POV: SAINT
Evelyn had been sitting in the same spot since Sam left hours ago. The room was silent as I let her be with her thoughts. I can only imagine the hurt and betrayal she feels right now. Knowing that Sam cheated on her and has a son must be tearing her apart inside. She must feel utterly crushed and heartbroken.
I managed to wipe the blood off my face using my shirt, but my head still throbbed a bit. From the shattered window, I could see it was morning. Neither of us had slept at all. Sleep wouldn't even come to me, especially with Evelyn in this state—sitting there, staring into nothingness, her eyes hollow yet filled with sorrow. Even though I couldn't do much to take away her pain, I wanted her to know I was here if she needed to talk.
I crawled over to where she sat and settled down beside her, keeping some space between us. She didn't cry; she just kept gazing into the distance. After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke, "He could be lying, right?" Her voice was rough and strained. I turned to look at her. "There's no way that's true, right?" she repeated. I placed my hand gently on her knees to offer some comfort.
"Why didn't he just reject me? If he had rejected me, the pain I would have felt couldn't possibly compare to this," she said, struggling to hold back tears.
"I experienced miscarriages for three years before we adopted Blake two years later. He was four when we brought him home. If what he's saying is true, that means he had Blake just a year after we became mates. He had a child while I was going through my miscarriages, and he never told me?"
A year after they became mates? She mentioned he was two years older than her. Did he date someone else before and after realizing Evelyn was his mate? That would explain his unhappiness—he might have already been in love with someone else.
"What did I do to deserve this? I loved him like a mate should. Why did he have to betray me?" She cried into her lap.
"He doesn't deserve you; he's a monster," I said as I wrapped my arms around her. The room filled with the sound of her heart-wrenching sobs as she continued to cry.
Soft voices outside the door caught my attention. A click sounded, and then Blake came in, locking the door behind him. I was surprised to see him. He hurried over to Evelyn, keys jingling in his hands, and stopped right in front of her. "M-mum," he called out.
Evelyn quickly turned to him. "Blake, are you hurt? Did he hurt you?" She frantically checked his body for any injuries. When Blake shook his head, Evelyn pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, mum. I couldn't protect you," Blake whispered.
Evelyn pulled away from the hug, gently holding his face in her hands as she gazed into his eyes. "Don't apologize, alright? I'm the one who should be sorry for letting him take you away," she said, fresh tears brimming in her eyes. "You're my son. Ignore anything he says that tells you otherwise, okay? Don't listen to anyone who says you're not. You are my son, my pup." With that, she embraced him once more.
I stood up and glanced out the window; it was getting lighter outside. Then I walked to the door and pressed my ear against it. It was very quiet. Maybe they were still asleep? I returned to Evelyn and Blake. "It's really quiet everywhere; I think they're still asleep. This might be our chance to get out of here. Do you know where we are?" I whispered.
She wiped her tears, stood up with Blake, and shook her head. "I don't know exactly where we are, but I know how to get out." She turned to Blake and asked, "How did you get the keys?"
"Daddy and that lady are still sleeping, so I took them from the table. I told the person outside that Daddy said I should stay here because I was bothering him in that room."
"How many people did you see outside?" I inquired. "Just one. I think the others are in another room," he responded.
"Then we need to move quickly and quietly so we can leave before they wake up," I said while looking down at my hands. "We'll find a knife outside to cut these ropes."
"Wait," Blake said as he reached into his pockets and pulled out a small knife. He handed it to me, and I smiled. "Nice job, Blake," I replied before taking the knife from him and cutting Evelyn's ropes first. Although the knife wasn't very sharp, it was effective. Once I freed Evelyn, she helped me cut my own ropes.
"We need a plan. There are about four rooms here, plus ours. Did Dad and that woman sleep in one room?" Evelyn asked Blake, who shook his head in response. "That means they took two rooms while the others share one room, and we're in another," she explained.
"If we can figure out how to deal with the man outside, we could slip away quietly," I suggested.
Evelyn then said to Blake. "Tell the man outside that I'm not breathing while Saint and I hide behind the door. When he comes in, we'll handle him," she instructed as she picked up the rope that had tied us up. "We'll make sure he loses consciousness," she added.
Then we sprang into action. Blake stepped outside to speak with the man. As soon as the man entered the room, Blake shut the door while I wrapped my arms around his neck and covered his mouth to muffle any sounds. Evelyn quickly used the ropes to tighten around his neck until he passed out.
We quietly opened the door and slipped out of our room. There was another room directly across from us, and I guessed that's where the other rogues were sleeping. To our left was a narrow hallway with two rooms facing each other; however, one of those doors stood open.
"Let's go," Evelyn said, grabbing Blake's hand and rushing out of the house. I followed closely behind, but we came to an abrupt stop when we reached the outside. A girl was speaking to Ava, sounding out of breath. "He caught them! He's coming!"
"Where have you all been? Where's Tony, and who caught who?" Ava asked angrily.
"The alpha of the New Moon Pack—" the girl began but paused when she noticed us. Jackson caught a rogue? Ava turned towards us with a scowl on her face and said, "I knew something was off when I didn't see anyone at your door. Who allowed you to come out of your cage?"
"Take Blake and run as far as you can; I'll hold them off," Evelyn told me. She pushed Blake toward me and pulled out the knife from earlier. "You're the stupid one who gave Blake those marks on his back, right?" she challenged Ava.
I held tightly onto Blake's hand as I nearly brushed past Ava just as she started chanting spells. In an instant, Evelyn swung the knife across Ava's cheek, causing blood to spill. As Ava cried out in pain, I took off running with Blake. Evelyn followed since the other wolf didn't attack her—perhaps she wanted to avoid ending up like Ava.
We ran as fast as we could, feeling the wind against our bruised skin while dodging leaves and branches. Soon, we reached another hideout. We hid in some bushes at first because we weren't sure if anyone was inside. When I checked and found it empty, I signaled to Evelyn that it was safe.
"We can't stay here any longer. I'm sure they've all woken up by now and will be after us," she said. "If we keep moving forward, they'll catch us."
"But didn't those wolves say Jackson was coming? If we go straight ahead, we might meet them halfway."
"You're right—" We both froze when we heard the sound of wolves running. "Get on my back, Blake," she said quickly before transforming into her wolf form. Blake climbed onto her back, and she took off running. I hurriedly changed into my wolf and chased after them. I prayed to the moon goddess that Jackson would be on his way because with how weak and tired Evelyn and I were, there was no way we could escape being caught.