Page 6 of Mated to Four Bears

“Hey!”

Shit, was that William? Had he caught up with me? While I would rather take my chances with him than the old perv, I didn’t really want to deal with either of them.

“Hey, you, wait up. Samantha, wait up.”

I cursed and took off in a different direction. I was pretty sure I was about to end up lost, but what other choice did I have? I just needed to run.

The only problem was exhaustion had started to grip me hard. My lungs were raw and ragged, my chest aching. My heart was pounding so fiercely against my ribcage, I wasn’t sure howmy body was managing to keep it all inside. My head ached with the stress and I felt dizzy. I was a freaking mess.

I needed to hide. I couldn’t keep running like this, it was making me feel sick to my stomach. I looked around everywhere, but it was hard to see. There was only one small dark alleyway for me to dive into, which was exactly what I did. I slipped between the thick brick walls and slid down to a crouched position and tried to catch my breath. I was hoping that as soon as I could breathe properly again, my brain would clear and I would know exactly what to do. More than that, though, I was hoping William would vanish. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could do this. It was a nightmare.

The worst part was it didn’t seem like the captain was going to let me slip through his fingers. If only it had been anyone else in the world behind me at the store, I would have gotten away with it. It was only a small little spell, and no one else would have cared for even a second.

I clutched my knees and did what I could to breathe normally while I silently cursed Captain William Osborne for even existing. It seemed like everything was against me today. Maybe staying here, curled up in a ball in this small alleyway, was the best thing for me.

I was soon edge that every little noise had me jumping, freaking out. I looked way guiltier than I actually was, which didn’t help things. The more my body started to calm down, the more I started to realize that I’d made a big mess of everything. What started off as a small little crime was now something so much bigger. There was a strong possibility that I would be arrested and locked up for a very long time. So long that I wouldn’t be able to finish my degree and move on to the next stage of my life. I wouldn’t even have a next stage of life.

“Shit,” I whispered as the gravity of this situation hit me. What was I going to do? Ireallycouldn’t let William catch me now. No way.

I touched the wand in my pocket. It taunted me, reminding me that I always had that as an option. Although going against the Code of Magic again definitely wasn’t ideal. Was this what spiraling felt like? The loss of control? The way that everything was slipping through my fingers like grains of sand, leaving me with absolutely nothing. I’d never felt this terrible sensation before.

“Samantha, are you here?”

My blood iced over at the sound of William’s voice.

“Samantha, please come out. I just want to talk to you. I just want to make sure you’re safe. I can’t leave you here, not knowing what’s going on with you.”

Yeah, right. He might have known how to sound like a good, caring person, but that wasn’t going to fool me. I’d been tricked by him once before, I almost trusted him, and that nearly got me arrested.

This time wasn’t going to be the same. I pressed my hand to my mouth and curled in on myself more, almost as if I was trying to make myself disappear. I just needed him to go past me without spotting me, then I might be able to double back and find my way back home.

I was acutely aware of my wand the whole time. It was almost glowing in my pocket, reminding me that I could use it at any given moment. If I was really backed into a corner and my life was on the line. Ireallydidn’t want to do it, but I also knew I had gone too far now and there was no turning back. If William caught me, it was all over.

William continued to call out my name, but it wasn’t very easy for me to figure out exactly where he was yelling frombecause of the echo in the alley. I kept my hand pressed to my mouth, trying not to breathe.

Go,I silently screamed at him.Get the hell out of here. Leave me alone.

I wasn’t sure if it was my silent prayer that caused William’s voice to vanish into the distance, or if it was just dumb luck, but I eventually felt calm enough to let my hands fall away from my face. I leaned my head back and rested it against the wall, finally dragging in some intense deep breaths.

“Okay,” I whispered to myself. “Get the hell out of here, Samantha. Get home.”

My legs trembled a little as I pushed myself up to standing. I knew I wasn’t going to be going anywhere fast, so I waited a little moment longer.

As much as I didn’t want to be in the alley for too much longer, I wasn’t looking forward to going home either. I took a little bite of my sandwich just to give me the energy to move on.

I peeked out of the alley, darting my eyes left and right. I couldn’t see any sign of anyone, least of all William, which I took as my cue to leave.

I tried to retrace my path, recalling every step I took.Did I turn left here?I wondered as I rested against the side of the nearest building. Oh God, this was a nightmare. I could hardly recognize anything.

“You come back to me?”

My heart almost stopped beating the moment I heard an all too familiar voice. While it was proof I was going in the right direction, I really didn’t want to deal with the old perv again.

“Do you want a drink this time around? I can get you one a beer.”

I turned up my nose in disgust, but relief flooded me because I could probably figure my way out from here. Maybe. I kept on walking, ignoring the cat calls being flung my way, theassumptions that I should be with him just because I happened to be in the same area as him. What a gross asshole. I reached into my back pocket and held on to my wand, purely because I wanted this asshole to know that I meant business if he worked up the strength to come any closer to me.

“Samantha!”

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