Chapter 3

I arrived at my destination, and this was my best friend's home. Since I had often fled to him after a heated argument, whether with my father or one of my two sisters, I had stored my clothes here.

They were hidden in a bush big enough for me to hide behind. Because of this, I was able to transform into my human form and have a privacy shield in front of me. 

I quickly found the trousers and shirt because they were still in the same place where I had left them. 

I quickly put on my jeans and then the shirt. I hadn't thought of socks, which is why I went barefoot, but I couldn't care less. I had a gigantic other problem. 

As I walked toward the house, I contacted my best friend through the Mindlink the whole pack was connected to.

"Finns? I hope you're home." I should have asked that beforehand. In desperation, I had completely forgotten about it. I got the answer immediately: "Yes, of course." I'd managed to keep my voice steady because he didn't sound concerned.

I don't know how I could stay so calm. I was probably in shock or didn't want to accept it. Maybe it was both. 

When I got to the back door, I said, "I'm just entering the house." He laughed and said, "Very well, I'm in my room." Unfortunately, he would soon lose his laughter.

I opened the door as this house was practically my second home. Finn's parents never bothered and they even considered it normal that I went in and out as I wanted. 

I hurried down the hall to the stairs and up them. I took two steps at a time to make it go faster. I managed it despite my short feet, but it was a feat. 

At the top, the second door on the left was my goal. It was closed, but since he knew I was coming, I was able to open it immediately. A knock would be pointless. 

I opened it with a bang, entered the room, and quickly closed it behind me.

Finns sat at his desk and worked on his laptop. He raised his index finger and said, "Just give me a moment." "Clear." 

The poor thing would get the shock of her life soon enough. I allowed him this rest because I was overwhelmed with my situation. 

If I did go, I'd have to memorize it and look at it very closely. Who knows if I would ever see him again? 

He was typing on the laptop and straightening his glasses on his nose. The nerd loved technology and everything that had to do with computers. His tousled brown hair told me he was attached to it all day. 

We both only had each other as friends. We had always been the outsiders in school. He was the geek and I was the brutal alpha's daughter. 

It's quite possible that we were friends because there hadn't been any other options. However, that was kind of nonsense. We were on the same wavelength and understood each other without a word. I didn't want to imagine life without him, ever since I could remember this man has been by my side. 

Finally, he closed the laptop and turned to me. His pleased expression changed to worried and confused. So you could see it on my face, only my voice could hide my true feelings. 

Once he knew, I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye, I walked over to his bed and sat on the edge of the bed. 

"Layla, what's going on?" He had asked it very seriously and that was understandable. 

How should I tell him that, please? 

I took a deep breath, looked at him again, and said, "Don't freak out, because I don't need that. Please stay calm and deal with this diplomatically." 

He got up from his chair and looked at me confused. No matter what he reckoned with, but certainly did not with the facts. Finns came towards me and I followed him with my gaze. You could see how hard he was thinking. He was probably thinking about what we had been up to lately. 

Shortly thereafter he sat down next to me and said: "OK, go ahead. I can't think of anything." I took his hand and squeezed it lightly. That gave me support and probably him as well. 

"Finns, I'm not kidding, so don't ask unnecessary questions. And please don't ask me why I'm so quiet. I have no idea myself." 

As I paused, he nudged me with his shoulder to continue. I had to clear my throat and then said, "My father sold me to Xavier Blackmoon. If I don't go, the beast will hack up this territory." 

He eyed me and I could practically see his brain rattling. It might take a while before acceptance came, probably only when I was gone. Unless Jason could fix what I was praying for. 

Finally, he asked, "Xavier Blackmoon, like Alpha Blackmoon aka the cruelest man around? The most powerful Alpha with the most territory, why can't you even imagine it?" 

I nodded and was completely numb. Somehow there was nothing left in me. It was like a yawning emptiness in the desert, where there was nothing but sand and only a prickly cactus grew every few miles.

Finns ran his free hand through his hair and looked ahead at the wall. Disbelief was written all over his face. 

But in the next second his eyes snapped back to me. He had an idea. That was quite my best friend. His brain was constantly working out solutions at the speed of light. It was like an automatic reaction from him. 

"Layla, we're leaving. We're not going to pack anything, and we're going right away." He got up and pulled me by my hand. However, I stopped, so he inevitably did and turned to me.

He looked at me questioningly, so I explained, "Jason and my mum are talking to my dad. Maybe they'll come to a different conclusion." 

I could see that he was thinking the same thing as I was earlier. My hated progenitor would not be dissuaded from anything that was once in his mind. 

My fate was sealed long ago.