Luna Aleksa's Escape
Luna Aleksa’s Escape Chapter 12

*Aleska POV*

Mason stares into the rear view mirror looking at the car behind us that has been following us for many miles now. “I could be overreacting. We aren’t necessarily being followed, but we can’t take any chances”, Mason tells us. “Just keep looking ahead, act normal, and let’s hope for the best”, Mason says calmly.

He keeps driving the car at the same pace. We don’t want to make it obvious that we know we are being followed. It is possible that it is a harmless passerby, but we need to assume that it is someone from the pack following closely behind us.

Mason tells us we are less than thirty minutes away from the boundaries of the city, and that once we get within the city limits he will try to lose whoever is following us. Assuming it is someone following us.

After some time, as we are driving around the city, the car that was originally behind us is nowhere in sight, although we don’t let our guards down like we did before. Mason pulls into the airport. It’s not a large airport, rather a small one, but it has what we need; a plane.

Once we get through the security checkpoint, we start boarding the plane. I have booked all of us front row seats so at least we can get off the plane quickly if we need to.

Time goes by pretty quickly, being that it’s only a two and a half hour flight to Iowa. The flight attendants kindly provided us with some snacks for Liam and Layla, as well as some milk for their bottles. They even refilled them for us for when we depart the plane.

We are all pretty exhausted but we can’t sleep. Mason has had a few power naps but he too appears to be on edge. I assume it will be like this for some time yet. The twins have been awake the whole flight, but that suits me fine, it just means they will sleep later, which will be helpful.

We haven’t noticed anything suspicious on the flight, no one seems to be taking any undue interest in us, but we will still need to be smart about our next moves.

Before long, we are departing the plane. We now have no transport, but it’s okay because there are plenty of car rental stands at this airport. We make our way to one of them and start the process of renting a car.

As much as I wish we could just jump on another plane, we need to make sure no one is following us, so that once we reach our destination safely, and in this case it means that we will have to drive the remainder of the journey.

In no time, we are all in our chosen car. It’s a Jeep Grand Cherokee, with plenty of space for us all, so at least we will have a bit of comfort, being that we have a lot of driving ahead of us.

Mason starts driving, but agrees to let us take turns this time around. We are all exhausted, and in the event that we need to fight, we need to have some rest.

It was almost twenty-four hours since we escaped, so I realized that the potion that hides our scent would start to wear off soon. Luckily, we have a small supply in our backpack, so we all take another mouthful each.

****

After just over ten hours of driving, we made it to Denver, Colorado. As we drive interstate, we are taken aback by the beautiful scenery. As we drive down the peak to peak highway we are greeted by the lush aspen trees mixed with some evergreens. Being that it is winter here, the mountains in the distance are snow-capped, creating a view of perfection. We are now officially entering the Rocky Mountain National Park area. I had picked this as our destination because it was so serene and picturesque, as well as being approximately 1600 miles away from the Evergreen pack. It is one of the largest national parks in the country, as well as being the most elevated national parks, consisting of mountains and alpine lakes, from wooded forest to mountain tundra. It really has it all.

While we don’t know much about the packs that reside here, we will do our research before we wander too far. We are hoping to link up with a pack, although we are happy enough to just live here as humans for now.

While the twins slept, I managed to replace a quaint log cabin in Estes Park through the book a bach app. We started to pull off onto the gravel road that would lead us to the log cabin. It was definitely off the beaten track and after half an hour of driving we finally reached our destination.

“Wow! Kaia yells. “This place is amazing!” she says, looking very impressed.

“Oh, my! It truly is perfection!” I added, with a stunned look on my face, as I pushed open my car door.

We all got out of the car slowly and stretched our bodies, after what felt like the longest car drive ever.

I take in a whiff of the crisp clean mountain air. “It feels so fresh out here” I say to the others.

I realize we came from a forested area, but this fresh alpine air is something else.

I looked up at the cabin that we would be staying in and started walking towards it. The host said that the keys would be under the old shoe located next to the front door. I bend down and lift up the old boot, and sure enough the keys are there.

We will be staying in a historic mountain house log cabin situated on the banks of the Fall River. It has a large deck that overlooks the river and lush forest. There is an outside jacuzzi on the deck. A huge fireplace greets us as we open the front door. It has a very rustic vibe about it, but at the same time, it feels very homely. This seems like a nice place to base ourselves while we figure out what we will do next.

