Page 24 of Ensnaring Their Rabbit

That reminded me that we had nowhere to go. We were escaped convicts now. On the fucking run. I swallowed the lump in my throat and dragged Brynn and Riven closer.

“Where do we go?” Brynn asked, unsure.

For the first time since he walked into this alley, Lauent’s cocky demeanor shifted. “I’m…not sure. I had a safehouse to send you to, but they won’t accept alphas.”

Brynn slumped in between us, but my focus was on Riven. We had another one of our unspoken conversations, before he nodded slightly.

“We have a place.”

That seemed to surprise Laurent. “Anything attached to your name will be the first place they search.”

There was a brief wave of concern for our sister, but I pushed it down. She had her connections now, and there was nothing we could do about her anymore. “I know. It’s not in our name. It was how they didn’t confiscate it when we got arrested.” As long as our uncle didn’t sell it in the last fucking decade…but that was better kept to ourselves.

Laurent pursed his lips, thinking. Finally, he sighed. “Okay. I’ll take your word for it. I have to get back before they make the connection. Don’t worry. I’ll buy you some time. Also, you’re about an hour away from the prison. Brynn should recognize his old stomping grounds.” Laurent whispered a few words, and then he was holding a black duffel bag.

“This has everything you should need to get out of the city. Including clothes.” He glanced at us, “They might be a little small for you two, but I always plan for everything, so there’s sweats and t-shirts that should fit alphas in a pinch. There’s cash and food. Lay low where you can. Avoid crowded places, and if you have to go into stores, let Brynn go. Don’t let your faces get on camera. There’s also a burner phone. Once you get where you’re going, call me, there’s one number saved in there. We’ll get you new IDs and whatever you need. Sorry I can’t do more.” Then with a wave of his hand he was gone and left the three of us alone in this dark alley with nothing but the duffel bag clutched in Brynn’s arms.

CHAPTER16

RIVEN

I blinked,staring at the spot where a man was just standing, and now there was nothing. I knew teleportation magic existed, but I’d never seen it in person before, and that on top of all the events that had already happened was almost too much to handle.

We were out. We weren’t safe, not yet. But for the first time in forever, I was breathing air that wasn’t tainted by the Magic that kept the prison secure. Okay, it smelled like garbage, but it was so different from anything I’d smelled in a decade, I almost didn’t care how gross it was.

While I continued to stand, shaky on my feet and so fucking overwhelmed, Brynn dropped the duffelbag on the ground and knelt next to it.

“I don’t know about you two, but I’d like to have clothes on to figure out the next part of the plan.”

I looked down, just now registering that all three of us were naked. Somewhere where we could be discovered at any moment. Brynn dug around in the bag. “How the fuck did he fit all this in here?”

He pulled out a pair of sweats, and after quickly checking the tag, stood up and put them on, not bothering with underwear. After another second or so he found a shirt and something for Reeve and I to wear. Laurent was right, the sweats were a little short and dug into my hips, but it was better than nothing. I threw on a long sleeved shirt, and Reeve a worn looking hoodie.

“Shit, there’s only one pair of shoes. But, oh here’s the money. Maybe once we come up with a plan and get away from here, I can get shoes for you two somewhere.”

It wasn’t my biggest worry. Now that I was coming to terms with finally being free, being somewhere unfamiliar was unnerving, and I wanted to move.

“Laurent said this is your old stomping grounds, Brynn? Is there somewhere we can go, at least to hunker down for the night before we head out?”

Brynn stood and walked to the end of the alley. I just held my tongue before I yelled at him to stop. I figured he wouldn’t appreciate it. He took a look around before coming back.

“Yeah, I know where we are. One of the children’s shelters I used to stay at when I was a kid is around the block. There’s a diner a few blocks back. They have a storage shed in the back of their property. We can see if it’s free for the night. I stayed there a few times.”

My heart hurt knowing my mate was all alone for all those years, never knowing where he’d get to sleep each night. We were here now. As long as we could find the property we’d bought secretly right before everything went down–and our uncle didn’t sell it on us–then he’d never have to question where he’d sleep again. We’d take care of him.

Brynn had found a couple baseball caps in the bag, and I put one on, lowering the brim to cover most of my face. Brynn did the same, while Reeve put his hood up. Then I swung the duffle over my shoulder, and we walked out of the alley.

I thought we’d stick out like a sore thumb, but Laurent had dumped us deep in the shifter slums. There weren’t a lot of people out this late, and the ones that were, well they had bigger things to worry about than us. The few shifters that came close immediately crossed the street once they got a good whiff of Reeve and me. It wasn’t our fault, it had been a long time since we had to tamp down our scents, so our alphaness was strong right now. We were leaking all over the place, which was rude, but I was struggling to get it under control. For now it worked in our favor since people were staying out of our way, but we’d have to get it together quick before the cops started looking for us. We were a fucking beacon right now.

It seemed it was even affecting Brynn, because just as he turned us off the main drag and down another stinking alley, he tilted his head giving both of us some serious side eye, “You think you can tone down the alphaness some? Every omega in a five mile radius is probably running this way right now. And if any of those shits present to you, heads will roll.”

I grinned. Our mate was jealous. Any other time I’d tease him, but this wasn’t the time.

“Sorry. We’re not used to having full control anymore. My wolf is a little punch drunk with the power. I’ll try to tamp it down.”

Brynn’s expression turned sympathetic. “I can’t even imagine. Just wearing that collar for a week was brutal. Just do what you can. We’re almost at the shed anyway.”

Reeve reached out and squeezed my hand, for support, and I held onto the lifeline. We leaned into each other as we walked behind Brynn, and soon I was able to box it in better so I wasn’t leaking my pheromones all over the city.

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