Rejecting, Your Broken Promises
Chapter 8

Katrina’s POV

I can’t believe we got out of there. Amanda met me by the car, and she sprayed me with a spray that would take my scent away. She didn’t want to give the gate guards any reason at all to check her car. It all went smoothly, and she drove through the gates slowly as she flirted with the guards, and then slowly drove away.

She stopped at the border, which was about 2000 feet away, and just around a bend in the road, so they wouldn’t see her helping me out of the trunk. We both got into the car and as she rolled slowly forward, she said, “I, Amanda Edmonton, reject the B***d Claw pack as my own. I denounce any ties I have, and I declare myself a rogue until I accept another pack”.

We made good time as it would take us almost 2 hours to get to Oroville, CA from Mill Creek. Amanda told me that she thought that with no stops and her speeding, we could get there in an hour and a half. It was a little after 8, so she was planning on getting us there by 945 at the latest.

We were both quiet in the car, each of us just thinking, as we were both aware if we were caught before we got to safety, that we would indeed be killed. Alpha James would torture us both, me more than her, but I am a healer, and I could take more of the punishment than she could, and I was steadily praying to the Goddess that we were not followed. Amanda’s phone started blowing up about 15 minutes after we left, with various numbers calling it. We did not answer. We were not going to take the chance that Alpha James could command us to go back. We had to move forward and request asylum in the Royal Knight Pack. I did not want to think of what would happen to us if we didn’t make it there, or if they turned us away. That made me really nervous, and I broke the silence in the car.

“Amanda, do you really think that they will protect us? I mean, we don’t really belong to the Royal Knight Pack? Will they even let us in, or will they just turn us away? More importantly, will they give us back to Alpha James, by calling and telling him that we are here?” I asked in a low tone. I hadn’t even thought of that. I was so busy trying to figure out a way to get out of the B***d Claw pack, that I never even thought of what would happen if we got turned away when we got there. I am shaking now, and not for myself. If Amanda gets hurt trying to protect me, I will never forgive myself.

Amanda glanced over at me and then back to the road. I felt her hand grab my hand and give it a little squeeze. I looked at her and she smiled back at me, trying to get me to smile back. My smile was weak, but I appreciated her support. She squeezed my hand again before releasing it and then said, “I am so sorry Katrina. I feel like you were dealt an unfair hand, and everyone was too scared to stand up to Alpha James for fear of him doing it to us too. He was not like this when Luna Victoria was alive. He was a good man. He changed after losing her. I really wished we had all backed the Beta when he stood up for you at the town hall meeting, but he stood alone. I am standing up with you now. Enough is enough, he would have killed you and I could not have lived with that guilt. I am not worried if we get turned away. We will go to the city to live, and I can get a job at a hospital, and try to get you on there as well. At either the front desk, or in cleaning services, but we will do it together. I have got your back from now on. I only pray that you can forgive me for being a coward and not doing it sooner.”

“Do not blame yourself. You are the same age as me and were a child yourself. There was nothing that you could have done to help me then. I know how Alpha James is. He would have killed anyone who stood up against him. The beta is strong and can hold his own, plus he needed Beta Mitchell. But anyone else that he thought might have helped me, it would have been a death sentence. He would have killed you and not thought a thing about it. You were NOT being a coward. You were surviving as best you could. If he had ever suspected someone of actually wanting to help me, he would have made sure it would not have happened. Me getting free of the B***d Claw pack only ended up working out because we planned it quickly and were lucky. I am just worried about Doctor Williams, as he is still there, and I am worried that Alpha James is going to hurt him”.

“He knew what Alpha James would do, he was aware of the risks, but he knew you would be killed and he made his choice too. We have at least a thirty-minute head start, which is why I am not stopping until we get there. I will ask that we be allowed to enter if we do see them coming. They need to help us, I am 95% sure that they will. I have a little bit of doubt myself, but if, after 10 minutes of requesting asylum there, it doesn’t seem like they will allow it, we will leave and go into the city. I will not take the chance of him catching us. I had already cleaned out my bank accounts earlier today. If needed, we can drive across the country to replace a safe place for us. Maybe Florida? I hear it is nice there, and we can both work on our tans”, Amanda tells me, and I laugh despite myself. She has really thought this whole thing through, and she is standing with me to the end. I feel tears sliding down my face and I am so thankful to her that I can’t even speak.

We drove on through the night, and Amanda was not joking about her willingness to speed. She knows how the warriors are too, and if they replace out where we were going, they will also be moving quickly to try to get us before we can enter the Royal Pack. I gnaw on my l*p as we move quickly through the night to make it to safety. I saw the lights on either side of the gate to the Royal Knight Pack glowing up ahead of us and let out a deep breath. I was so worried that we wouldn’t even make it here to plead our case that I was not breathing correctly. We have made it, all we need to do now is let them know what had happened and that we needed to be allowed entry in case the doctor had been tortured and told Alpha James where we were heading.

I look at the 12-foot high gate surrounding the Royal Knight packlands and the beautiful scrollwork on the iron gate, and my memory kicks in. I have been here before. I hear Amanda yelling at me to get out of the car and come to the gate with her, and I get out in a haze and follow behind her. I see two guards slip out of their booth and the gate opens a little bit to allow them through while we were still approaching. The gate then slid back into place and locked again.

I stare at the gate again, and I feel all my memories falling back into place. I can remember who my parents were, and I realize that my Aunt was not actually my Aunt. She was a female warrior who was assigned to protect me. I know who I am and who my parents are now. It was like a veil lifted from over me and I am calm now, as I know what I need to do. I shake off my stupor and step up to the guards to speak, causing Amanda to look at me funny, but she stops speaking. She was talking so fast anyway, they did not understand her.

