Chapter 3 Leaving Velmora 2

Ira’s POV

“Well, would you look at that? My little thief did well tonight.” Felisha says, tucking the money in her bra before pointing at me.

“Next time,” she adds coldly, “Do not allow me run out of patience. You all feast on that bread you have lying on the floor. I'll be back by dawn.”

She spares us one last glare before storming off.

The door slams shut behind her, only to swing back open on its broken hinges.

I sigh, my head dropping in tiredness.

Anna starts crying again and I notice how she's pulling up the torn part of her dress, her hands shaking.

If I'd come any later than I did…? Dear goddess.

“Come Anna, Oren.” I beckon on them with open hands. Anna rests in my arms, sobbing against my bruised shoulder but I let her.

“I'm sorry,” I murmur in her ear as I rub her back. “I should have come earlier.”

Oren crawls out from under the bed, his face streaked with tears.

“I..Is she g..gone?” he whispers.

“Yes,” I say softly, kneeling beside him. “She’s gone.”

Anna pulls away but Oren's sorrowful gaze remains on my shoulder, at the red mark forming under the torn fabric. “You’re h..hurting.”

“It’s not that painful.” I mutter, holding back a wince.

Anna sniffles, taking Oren's hand. “He wanted to take Oren,” she says, her voice trembling. “But I told him no. I told him he couldn’t touch my brother. Felisha said I could pay with my body instead. But he… he was so angry. I think he wanted to kill me.”

Oren starts crying again, wiping his nose with his sleeve. “Why is she like that? W..why does she h..hate us s..so much?”

I pull both of them close, holding them tight. “It doesn’t matter why,” I whisper. “We can’t stay here anymore.”

Anna lifts her head, her eyes wide. “What?”

“We have to leave.” I say with finality.

Oren’s small hand grabs mine. “Let’s leave… please,” he says desperately.

Anna pulls back, wiping her face with her sleeve. “We can’t, Oren. We don't have money for that. Felisha will catch us and when she does, it'll be worse than now.”

I lock gaze with her. “Nothing is worse than living with the monster she has become. If I'd been even one minute late…”

Anna shakes her head. “She’ll find us, Ira. Then she'll have those men beat you like last time.”

“No Anna, not this time. Listen, what if that man comes again tomorrow?” I stutter, my heart pounding as my brain begins to register the urgency of our exit from this hell hole.

Oren cries harder. I wipe the tears from his face before reaching for the bread on the floor.

I give them each a loaf, rising to my feet. “Eat quickly, I'll go get all our stuff… and make sure you finish it. We're leaving tonight.”

Oren gasps, “You mean it?”

I give a brief nod, “Yes, I mean it.”

Anna hesitates, then hurriedly starts eating her share. Oren too.

Stepping back into the only room with a couch, I look around. The dirty floor, the chipped walls…

I remember the first time I walked through this door. Felisha had rescued me from the woods that night.

But since then, it's been from one hell to another. It makes me wonder how I felt safer in the woods than I have here.

Knowing I'll need all the money I can get, I turn toward Felisha’s room.

The rug feels wet under my feet. A foul smell coats the clustered room but I don't let that discourage me from digging through her stuff in search of any valuable item.

The lamp in her room shines faintly on multiple empty bottles, a pair of broken jewelry. The very ones I remember stealing two years back.

If it's still here then it isn't worth shit.

I push open her drawer and find coins, a small bottle of red dye, a dagger, and something folded neatly under a small bronze cup.

I hurriedly pocket the coins and safely slip the dagger and dye into my cloak.

When I lift the cup, I frown at a red-sealed paper. Although the seal is broken, I can still trace the outline of an howling wolf.

It looks… Hell, it looks royal.

My breath quickens as I unfold it.

The Alpha King requests that you ensure the suspected witch remains within your walls until his men arrive.

If proof is found that you have captured one bearing unnatural white hair, you will be rewarded with a place within the Pack House. And the stray will be eliminated.

My fingers shake as I go over the words again.

Unnatural white hair…

M..me?

Felisha is keeping me as bait? My stomach suddenly turns icy cold. I place the paper exactly as I saw it and hurry out of the room, heart pounding.

Then I start packing at an unnatural speed. I grab the only other pair of clothes we have. A paper painting Oren had made of the three of us a year after I found them. It has the word FAMILY written on it and I can never bring myself to let go of it.

When I'm done, I adjust the single cloth bag on my shoulder.

Anna watches me, fear etched across her face. “Where will we go?” She whispers, tugging on my cape.

“I don’t know yet,” I say, tying the bag tight. “But anywhere is better than here.”

We must leave. There's no way I'm spending one more hour here.

Who knows if that's why Felisha left? To lead the Alpha King here.

I suddenly remember the royal werewolves I'd stolen from today and a tear slides down my face.

It certainly won't take them time to get here.

The moment we step outside the house, I rush to the trash bin, pulling out the other purse containing the ten pan I'd hidden.

With the twenty I've managed to save since last year, and the four I found in Felisha's drawer, we should be able to safely leave Velmora.

“Stay close." I whisper. "And keep quiet.”

And so, unnoticed, we slip through the back of the shelter into the night.