THE FORGOTTEN LUNA

KAEL.

Adessa's screams were drawn by the explosion behind us as we made it to the next exit.

I shifted my eyes from the side mirror to the rearview and caught sight of her looking through the back window. I could only see the back of her head, but I could tell she was shaking.

I wanted to check on her, but I needed to be far away from here before any of their backup came, or worse, the police officers.

I reached the end of the bridge and found myself at a roundabout. I had no idea where the road I chose would lead us, but I kept driving. Anywhere would be fine, as long as we ended far away from the scene.

It didn't take long for the siren's sound to reverberate through the air, but it quickly faded as my car accelerated away.

"Adessa..." I was finally able to utter a word, and it snapped her from looking at the back window. It had already been a long time since the explosion was no longer visible, yet she remained staring.

She moved swiftly, crawling back to the front seat just in time after I shoved the gun back to the dashboard. She sat in her seat and put on her seatbelt, looking at the road in front of us with her chest heaving and heavily breathing. "Adessa..." I grabbed her shaking hand. It was cold-too cold.

"Do you think they're dead?" She asked.

"Yes."

She closed her eyes, one hand gripping her seat while the other was clasped with mine tightly. "I didn't want people dying because of me."

"It's either you or them. I'm not going to sit here and watch them take you." I told her, and I meant it.

She was still shaking, no matter how tight she held on to me or to her seat. I could only imagine how she was when it was only her alone, and she shot two men dead.

I ejected her seat belt, and she looked at me. There were no tears in her eyes, but fear was still flitting in them.

I adjusted my seat back, leaving more space between me and the steering wheel. I then patted my thighs as I spoke. "Come here."

"What do you mean?"

"Sit on me," I replied, opening one arm.

It took a few seconds before she moved and crawled toward me. I slowed down a bit until she was settled in my lap, straddling me with her arms around my neck.

"I don't know what I did wrong... Why must I run like this?" She rested her head in the crook of my neck, hugging me tightly until soft sobs ripped through the air. My eyes watered as I gently rubbed her back. "Sssh... You did nothing wrong."

"I should have let them take me to Alpha Draco. Or do what they want with me..." Her voice broke, and I could tell she was trying to suppress her cries.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel tightly while one arm wrapped around her.

"I'm glad you killed them. And I don't regret killing the others. If we need to run and move away from this country to keep you safe, we will do that." I told her.

I knew I had a responsibility with my pack, but I also knew I couldn't leave her alone, not like this-not when everyone wanted to harm and ruin her.

She withdrew from my neck and

cupped my face. She began peppering my cheek with kisses as she mumbled in between her sobs. "I thank the Goddess every day for you, Kael. More so today than I had for the past year. Thank you."

I smiled at her as our eyes met before she hugged me again and softly sobbed against my neck.

How could I tell her it was all my

fault that she was in this situation? I didn't want her to think I was only here because I felt guilty. I wanted her to feel I was here because

wanted to be here. I wanted to keep

her safe.

I looked at the road ahead-it was long and seemed endless, but I could see blinking lights far ahead. It might be a city or a residential area that was already waking up at dawn.

I had one more thing to do before we exited this road.

I grabbed my phone and told Adessa not to make a noise. I waited for her confirmation before I pressed the number I asked Rasmus to give me earlier.

Just as I expected, he was awake, probably waiting for an update.

"I'm warning you! If you send people again to trail me, they will end up with the same fate as Brooke and her company!"

"What did you do to her?" Draco growled.

"Wait for the morning news, and you'll find out."Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

"If you think I will stop, you're wrong. If I need to send my whole pack to come for Adessa, I will do so."

"If you think I'm scared, then you're fucking delusional."

"Give me Adessa and this will be over."

"I guess this won't be over then because there is no way you're getting your hands on her."

Draco laughed maniacally. "I enjoy installing fear on you."

"Fear?" I scoffed. "Don't forget I'm Kael. I fear no one, and I enjoy the chase. See you at the other end, fucker."

I dropped the call and put the phone in between my teeth before one-handedly disassembling it and pushing the SIM card out. I broke it into two before rolling down my window and tossing it out in the rice fields. "How about the phone?" Adessa asked.

"Soon," I told her.

We drove another kilometer before I threw the phone on the road in front of us and let my tire run through it, breaking it completely.

If someone was tracking us based on the phone call I made to Draco, they could find that phone here. Because moving forward, I wouldn't be making any calls-not even to Rasmus or to my pack.

We'd been driving for many hours,

and the dawn was already breaking.

Adessa was back in her seat and

had fallen asleep. Dry tears were on her cheeks, and despite the regular beating of her heart, her forehead was still creased. Even in her sleep, she had a worried expression.

We were just getting started. I knew more bumps would come along the way, and I needed to be more prepared for another encounter.

We ended up on a different road than I intended to take. Our arrival in the north might have been delayed compared to what I originally thought, but we were still on track.

This route would also allow us to rest somewhere other than an inn or hostel, which was safer, so no one could track us.

But I hope the person I was intending to seek refuge with is still alive and living here.