I have to ask him to hide me until I can come up with a plan. He’s a bounty hunter, or at least I heard that he was in the bounty hunter trials last year. My brother never said if Caspian passed them, like he did, but I doubt Caspian failed. When he sets his mind on something, he always gets it in the end. He told me that himself when I was a drunk little dork.
Now I have a plan, albeit not a great one, I open the backpack and find several sets of clothes inside along with a letter. My hands shake as I open the yellow envelope and pull the parchment out. I run my fingers over my name, written in my mum’s beautiful, classy handwriting. A small bracelet falls out of the envelope onto my lap, and I lift it to see it’s made of silver with a red stone attached in the middle of it. I put the bracelet down and open the letter to read it.
To Lilith,
I’m so sorry that I had to write this, that I couldn’t tell you everything, that you’re in this position. I knew if you took this backpack that everything I feared would happen has happened. I know I’m not with you because I’d never let you read this letter if I was.
First thing’s first.
The bracelet is spelled. I used all of my money over my short lifetime to pay for it, and it’s blessed by demons of incredible power. It will hide you from him. The Stormfire alpha can never find or track you so long as you wear it. Neither will anybody else who will look for you and have been since you were born. The Caeli pack hid you until now, but now you have to find your place in the world alone. I’m so sorry.
Wear it and never take it off, promise me this.
There’s so much I wish to tell you, so much that I can’t fit into a small letter. But I’m going to sum up most of the terrible things that happened right before you were born. I was born in the Caeli pack, but I gave my heart to Stormfire. To your father. Know that I created you in pure love, no matter what anyone says.
Many people died to keep you safe, to get me out of Hell, but it all went wrong. And at the very last second, I had to make a deal to leave Hell with you. The alpha of Stormfire wanted you as his mate. I think he always did because of what happened when you were born. Many want you as theirs, Lilith, and you must trust no one.
I can never write the truth in this letter because if someone else found this, it could mean the death of you. I wish I could have told you, but your dad bound me to the secrecy, so it could never leave my lips.
I’m sorry.
The secrets will come out eventually, and you’ll realise what I did for you was the right thing, but for now the secret will die with me.
Be brave.
We both know that hiding in Hell is the best for you if you can get there. You’ll fit in there as it is massive, full of millions and millions of wolves, the biggest population of wolves in the world. You’ll be able to hide and disappear.
I will love you forever and I will protect you in the afterlife. Always know dying for you was my plan right from the beginning. I regret none of my life or my choices.
Tell your brother that. Let him know there is a letter for him in our secret place.
Love,
Mum
By the end of the letter I’m in sobs as I pick up the small bracelet my mum said she spent so much money on. No wonder we barely had anything and Dad hated me so much. It looks expensive, and it radiates with magic. The sort of magic that doesn’t come cheap anymore. The only things in this world that have magic are demons. Demons don’t sell their magic easily or cheaply or to anybody in Caeli. I clip the bracelet onto my wrist, feeling my mum’s love and protection in it like she is here at my side. The stone rests right in the centre of my wrist, fitting me perfectly.
What secret would my mum die to protect about me? What could be so bad but desirable to the Stormfire alpha?
What the hell happened when I was born?
Of course, no one answers me, and I bet the secret is with the Crescent Goddess now.
I need to get to Caspian and somewhere safe because I can’t die or get caught now. My mum needs me to be strong, to fight this and live my life. Rizor will tell his people to look for me, no doubt. I need to get into the city and disappear. Soon he will have the entire pack searching for a new wolf.
Quickly, I drag on the leggings, boots, and the large hoodie that’s in the backpack, one of my favourite hoodies that I thought I’d lost over a year ago. I know exactly where it went now. I smile for a brief second at the idea of my mum stealing it.
Then my smile falls when I remember she isn’t here anymore. She is likely dead.
I pull my wet hair into a ponytail with a hairband I find in the bag and drink the small bottle of water that’s at the bottom before putting everything back and standing. Strapping the backpack onto my back, I glance up at the enormous city. A city big enough for any wolf to get lost in.
Time to go into the city of Hell and pretend I’m from here.
I don’t know if that’s even possible because I have no idea what I’m walking into. The river will have hidden my scent and washed away all traces of any Caeli wolf on me. That’s one good thing. I walk towards the city walls, and when I get to them, I realise there’s no door anywhere I can see. I search up and down the wall, realising I have to go through the main gates of the city.
Unless…
I look up and grimace. Maybe I can climb the wall and get into the city, even if my climbing skills might not be great. It’s worth a try. Using the roots, I climb as quickly as I can despite that every few steps I almost slip. My heart pounds faster each time.
I keep climbing until I get to the top and pull myself onto my back, breathlessly staring at the roots above me. Sweat coats my forehead, and I wipe it away. Falling, burning leaves drift down from the tree above and around me. They seem so beautiful in the many lights around me, the smell of smoke and fire is relaxing even as the noise of the city drowns out the idea of silence. The wall must have blocked some sounds as it’s much louder up here and reflects the noise a city of millions in it would have. The red glow is bright on my face, followed by a mixture of white light coming from the city. It almost appears like a sunset here, a sunset of so many shades of oranges, reds, and pinks. I always wanted to travel the world, but I always wanted to do it and then come back to tell my parents about the world outside of Caeli.
Now that can’t happen.
With strength I didn’t know I had, I slide myself over the other side of the wall and climb down the roots until I can jump to the floor. I quickly glance around me to make sure I’m safe. No one is close to me, nothing but rubbish and a dumpster that blocks anyone from seeing me. Two buildings are to my left, and I walk down the space between them and hide by the wall to peek around the corner. One massive pathway that leads right into the city is near me, and hundreds of wolves in human form stroll down them, some with small demon creatures on chains walking at their sides. So many people, and not one of them turn my way. I sneak out from behind the building, joining the crowd but keep my eyes down on the floor, and pulling my hood up to cover my hair. It doesn’t take long to get closer to the middle of the city. The noise of people talking, music playing, bangs, and wolves howling fills my ears and senses when I try to break out of the crowd.
I search the buildings, reaching out with my senses for any trace of Caspian, but there are too many scents, too many wolves for me to search for him alone. It’s all too much here, and a part of me likes it. The energy of the city is amazing. I come past a poster clipped to a building side and pause, seeing an advertisement for the bounty hunting trials in big bold letters.