Page 3 of Forsaken By Fate

The zipper won’t slide closed on the faded red duffle, and I give up after the third attempt, slinging the bag over my shoulder. They both weigh a ton with the toiletries and books, clothes, and shoes I managed to jam inside. I’m leaving so much behind, but my little hatchback will only hold so much.

Biting on my lower lip, I stand in the doorway of my bedroom and stare at the little place I’ve called home for almost three years. It was the first real home I’ve ever had. All those human foster parents didn’t know what to do with a pre-shifting girl when they had no idea what a shifter was. All they ever saw in me was a weak, underachieving girl who wouldn’t amount to anything.

The witches I tried to bond with in my teens had all been laughing at me behind my back. They didn’t want me any more than my pack did. The Quartzes had taken me in out of obligation. They couldn’t have a rogue shifter running amok without a place.

I shrug off the dismal shadows of my past and swallow thickly.

No.

This will not be another terrible chapter in the already messy life of mine. I will leave Oklahoma, but not to slink off in the darkness and hide away. This will be a fresh start, a new beginning in…

Where? Where the hell am I going?

I press my lips together and think, pivoting away from the doorway to head out of the apartment before I can change my mind and hide under the covers of my futon bed.

Drive. I just need to start driving, and everything else will play out the way the gods intend.

It takes me three trips up and down the steep steps of the walk-up apartment to load the car with what I can carry, but I know I’m leaving so many pieces of myself behind. My heart still pulls for Lachlan, and I’m hoping the distance will curb the tugging between us.

Packing my meager belongings into the rusted yellow hatchback, I climb into the driver’s seat again and start my journey, heading directly toward I-35 southbound.

A cheery pop song plays on the radio, aggravating me. I flip it off, but the silence upsets me more, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I’m not sure which is worse at this point. All I can hear is the echo of Lachlan’s cruel words to me.

“There’s a mistake There has to be a mistake. I’m an Apex shifter. The best of the best. You’re… I reject this. I reject you, Aurora. You are not my mate. Don’t you tell anyone about this. Do you hear me? If you’re smart, you’ll get the hell out of Oklahoma, so I don’t see you again.”

At this time of the night, traffic is light, making my trek across the state pass in relatively short order as my mind runs wild.

I’m headed to Texas; this much is clear. There are plenty of small towns there where I can start over and lick my wounds, try to reclaim my pride—whatever’s left of it.

But was there ever a time when I had pride? Certainly not that I can remember.

The moon rises higher overhead, the fullness calling out to me to shift like always. Ever since my fifteenth birthday, the lunar cycle has dictated my moods and magic, just as it does all shifters. I should be on that beach, by the bonfire, with my true mate, not scurrying off into the night like some gutter rat.

But I won’t succumb to self-pity. I’ve wallowed enough over everything I’ve lost already. My parents, a warrior birthright, any sense of stability.

I can’t control any of those things, but this, this is in my control. Texas is my fresh start. I will live a happy life here.

The state line looms ahead, and I breathe slightly easier as my little vehicle putters over the mile marker, a relieved smile touching my lips. A road sign for the distances to major Texan cities appears on my right, but I miss how many miles away Dallas is from where I am.

I’m not going to Dallas, anyway. I’ll find a small town where I won’t encounter a big pack, somewhere where no one will know me or care to learn about a meek blonde.

And then, I’ll… make candles. Or weave baskets. Maybe a coven will take pity on a lonely prey shifter and let me work for them, running errands, or foraging. The witches and warlocks don’t always like to work with us, but I won’t be affiliated with a pack, so they might make an exception if I keep my head down.

The idea inspires me slightly, and I press on the gas harder, straightening my spine. It’s not a solid plan, but it’s better than what I left home with.

I take the first exit and find myself on a smaller highway. The streetlights spread further apart here, the landscape eerie and stilted on both sides. I do a double take as I look at the weirdly shaped houses, their angles lopsided.

I’m tired.

Farmland scatters through spots of forested area, the combination slightly bizarre.

I have no idea where I am, but I’m determined to stop when I see a town. I’ve been driving for hours now. It’s time for a break, at least.

But as I coast down the lonely highway, I’m met with nothing but more land, and barns, several ranches, almost all of them dark. And they’re still weird.

Peering in the rearview mirror, there’s nothing behind me at all. Not a single headlight, not even in the far distance. A note of worry creeps into my chest.

When was the last time I saw another car? Suddenly I realize I haven’t seen one in a while.

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