Mia's Path

Hey there, wonderful readers! I wanted to let you know that this chapter have some heavy content to it. So read with caution and at your own will.

MIA

“That must be a nice upgrade, huh?”

“You have no idea.” I snorted at Raina.

“Oh, I have some. Running away is never a luxurious life.” She said nonchalantly while sipping her tea. She looked at me with kind eyes, letting me know that she understood my situation.

After Drake showed me my room, I went back to the game room and hanged out with the guys a little more. Kyle had some work to do and after Melinda was call on duty – some teenager broke something trying to climb the packhouse, only God knows why – we all ended up retreating to our rooms and houses. Raina claimed the room in front of mine, just like Drake had pointed out. But she wanted to chat a bit more and prepared us some tea by the lit fireplace on my room.

I gulped my tea down. Raina was nice and all, but she had no idea how much in deep shit I was in. Should I tell her? I should tell someone, right? If I was really staying, a few people would be bound to know at some point. So maybe I should start by telling her, since I felt comfortable around her. I took a deep breath to try and calm my fast-beating heart. It was never an easy story to tell, too many bad memories involved.

“I was raised at the Rock Mountain Pack.” I started and just by saying it, Raina was already gasping. Yeah, I knew they had a bad reputation, at least by now I knew it. When I lived there, that was all I knew and had no idea things could even be different. “I was adopted at a very young age. My mom used to tell me that she found me roaming the woods and crying. She and my dad couldn’t have children of their own, so they kept me. They were very low ranked wolves at the pack, so our lives were very simple.”

“I started working at the packhouse as a maid at fourteen, so I could help with some income. And I guess that’s when I attracted unwanted attention to myself.” I took a deep breath again. Here we go. “Logan started talking to me and in no time, he made his dad, the Alpha at the time, order me to be his personal maid. It wasn’t long and he started to harass me. Wanting me to do more than just clean his room.” I shiver at those memories. Those were horrible years, full of different kinds of abuse.

“At the start he wouldn’t do anything if people were around, but as he was getting older, he got bolder too. My parents weren’t happy when they heard it and complained about it to Logan’s dad. Logan stopped with some inappropriate behaviors but was still obsessed with me for some reason. When I turned sixteen, things escalated a lot. Logan wasn’t just mean to me anymore, and his abuses started to get physical again. He started by grabbing me and leaving bruises on my arms, shoulder, neck, pretty much anywhere he could get his hands on. A few more months and he couldn’t care less if his dad didn’t approve of me, he was obsessed and wouldn’t stop.”

“H-he...” I tried to continue as the tears in my eyes started to fall freely. It was so hard to talk about all that shit I went through. My voice was weak and almost a whisper at this point.

“It’s okay, hon, you don’t have to say it. How did you escape?” Raina asked softly. I was grateful that she understood and didn’t pressure me to say it out loud. It took me a few minutes to get my breath under control again and be able to talk.

“A few years later, when he became the Alpha, he tried to mark me against my will. That’s when I thought I had nothing more left to give and would just live like that for the rest of my days. I had no idea that some power hungry she-wolf, that wanted to be his chosen mate would help me escape so she could rise to power. Honestly, I didn’t think twice and just did as she told me. I was literally discarded with the trash a few days later, but I was free.”

“It didn’t last long, though. Hannah wasn’t that sneaky, I think, because his wolves came after me. I was on the run again and technically still am to this day.” I paused and breathed, trying to recompose myself. “I never stay at one place too long just in case. It has been a couple of years since I last heard anything about him, but I don’t like to try my luck too much.” I finally finished my story. Well, part of it anyway. I left Max out of it and a lot more tragedies that happened. There was too much bad shit in my head already, I didn’t need to relive it all. Raina was fast becoming a close friend, but I didn’t have to scare her away with all my messed up past.

“Was it his wolves after you when you crossed in here?” Raina asked the million-dollar question. Was it? I had no idea. I had my theories and suspicions, but I could not be a hundred percent sure. It could be just a coincidence and those wolves were, in fact, just rabid and crazy. It could all be me just being extremely paranoid. But something tugged at me, and I had a sinking feeling that Logan was behind it all. How had he found me I had no clue. We were so far away from him, and his influence and Max had helped me hide my tracks very well.

“I have no idea; I can only hope they were not.” I sighed heavily. “I really don’t want to leave again. I’m tired of running.” I said in a small voice that broke at the end. I was so exhausted of running and hiding all the time. I couldn’t help the longing I felt to belong to some place, any place. I just wanted to be part of a family, friends and have a life of my own. I hadn’t noticed the tears had come back with vengeance until I started sobbing and Raina was hugging me. I was breaking down and there was no stopping it.

Her hug was so comforting, and I could feel how much she cared and wanted to help me, which only made me cry even harder. She was saying sweet nothings to me, trying to calm me down and saying everything would be fine. Gods, I wanted to believe her so badly. And I wanted to stop crying, but I guess once the dam was opened, there was no way to close it again. Not until all the emotions I had trapped inside got out. I didn’t really know how long we stood there, hugging and crying. By this point, Raina was crying with me.

It felt like hours and sure as hell it had passed a few, now the fire was almost only embers. I sniffed one more time and took a deep breath. I was done crying, at least for now, anyway. I looked at Raina and something was different. It was like I could see her clearer now, like she had been under some kind of filter or something. I could see how blue her eyes really were, like electric blue and so full of life. She had some light freckles on her nose, like me. Her lips were full and reddish and her blonde, practically white, hair was shinier. No doubt, she was freaking gorgeous. Even with puffy eyes, she looked beautiful and had a warm small smile on her lips.

“Thanks.” I hoarse out. My voice was fucked up from all the crying and I guess at some point some screaming and whimpering. I was such a mess right now.

“Any time, Mia.” She smiled at me again and hugged me one more time before releasing me and standing up to stretch out.

My eyes went to the fireplace and the embers burning there. It had been tough to tell Raina my story, but I had to admit that I felt better now that someone knew. I felt less like a fugitive and more like part of the gang. Ha! Me, part of the gang? That was kind funny. I never thought I would have a group of friends that I could call it a gang. Even with Max and our community, we were close, sure, but it was more for necessity than friendship itself. Max was different, he was my best friend and for a little while I even thought we could be something more one day. But life happened and that thought ended with his life that day.

I took a cleansing breath. After spilling my beans, I felt ready to start over. It felt good and it made a smile spread on my lips. After so long, I could finally feel like I truly had somewhere to stay. The attack was horrible and so much suffering came out of it, but in the end something good could emerge from it all. It was like a huge weight left my chest and I could breathe again. A few days ago, I had no idea that I would embrace the thought of staying here permanently and be happy about it.

So, of course, something had to go wrong at that moment.

“Which one are you gonna hit the sack with?” Raina asked smirking at me again. Gone were the tears and back was the weird.