Freeing Starr
Chapter 21 ~ Make a Choice

My wounds were slowly healing, yet my heart was gradually crumbling. There was no one there to pick up the pieces.

A helpless smile tilted my lips as I gazed down at the arm that burdened my midsection, wanting nothing more than to shove them off and get as far away as I could. Yet it was impossible.

This was my life now.

But it doesn't have to be hers.

I sat up in bed and slid Zion's arms off of me, wincing in pain as I got off the bed and glanced back to see if Zion woke up. He didn't.

I breathed a sigh of relief and entered the bathroom, finding his pants from yesterday thrown down onto the floor. I quickly took it up and searched his pockets for his wallet.

Found it.

I opened his wallet and looked at the different credit cards, wondering which one I should use. I glanced back at the door as if paranoid that he might pop up anytime now and hurriedly picked the first card I touched, that didn't have his name on it in the first place. He obviously took it from someone else. Which worked great for me.

I threw his pants back down onto the floor and hurriedly shoved the card into the pocket of my robes then hopped into the tub to clean myself.

Once done, I wrapped my robe around my body and left the bathroom, glancing at a still sleeping Zion.

I entered the closet and quickly pulled on some shorts and t-shirt, tucking the card in one of my drawers, under my underwear. I pulled my hair up into a bun as carefully as possible since my scalp still slightly ached then left the closet. Zion was beginning to stir.

I stood next to the bed and watched through blank eyes as his eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning," I muttered, "are you hungry? I can make breakfast."

He sat up in bed and ran a hand down his face, casting a glance in my direction, "what time is it?"

I checked my phone, "it's a little pass nine."

He grunted in response then slid off of the bed and headed towards the bathroom, "I've got somewhere to be. Eat yourself."

I went to the kitchen and prepared breakfast for myself, then sat at the counter and began picking at it. Eventually, Zion slid pass the kitchen on his way towards the front door.

"Can I call someone to help get rid of the mattress?" I called out to him.

His footsteps paused for a second before the front door opened.

"Do whatever you want," he sent over our mind link.

That was all I needed to hear.

Determination roared inside me as I formulated my thoughts and what it was that I was planning.

I strided out of the kitchen and down the hall, knocking on the door at the end.

"It's me," I notified Nadia of my presence.

There was a slight pause before her footsteps was heard approaching the door.

The lock fell into place as she opened the door and peered out nervously, "Is he gone?" She asked.

I nodded and pushed my way into the room, closing the door behind me.

I went straight to the bed and sat down, patting the space beside me, "come have a seat."

Her eyes displayed her anxiety as she probably wanted to know what happened last night. I had no doubt that she heard my screams. However, I refuse to speak of it and she probably realized it as well by the bitter look on my face.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she sat down facing me.

I tried to calm my heart rate as I leaned in to whisper, "Are you positive you want to leave?"

She froze, her eyes widening as she exclaimed, "what?"

My gaze sharpened, "I'm giving you a choice right now. I can help you escape... but it's only if you want to be free. For you and your child."

Her hand immediately went to clutch at her stomach as she stared at me through wide eyes, "w..what are you talking about? Leaving? If I were to leave what'd happen to you? It's obvious you helped me... wouldn't you be punished?"

I nodded my head as I nibbled on my bottom lip, contemplating my next course of actions and the consequences that I'd face afterwards.

"I'm prepared. There's nothing else Zion can do to me as punishment. As long as it's not death, I'm confident I'll be able to survive it. You said it yourself, you'd rather die than stay here and I'm giving you the opportunity to escape. I'm the Luna of this pack. I have access to who comes and goes. Even if I helped you, I'm too useful for Zion to throw me away."

She grabbed at my hand and squeezed tightly, looking hopeful, "why don't you come with me? We can run away together. Maybe you'll find your true mate."

My heart clenched at that and a sad smile adorned my lips.

There was no hope for me. My place was here... with Zion. I had no right to long for my true mate after being tainted by others. I was dirty, filthy, and not worth the time. My fate was completely tied to this pack's. I've already accepted as much.

