Page 34 of Resisting Fate

My father was a real piece of work. She doesn’t deserve to be in here. She’s been in here too long already; I’m surprised she hasn’t lost her humanity.

“My name is Willow, and you are?” she asks before taking a seat beside me.

“Isaac,” I mutter.

“Care to tell me about you turning feral?” she asks softly.

“Want to tell me about you getting stuck here? You obviously aren’t feral; you should have been able to break free,” I counter back.

She lets out a sigh. “I will tell you, if you tell me,” she says, and I nod my head in agreement.

She raises her eyebrows at me like she expects me to go first but, heck, my story is probably way shorter than hers.

With a sigh I let it all out. “Well, I had spent my life bullying anyone who wasn’t popular because my father is an asshole who wasted no time in beating me if I was kind to anyone that he didn’t think I should be kind to. My mate turned out to be this human who I spent my life bullying and, as could be expected, she hates me; not that I blame her. She told me she couldn’t trust me after my father forced me to reject her. I worked really hard for her to see the real me, but then I ended up giving her a mating bite and she didn’t return it, which made my wolf run. Next thing I know, I’m in here being attacked by you.”

“Wow, okay, that wasn’t what I was expecting. I am not surprised that your father treated you that way. He never did have a heart,” she says with a pained smile.

“Well now it’s your turn to tell your story,” I say, looking at her expectantly.

“I was scared. I was always worried he was waiting for me on the other side, and I wasn’t sure if anyone would believe me if I told them. I think that fear has kept me back. Every time I try to get through, I can’t,” she says with a sigh.

“From what I know about the barrier, it probably felt that helpless feeling, which is similar to how feral shifters feel before they walk into here. It let you in, and I’m guessing you still feel helpless because, otherwise, you could have gotten out,” I tell her softly.

“How would you know that?” she asks, looking skeptical.

“Well, we had a bear that was in here not too long ago, and a wolf. They both found peace in their wolves before the barrier let them out, so I know it’s possible to get out. The fact is that the magic won’t let you out, so you haven’t found peace yet, which makes sense since you were probably in here out of fear. Heck; most of us didn’t know how it worked until a couple weeks ago,” I say with a sigh.

“I guess that makes sense. I don’t even know what life is like out there now. You said there is a new alpha. Who is the alpha now?” she asks.

I tell her about the drama with Penelope’s father, the attack on the pack, about my mate being turned into a wolf, and about Ryker taking down the alpha, making it his pack. I tell Willow that Ryker is young, but that I think he could make this pack something great.

She listens and can’t believe everything that has become of her pack. She said that she’s more than ready to go back now that she has heard how much it has all changed. I know a part of me doesn’t want to be in here, but the other part of me is willing me to stay. My wolf and I have no reason to get out.

Our mate doesn’t want us, so what the point?

I will work on getting Willow out of here though because she shouldn’t be trapped.

I will do whatever I can to help her.

As for me, I’m staying.

Hailey

The days are too fucking long without seeing my mate. After Isaac ran away from me while I shouted out his name, my wolf took over and we watched as he disappeared into the barrier.

I tried to get through too, but I couldn’t follow him.

My wolf has been pacing and whimpering for her mate for days.

Ryker had found me, and I shifted long enough to tell him what happened. Ryker had left, but I’m not sure where he went since my wolf won’t let me leave the barrier.

We can’t even feel Isaac near. I know it’s the magic doing that, but I didn’t realise how cold I would feel without his presence. The warmth and safety I felt when he was near is very apparent now that he’s gone.

He has constantly been there with me since the attack on the pack, and now he’s just gone.

I play the scene over and over in my head.

The devastation and hopeless look in his eyes before running away is something I will never forget.

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