Chapter 75 - The Price of Freedom
A week had passed since she was taken.
Seven days.
One hundred and sixty-eight hours since she had last seen her mates.
Charlie had been handed over to a remote pack deep in the mountains—so secluded that time itself seemed to have forgotten about it. Hidden away by jagged cliffs, dense forests, and treacherous terrain, the pack had remained unseen and untouched by the outside world for decades. There were no modern conveniences, and no connection to neighboring packs.
It was as if they existed in a different era, untouched by progress or war, surviving on their own laws and traditions. It didn’t take long for Charlie to learn that this was her birthplace. The pack she had been stolen from the day she went missing—the same day her father, the Alpha, had died under mysterious circumstances.
Her older brother, Rowan, now led the pack, and he had made it painfully clear that he had no intention of letting her leave. He spoke of duty, of family, of the need to keep their pack hidden from the outside world. He told her that their father had given his life to protect them from being discovered, and that her sudden return after all these years was a *sign*—a chance to restore what was lost.
But Charlie didn’t care about restoring the past; she only cared about her future. A future that belonged to Liam and Luther. No matter how much Rowan claimed to be protecting her, all she saw was a prison. And she had spent too many years as a prisoner already.
Charlie sat on the edge of the large bed in her room, staring blankly at the wooden floors beneath her feet. The room was nicer than the conditions she had been forced into when she was first captured, but it still felt like a prison. The walls were made of thick, dark logs, sealing her off from the outside world, and the windows—though allowing some light in—were locked from the outside. A thick fur rug covered the majority of the stone floor, and a modest dresser stood in the far corner, filled with clothes she hadn’t touched.
She had been given free rein of the packlands, but she was never truly alone. Everywhere she went, there was a shadow—a warrior assigned to watch her, to keep her contained within the borders.
Her brother called it *protection.*
She called it *captivity.*
Her wolf, Raven, had been restless all morning, pacing in her mind and clawing at their shared consciousness. It was more than just frustration—it was pure, raw unease. Every muscle in Charlie’s body felt coiled tight, as if waiting for something terrible to happen.
‘We need to go back,’ Raven whined for the hundredth time today. ‘Something is wrong. I can feel it.’
Charlie clenched her fists in her lap, willing the tightness in her chest to ease. She had tried to escape three times already, each attempt ending in failure. No matter how fast she ran, there was always someone waiting, dragging her back before she could make it past the hidden borders of the pack.
A knock at her door snapped her out of her thoughts. Before she could respond, the door swung open, revealing a tall, broad-shouldered man with stormy blue eyes and dark brown hair pulled back into a tight braid.
Her brother.
Alpha Rowan.
He was her blood, her family—the older brother she had never known existed. And though he wasn’t cruel, his presence set her teeth on edge.
"You're awake," he observed, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.
Charlie remained seated, her nails digging into the soft material of the fur covering the bed. "What do you want, Rowan?"
Rowan sighed, crossing the room to lean against the dresser. "Still refusing to call me ‘brother,’ I see."
"You refuse to let me go home," she shot back, meeting his gaze with defiance. "I don’t owe you anything."
His lips pressed into a thin line. "You *are* home, Charlie. This is where you belong—where you have always belonged."
Charlie scoffed. "Where I *belong* is with my mates!"
Rowan’s expression darkened. "They are not your priority anymore."
Charlie shot up from the bed, fists clenched at her sides. "Who are you to decide that for me? You can’t just erase my life before now and expect me to accept this place!" She gestured to the room. "I don’t even know you! I had a life—a future with Liam and Luther. And you stole that from me!"
Rowan exhaled sharply through his nose, rubbing a hand over his face as if trying to maintain his patience. "I’m trying to *protect* you, Charlie. Our pack has remained hidden for a reason. If you go back, you'll lead outsiders straight to us!"
"I don’t care about your stupid secrecy!" she snapped. "I didn’t ask for any of this! I don’t want to be a part of your hidden pack, Rowan. I want my mates. I want my *home.*"
His jaw tightened, and for a long moment, he said nothing. Then, with a deep breath, he murmured, “One of them is dying.”
Charlie felt the words like a physical blow, her entire body freezing in place. "What did you just say?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Rowan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Luther has been infected with the disease, Charlie. It was only a matter of time before one of them caught it." He looked at her, his expression firm but filled with something almost like regret. "Even if you went back, you couldn’t save him."
Raven *snapped.*
A guttural snarl ripped from Charlie’s throat as her body moved on instinct. She launched herself at Rowan, shifting partially mid-air. Her claws extended, her teeth sharpened, and she slammed into him with all the strength of an enraged she-wolf.
Rowan barely had time to react before she *bit down* on his forearm, her canines sinking deep into his flesh.
With a roar, he staggered backward, trying to shake her off, but she clamped down harder, her mind consumed with bloodlust. Her wolf demanded she rip him apart—tear into him for keeping her from her mate.
With a growl of his own, Rowan managed to wrestle her off, slamming her against the wooden wall with enough force to rattle the entire room. He held her there, his arms locked around her as she thrashed, snarling and trying to claw at him.
"Charlie, *stop!*" he bellowed.
But she couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t stop.
Luther was dying. And she had wasted a *week* trapped here, doing nothing.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she finally slumped against him, her breath ragged, her nails still digging into his arms.
"Let me go," she pleaded, her voice broken. "If you don’t, I will kill myself. I swear it, Rowan. I won’t live without them."
Rowan’s entire body went still. Slowly, he pulled back enough to look her in the eyes. What he saw there must have shaken him because his expression *cracked.*
She meant it.
Every single word.
Rowan exhaled harshly, closing his eyes for a brief moment before nodding once. "Fine."
Charlie’s heart *stuttered.*
He turned toward the door and barked an order. “Get my strongest warriors ready. They’re escorting Charlie back to her pack.”
One of the guards outside hesitated. “Alpha—”
“*Now.*”
The warrior scurried away, leaving Rowan to turn back to Charlie. His gaze was filled with resignation. “You’re making a mistake,” he said softly.
Charlie shook her head. "No. The mistake was ever thinking I belonged anywhere but with them."
Without waiting for another argument, she turned on her heel and *ran.*
Ran to get dressed.
Ran to prepare.
Because she wasn’t wasting *one more second.*
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