I shook my head at her, "I can't. Zion and I are mated, remember? As long as I bare his mark, no matter where I go, he'll always be able to find me. It'd be too dangerous for us to travel together."

She deflated at that and tears immediately sprang to her eyes, "It doesn't feel right leaving you here to suffer because of my selfishness. It'd haunt me for the rest of my life."

I squeezed her hand and gave her an assuring smile, "There's nothing for you to concern yourself about. I told you this before but I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for me. This is my selfishness. A part of me resents Zion for keeping me away from my true mate while he kept his. So this is my way of rebelling. If I can't have mine then he sure as hell won't have the satisfaction of keeping his. I'm choosing to risk myself to help you escape. This is the first choice that I've ever made that came purely from me. Now it's your turn to make a choice. We don't know what Zion is thinking or if he'll choose to separate us. The sooner I get your answer, the quicker you can leave all of this and put it behind you."

I gestured to the room around us and watched as she followed my hands with glazed eyes, probably recalling scenes of the past.

She nodded her head through her tears and sniffled, "I want to leave. I can't stand it here anymore. For the sake of my baby, I want to leave and give them a better life than this."

My smile grew as I nodded and comforted her, "that's a good choice. We're leaving the next time Zion goes on one of his trips. It'll be anytime soon since he does this regularly. I'll personally escort you out of the pack and to a motel, then we'll part ways from there. You don't have to worry about the essentials. I'll provide you with a bag of clothing and some money to last you a couple of months. My suggestion is that you hide yourself amongst a human settlement and try your best not to get caught. With the war going on right now between werewolves and humans, it'd make it harder for Zion to freely search human territory without running into a lot of complications and the humans won't have the time or energy to monitor every single person that settles down in their towns."

She nodded as she listened along, "what if Zion finds out what we're planning?"

I shook my head and answered confidently, "he won't. From my time with Zion, I've noticed this one flaw of his."

She tilted her head curiously, "what is it?"

"His superiority complex. After beating it into me last night, he's probably under the impression that he's broken me to the point where I'm now completely submissive and loyal to him. All I have to do is continue to be the pathetic little mate I am and he'd lower his guard even more."

She hesitated slightly as she thought over my words, "from what you're saying... it's almost as if you let him beat you on purpose."

My gaze strayed towards the door blankly as I pursed my lips, "there was no point in confronting Zion. I knew it would lead to him blowing a fuze and asserting his dominance. However, if he did so and I submitted to him completely afterwards, he'd lower his guard enough to think that I've learned my lesson."

Nadia's eyes shook as she stared at me in disbelief, "so you knew all of this would've happened because you planned it? With your thinking capabilities, why are you so fearful of Zion?"

I shook my head, "you're thinking too simply. I didn't plan anything. I saw the outcome of a decision and simply allowed it to happen. All my life I've been dominated by men. It's no surprise. They're physically stronger than we are so it's not surprising that I fear them. Physically, I'll never be able to overpower them but I can find ways to get around them and survive. When I was little, my nanna always said that in the face of absolute strength, all schemes are useless. So even if I scheme, there's a limit to how far it'd get me." I hesitated for a while then admitted, "For example, with my father. Back then... when he first started playing with me I knew that it'd get worse and I didn't want that so to avoid being at too much of a risk, I hinted at how important virgins were to Alpha males because I knew that one day he'd be selling me off to another Alpha. I had hoped that it would deter him from taking me... but instead he just found ways around that."

Nadia shuddered as her horrified gaze met mine, "your father...?"

I nodded with a bitter smile, not wanting to speak about it any further, I continued, "So what I'm trying to say is that being smart isn't enough. You need strength and we lack that. I'm only bold enough to do this right now because my life is guaranteed. The pain? That fades. This little rebellion of mine was long overdue so I'm prepared to face the consequences."

Silence rained down on the room.

I sighed and ran a hand down my face, "I'm gonna get going. The next time you see me is the day you leave this place."

I got up and headed towards the door. As I opened the door, I paused and glanced over my shoulder, "Did he visit you anytime last night?"

She shook her head.

"Good. Let's keep it that way," then I was gone, closing the door behind me.

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