“Please tell Alpha King Sebastian Hunt and Luna Queen Deanna Hunt that their oldest child has been returned to them,” I told them both. I saw a look of stunned surprise on both of their faces, and then the taller of the two looked at me suspiciously and then said, “That is not possible, she was killed 7 years ago in a rogue attack. Alpha Fredrick James told us that.”

“Alpha James lied to you and has been abusing me since that day, due to his wife and Luna being killed in the attack. He blamed me for it and hurt me more times than I care to remember, all in the name of getting vengeance for his wife’s death. He may be arriving soon, and I am not trying to cause trouble, but I need you to let us in. Call whoever you need to call, and I will submit to a DNA test. But please, please sir, whatever you do, do not let me be taken away by him. Do not let him take either of us, because he will kill us both, for my escape, if he gets his hands on us again”, I told them both in a strong voice. I remember who I am, and Katrina is not my real name.

I had already seen the shorter of the two, which, at 6’2”, is definitely not short, had already started to mindlink someone else. I am not trying to cause problems here, but I also don’t want to just be standing out here waiting to get killed on my parent’s doorstep either. We didn’t have to wait long. An SUV with tinted windows skids to a stop about 30 feet from the gate and all four doors open. I see my parents running to the gate, with my younger brothers right behind them. I sobbed out seeing them and ran past the two guards to reach through the gate to hold one of my mother’s, and one of my father’s, hands in each of mine and I burst out crying.

My father looks a lot older than I remember him, but he is still a handsome man. He has brown hair, with a little grey showing at his temples. He has green eyes and is still very fit. He has a cleft in his chin that makes him level up on how handsome he is, well at least in my opinion, it does. His broad chest was heaving after he had run to the gate just ahead of my mother. They had probably run downstairs to get in the SUV to come to see if it was me. My mother is still as beautiful as I remembered her to be, but now she had a few worry lines on her face, probably from the stress of thinking her only daughter had been killed. She still kept her long blonde hair. She has beautiful blue eyes that are currently shining out bright in the light with tears shimmering in them. She is also 5’9” tall, the same as me, and with a curvy figure. Mine used to be curvy until my food was taken away. I know I am far too thin right now, but by getting regular meals I should gain about 20 pounds, and I will be where I need to be.

My brothers are right there on either side of my parents, flanking them. My brother Christian is just 8 months younger than me, and he has brown hair, like dad, and blue eyes just like our mom, as well as the cleft in his chin that he also got from dad. He is 6’4” too, and has an even broader chest than our father has now. I see that he is happy to see me and has tears in his eyes as he looks at me. I have my mother’s blonde hair and my father’s green eyes. I glanced over at my youngest brother who was standing next to our mom and not even trying to hold back his tears. I am so glad that they love and have missed me. I am so glad to be back home. My youngest brother is 18, and his name is Bryson. He has blonde hair like me and mom, but he has dad’s green eyes like I do, so we are like twins. He has his hair a little long and it is falling over and semi-blocking one of his eyes. He stands at 6’3” and, at 18, will probably still grow a little.

“Open the gate right now” I heard my father call out. I let go of my parent’s hands to step back so the gate could be opened and I was immediately covered in hugs from my whole family. I cannot stop crying as I thought I was alone in the world for the last 7 years, and then when we get here, my memories are returned to me.

“Oh, my baby girl. We were told you were dead”, I heard my father say and my brothers growled out their anger about my family being lied to all those years ago.

“I was not killed, but Aunt Nina was. Four wolves showed up at B***d Claw, and Nina and Luna Victoria managed to kill them, but the injuries they sustained ended up killing them. I was demoted to less than an Omega and was made to do the worst jobs in the pack, to pay Alpha James back for killing his Luna”, I told them.

A loud roar cut through the air and everyone present at the gate bowed in submission except my brothers, my mother, and I. I have never seen my father so angry. His wolf was coming out and, in a much deeper voice than my father’s, said, “Then I hope Alpha James IS heading this way. I will kill him when he gets here for hurting my daughter”.

My mother was reaching out to calm him, and I reached out as well, as his wolf wanted Alpha James’ b***d. My brothers were just as angry as they stood there with their chests heaving in anger, and their eyes going back and forth as they tried to control their wolves. My mother was the calmest, but she was angry too. I could see it all over her face.

“I am sorry to interrupt, but if we could enter your pack please, just to be safe. He will kill us both, well, at least try to kill us when he gets here. We are not safe, and you need to be filled in on what all has been happening to Katrina while she was at B***d Claw. There is more, much more to tell you, and it is a lot worse than she told you” Amanda said from behind me and when my family turned to look at her she gasped.

My brother, Christian, stepped away from the group and said, “Mate” as he crossed over to Amanda and quickly took her into his arms. Amanda was stunned but was already making moon eyes at him as well. I smiled because she is a good person, and I am glad that she will be my sister now. My mother is crying happy tears at my brother replaceing his mate. He is 19 and the next Alpha King. He needs his true mate to be the strong leader that is needed for his position. I take a frightened look back at the road behind us and my father’s voice rings out, “Christian, ride with your mate to the pack house. Peyton will ride with us. I don’t want to let her out of my sight yet”. I follow them to their SUV and dad turns the SUV around and then leads Amanda to the front of the packhouse. This night has been absolutely crazy, but I am so glad to be back with my family.