Chapter 32: Escape

Lucien came back far too fast to have caught, let alone injured Dex. Emma’s love wasn’t with her soon-to-be ex-husband.
Emma stood in the middle of the cell, her hands behind her back, working on the bracelet. She’d have it off soon and then she’d shift. She’d escape then, with or without Dex.
“He may have escaped this time,” Lucien said.
He clenched his fists as he paced in front of her cell. She watched him, her face as impassive as she could make it.
“You’ve never getting out of here, Emma. You might as well give in.”
He was losing patience with her and that’s when he’d make a mistake. She’d pounce when that happened if she hadn’t escaped by then. She kept quiet because he’d want her to engage in this situation. She had been passive during their marriage, but he had to know that she wasn’t going to be that way anymore.
“I know you well enough to mess with your head, Emma.”
That would take far more brainpower than he possessed. Lucien was more about brawn. None of this worried Emma. The only options she was willing to entertain were that she escaped or Dex saved her. Nothing else could happen in her mind.
“You aren’t going to get the best of me.”
Emma smiled at him. His eyes went red, and some fur sprouted out of his face. He spun away from her. When he turned back, he was in control. “Whatever you’re doing is not going to work.”
He stormed out of the room. Emma let out a breath. She’d been concentrating on the bracelet and now it fell with a clink to the floor. She looked down at it before she stomped on it. When she lifted her foot, the bracelet, which had been links, was now in pieces.
Now was the time. She was about to shift to her wolf form, but she heard a commotion outside. If Lucien was back, she couldn’t let on that she had gotten rid of the bracelet. Emma paused.
There was shouting. She approached the bars listening to see if she could discern what was going on out there. Growls reached her ears.
The door swung open, hitting the wall beside it. Dex.
“Hey,” he said as if he hadn’t just fought his way through Lucien’s wolves.
He held up the key to the cell a smile on his face. He unlocked the door and she launched into his arms.
“Oof. Emma. We need to get out of here.”
“Get me out of this building and I can get us out of Fang City,” Emma said.
He grabbed her hand and led her out of the room. The hallway outside was dark. The fight was somewhere else.
“Be ready to shift when I tell you.”
“Okay.”
Her heart sped up. They weren’t out of danger yet. They had all of Lucien’s men to get through. She had no idea how many wolves Dex had with him. They entered a larger room and that’s where the battle was being waged.
Wolves everywhere.
“Shift,” Dex yelled.
Emma shifted to her wolf form in time to have to fight off one of Lucien’s wolves. She growled and went for the neck of the wolf who had tried to take her down.
Emma tried to keep track of where Dex was, but he was fighting his own wolves. She didn’t back down. This was her do-or-die moment. If she didn’t make it out of here, she wouldn’t ever have a chance to escape again.
She fought with her heart and her new-found strength. As she fought she and Dex moved toward the door. She doubted things would end there, but at least they would be out of the building. She knew Fang City well, the places to hide and the places to run.
Lucien let out a growl and the fighting stopped. The wolves slinked away. Emma didn’t understand what was happening. She followed Dex out of the building, but no one ambushed them there.
“Where is everyone?” she said to Dex in her head.
“This is too easy.”
He gave some orders to his warriors and then Emma led them through the town. It was daytime, but no one was on the street. Had Lucien cleared them out? If there were people out, they could blend into the crowds.
With no one around, they could stay in wolf form. She walked through the town with the rest of them behind her. She’d never seen the place so empty.
“Where is everyone?” Dex asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered.
“Which way are we going?”
“We’re close to the edge of the Lake Pack’s territory, but they’ll expect us to go that way.”
“We need to get out of here,” Dex said.
“Trust me.”
“You’re my Luna. I trust you.”
She led them down a few alleys between warehouses. She hadn't spent much time here, but she’d been often enough to get them out. She paused. “This is the edge of Silver City. We can slip around the edge of it. Lucien won’t follow here.”
She stepped out of Fang City for what she hoped would be the last time. Silver City had woods on this end so they could hopefully slip through it to connect with Wolf Woods.
No one stopped them and when they reached Wolf Woods, they shifted back to human form.
“Lucien will bring war to your pack,” Emma said.
“I know. We need to pack and get on the move. Hopefully, Lucien will leave the pack alone if we aren’t here.”
Emma was disappointed. She’d just found a home and now she had to leave it. Even if she wasn’t happy about it, she understood. She didn’t want Dex’s pack wiped out and if they had to find another place to live to do that she would follow him.
“Let’s pack.”
He dismissed those wolves that had come with him. She noticed that Brutus wasn’t among them. She’d ask him about that later.
They shifted back to wolves and ran to Dex’s house. They were packed and on the road fifteen minutes later. Dex held her hand as he drove.
“I’m sorry, Dex.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I brought all of this to your doorstep,” Emma said.
“Lucien did this. Not you. Your parents did this by convincing you to marry him.” He kissed her hand. “You didn't do this.”
“Where will we go?”
“There’s some unclaimed land on the other end of the state. If we can get there, we can be safe. At least for a time.”
“What will happen to your pack?”
“Brutus and Leyton will take care of them while we’re gone.”
“You think we’ll be able to return?” she asked.
“Yes. We have to let this die down and we can approach the other Alphas and plead our case. You can’t go back to him. Lucien threw you out. He can’t now decide you need to come back.”
She didn’t know the ramifications of what they’d been through, but if she was going to run it should be with Dex.
“I love you, Emma.”
“I love you, Dex.”
“This drive will take a few hours. Do you need food?”
“I’m starving. Lucien didn’t feed me. I don’t even know how long I was in there.”
“It was two days. You must be hungry.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“No, Emma. I need you at full strength. Text Leyton. We’ll stop there for food.”
She did as he asked. He pulled into Leyton and Brutus’s house. Leyton came out on the porch. “I made some sandwiches.”
“Perfect. “
Emma climbed out of the truck. Once again Brutus wasn’t around. Had something happened between Dex and Brutus? Emma hugged Leyton.
“Good luck. We’ll take care of the pack,” Leyton said.
“Thanks,” Dex said from the driver’s seat.
Emma grabbed the bag of food from Leyton then climbed back in. She waved and then they were on the road again towards their next adventure.