s pack and demanded what was promised to him once he became Alpha. Her. Her father, the Alpha of his own pack, cursed himself for promising her to him but once the alliance between him and Clinton was made, nothing could be done. There was nothing he could do once Sterling became Alpha unless he wanted to challenge the young Alpha. Luke, her father, was not stronger than the young Alpha, no one was. So sadly…he let her go. He loved his daughter but if he didn’t let her go, Sterling would kill Luke’s pack and take her anyway. That decision would haunt him forever especially since he never saw his precious daughter again.
That’s when Lucia’s torment began. That night, Sterling took her and tortured her, raped her beat her, and broke her. Then the next day, he did it again, and again and again. For five years, she suffered at his sadistic hands until he decided he needed an heir. Then, he used Lucia for that too. For nine months after that, Sterling didn’t harm her. He fed her well and the beatings stopped. Once she gave birth to their son, Stellan, Lucia’s nightmare began again. But now, she wasn’t alone. She had something to give her strength. Stellan.
As a wolf shifter, Sterling knew how much a cub needs his mother, so, he never tried to take Stellan from Lucia. Sadly, that did not stop Sterling from doing what he wanted to Lucia, sometimes, in front of the small boy, without caring. But when Stellan turned six, he had enough. As his father slapped his mother something snapped inside of him and she shifted into his wolf form and attacked.
Stellan launched himself at his father, grabbing onto his calf muscle. Sterling was taken by surprise but quickly kicked the young pup away, laughing. Stellan was slammed against the wall and that was when Lucia had had enough. No one would ever harm her son.
Lucia shifted, something she was never allowed to do, into her wolf as Sterling sat there, laughing at the crumpled body of his son. Using that as a distraction, she lunged herself at his neck and bit. Sterling screamed and thrashed but she just bit down harder. He reached back and grabbed ahold of her fur and threw her off him. She stumbled along the floor but quickly regained her footing. Then, he began to shift into his wolf.
Knowing he would kill her and her son, she lunged at him as he was in mid-shift. The force pushed Sterling back into the wall and momentarily knocked him out. Shifting back into her human form, since she wasn’t able to hold her wolf form for too long, she picked her son threw a few things into a book-bag along with a sweater and jeans on herself and ran to the car.
Lucia knew how to drive, she learned that before her parents gave her up to the monster, but that was when she was 14 and now, she was 25. They were in the middle of a snow blizzard and she had no idea where she was going. She just knew she had to get away.
Stellan stirred, and woke up with a start in the back seat. He quickly shifted back into his human form. “Mommy, are you ok?” he asked. Lucia let out a started shriek but it was quickly replaced with a relieved sigh.
“Yes sweetie, I’m alright. Put on your seatbelt.” She told him. “Are you alright, my love?” she looked at him, naked in the back seat. Reaching over she grabbed the bag in the passenger seat and handed it back to him. “You have some clothes in there, put them on before you freeze.” She didn’t have time to pack much, a few pants and sweaters for Stellan and even less for herself. He pulled a sweater over his head and threw on some pants then clutched the bag to his chest.
“Did I kill him…?” Stellan whispered, shaking and scared as he tried to wipe some of the blood off of his mouth. Lucia didn’t have time to answer because Sterling had rear-ended her car with his truck. Lucia lost control of the car and the car headed for a cliff. She screamed, trying to straighten out her car but another crash came to the car, this time sending it flying over the cliff. The car rolled and rolled as the screams of her son and herself filled her ears. The car crashed into a tree and stopped rolling. Lucia’s head lolled to the side and blackness took her.
She woke a few moments later when a voice urgently told her to wake up. It was Stellan! Stellan survived the crash and so did she. Her eyes fluttered open and she realized someone was pulling her out of the car. Small hands clutched her arm as she fell to the icy ground.
“Mommy! Please be ok.” Stellan whimpered, kneeling down next to her. He had a gash on his forehead and blood pooled down into his eye causing him to keep it shut. Lucia reached up to wipe some of the blood off but flinched. Her ribs, a few must be broken.
Gritting her teeth through the pain, she had her ribs broken before, it sucked and was super painful but she could take it. She stood up as Stellan helped her. He grunted under her weight but didn’t complain.
“We have to get out of here before he comes looking for us.” She said taking a step and almost fell. Her leg had a long gash on it. Her jeans were ripped and blood trickled down her leg. Again, she could take it. She kept telling herself that. She would have to take it if she wanted to save herself and her son. She looked up at the cliff where the car fell from, it was miles away now but she knew Sterling would come for them. They couldn’t stay here, it wasn’t safe. She pushed forward, into the darkness of the trees and night away from the man that was now hunting for them.
