Chapter 4


    Carmine cried silently as humiliation yed in her mind repeatedly. On top of that, she just couldn’t


    figure out who she had S** withst night. She just hoped and prayed to the goddess that she wasn’t


    pregnant.


    After what seemed like an eternity, she rose to her feet, wiping tears from her cheeks. It was almost


    evening. There was no way she was going to stay back and there was no point in wallowing any


    further. She had to do what rogues were best at doing. Escape. Over thest few years, what her father


    had taught her best was how to escape.


    Here went to the cold lunch that was kept on the table in front of her. She didn’t realize when Ada came


    and kept the lunch in the room. There was wine along with i


    She chuckled humorlessly as she walked to the bathroom and washed her face. Her eyes were swollen


    and so were her lips. Her braid was lying over her shoulder. She looked at the golden tips of her hair.


    Picking up scissors, she chopped them off. The tips would be golden within a few hours, but until


    then, she would escape. They were a big giveaway. She called upon Ember to exin to her the


    escape n, but Ember didn’t respond. Had she gone off to sleep? Carmine just hoped that Ember.


    responded soon and was in a healing mode.


    She went downstairs and noticed Ada was watching TV. Quietly, she padded her way to the attic from


    where she pulled out an old ck satchel. She stashed lunch in it, threw the wine in the toilet and


    flushed it, and then stuffed one pair of clothes. Then she went down, retrieved a water bottle, threw it in


    her satchel. Ruby had given her a lot of money. She wasn’t a fool to leave it.


    Carmine waited for the night to fall. She had already studied the movements of the guards. There were


    five warriors, four of which would continuously guard the cottage while one took rest. She identified that


    exactly at 10 PM, the guard patrolling the backyard changed duties. That was her window to escape.


    The map she had drawn of the cottage and the surrounding forest were lying open in front of her. It was


    a simple sketch she memorized,prehending her exit route.


    “Carmine!” Ada knocked on her door.


    Nervously, Carmine collected her map, folded it, and shoved it beneath her bed before opening the


    door.


    “Why did you close the door?” Ada asked as she walked inside, examining the room, and ced the


    dinner on her table.


    “Must have done it on a reflex,” she said, shrugging. While internally, she was extremely


    scared, she had to keep a calm fa?ade.


    “Eat it. The Alpha willete at night. There had been a war in the outskirts of the pack’s territory on


    the west, and-” she pursed her lips. “Then there’s your situation!” She rolled her eyes and hurried out of


    the door, muttering curses under her breath. “It’s all so messy!”


    Carmine needed energy. She ate her food, went downstairs to wash her te and came up steadily to


    show Ada that she was calm andposed. Kade was supposed toe anytime. She just hoped


    that she escaped before he was here. She pulled out the map and studied the exit points. If there was


    a war yesterday, she had to avoid that path. She crossed west and focused on the cast. It was slightly


    longer, but nothing she couldn’t


    manage.


    Ready for the escape, she stood by the window with her satchel. As soon as the guard left, she jumped


    out and dashed towards the forest. Ten minutes was enough for her to run as far as she could to reach


    the east side of the pack’s territory. Actually it was casy because she took the route through denser


    forest, jumped in a brook and veered left, keeping herself in the middle of the stream so that she didn’t


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    leave her scent.


    She followed the brook for as far as she could and once she was at least a mile away she jumped out


    of it and, using the north star as her guide, she turned to the south. She didn’t stop until she reached


    the highway.


    She was tired and hungry and a little scared. Ember had made no contact with her and she felt…


    lonely. “Please Ember,” she said in a h o ars e voice. “Where are you?” she called to her. She needed


    her help, her guidance, as always. She had guided her through many


    bad times.


    When her father and stepmother used to beat her, Ember was the one who would listen to her woes.


    Her parents would leave her at the mercy of rogues after thrashing her. It was a surprise that they did


    not rape her. Maybe because she kept to herself. On the other hand, Deena, her half-sister, was


    always the one who threw herself at the wolves in the herd. She had seen her taking part in many or


    gies. Once, when she tried to report Deena to her stepmother, she pped her hard, saying that at


    least they liked. Deena and that Carmine was a burden she wanted to get rid of


    A small truck whi zzed past her, snapping her out of her thoughts. It stopped a few meters away. She


    froze but was immensely relieved when an elderly woman rolled down the sses. “Need a lift?” she


    asked.


    She licked her lips, nodding lightly in doubt.


    “Don’t worry,” the woman rolled her eyes. “Hop in!”


    Feeling confident, Carmine gathered her satchel and went to the passenger seat, thanking the woman


    politely.


    With silvery hair and a strange glow around her kindly face, the woman looked ethereal and beautiful.


    “Where are you going?” she asked.


    “I can drop you till Columbia,” she said, cutting her off. She shifted the stick to the first. gear. “Is that


    okay?”


    Anything was okay. “Yes!” Carmine replied. “H-how far is that?”


    She gave Carmine a side nce as if she was asking a stu pid question. “About elevent hours.”


    “Thanks, it’ll do,” Carmine said, tucking a loose strand behind her car. “I am Carmine.”


    “I am Selene.”


    On an instinct Carmine felt she could trust this woman. “Nice to meet you, Selene. How much do I owe


    you?”


    “I’ll let you know when we reach the destination.” Selene focused on the road ahead. “And don’t trust


    strangers just like that. Always trust your instincts, okay?” Selene’s gaze dropped to her belly, and a


    smile ghosted on her lips.


    Tired, Carmine nodded, resting her head on the backrest. She sighed, exhausted as hell, while Selene


    drove. She didn’t know when she drifted off into deep slumber, but when she fluttered open her eyes,


    eyes, she was lying on a bench in a children’s park. The board in front of her read, ‘Columbia’s


    Children’s Muscum.