It’s nestled in a forest, and accessible by a gravel road. It is off the beaten track and, most importantly, it is private. This will be so good for our wolves. It means we will have privacy to shift freely, without having to worry about humans being so close by.

I started to take the twins out of their carseats. They are awake and full of energy. After our mammoth journey, it’s time for them to have a well deserved run around. It will also be a good chance to explore our new surroundings.

****

I’m lying in the hammock, on the deck of our new accommodation. It is late at night and the forest is covered in darkness. I can hear owls howling, and I hear shuffling in the woods, probably hedgehogs and other nocturnal creatures. I was not worried, I could sense if there was another shifter or person nearby and I couldn’t detect anyone else. It’s just me and the moon, and my thoughts right now.

I take a moment to think about what we have left behind. For me, other than the other pack members, who I loved like family. I only really miss Caleb and Kali. I pray that they have made it safe to the Crimson Moon pack. I can no longer mindlink them as we are so far away from each other. I hope I hear from them soon. Assuming Caleb took down the number of the phone he gave us, perhaps they might call us when they arrive at their new pack.

Surprisingly, I can’t feel anything through the mate bond. Not even the pain I have been subjected to for the past few years. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Even though I rejected Lachlan, he didn’t accept it, so unfortunately our bond remains. I should have renounced the pack when we crossed the border but we were in such a hurry. It was a fight or flight situation, and well, I took the flight option. I just wanted to get my pups to safety.

Hopefully, when we replace a pack to align ourselves with and when we bind ourselves with the new pack, our ties to Evergreen will break, and I’m hoping that will help sever the mate bond between Lachlan and I more.

Mason has been researching packs in our immediate area and there is only one pack nearby. It’s the largest pack on this side of the country. It’s called the Rocky Mountain pack. It appears that the Alpha has just stepped down and his son has taken over as the current Alpha. Not much is known about this pack as they appear to keep to themselves. Although we do know that they have such a large land territory and are a wealthy pack, and are well respected and feared nationwide.

Mason is trying to get in touch with some shifter acquaintances he has here in Denver. I’m not sure how he knows shifters here, but I feel that he would tell us when he was ready to share, if he ever was.

We decided tonight before we went to bed that Kaia and I would stay home tomorrow with the twins and set the place up as well as put some security measures in place, and Mason would go for a drive and see if he could link up with some other shifters. Technically, we no longer belonged to a pack when we left our territories, so we are all now considered rogues.

We are unsure what this pack’s feelings were in regards to rogues, but we knew that generally rogues were frowned upon. More often than not, they were hunted, imprisoned and killed. So, for now, we will stay in human territory.

I rub my eyes and pull the cozy blanket next to me over my body. I will just close my eyes for a minute, I think to myself. Before I know it, I am drifting off into darkness.

***

I woke up to the sun shining brightly, causing me to grimace and pull the blanket further over my face.

“Oh my goddess!” I yelled out loud. “I slept here!” I must have been so tired that I just fell asleep here. “Liam and Layla!” I yelled as I slapped myself on one cheek. I turned to stand and the door opened before me.

“Mommy!” Liam and Layla both squealed in excitement. They ran up to me and hugged my legs. I looked at Kaia who is smiling with a coffee in her hands.

“Good morning Aleksa, someone was tired last night, huh?” she grins, handing me a coffee.

“Here, take this. We have a big day ahead of us. Oh and don’t worry, the twins have had breakfast.” Kaia tells me. Pointing to Mason standing by the stove in an apron, flipping pancakes.

“We found ingredients for pancakes in the cupboards, so I made some. There’s plenty, dig in!”, Mason tells me.

“Oh my goddess, Mason, Kaia, I don’t know what we would do without you. Thank you so much – for everything! We are so blessed to have you in our lives!” I said, fighting back the tears of joy and gratefulness.

“I don’t know how I fell asleep outside. I just went out to get some fresh air last night and, well, that’s the most sleep I’ve had in months!” I said in a state of astonishment.

“No problem, Aleksa, it was my pleasure” Mason said with a smile on his face.

At that moment, we heard a knock on the door. Our faces drop in shock. We all looked at each other in fear. There are no houses for miles. Who on earth could be knocking at our door? Kaia and I quickly and quietly grab the twins and silence them with our hands. Slowly creeping down the hallway. Mason takes off his apron and walks slowly towards the door.