Chapter 6 Run Run Run

• Helen POV
• I realized it as soon as I said it out loud: I was free the way Justin was now free. There were no chains to bind me. No rope around my ankles or zip ties around my wrists. The door was wide open with no guard to stop me.
• I could run out the door and keep running until I blended back in with the pack who I had left behind. No one here would likely come looking for me after what I'd done to Justin. His father, Alpha King Juden, had only threatened my life if I didn't seduce him---and I had done it.
• "I'm free."
• Justin was still breathing. He seemed to just be in a very, very deep sleep. What if I left him here for his father to take care of him? Was there any way he could find me again?
• I hadn't even told him my real name. He thought I was my sister. Diana. No one would go running their mouth about me to him either because I was overlooked completely in my own pack as a mixed coat Tiger Lily no one wanted.
• My own fated mate had thrown me over for my sister.
• I focused on my shift as I realized I would have to either try to smuggle myself out as a wolf or wear my wedding gown. Justin's clothes would all be too big and I wasn't ready to steal from him besides.
• Taking even a shirt felt wrong after what I could have done to him. Had done to him?
• I was so confused; I didn't know what to do.
• Turning into my wolf, I let Joy have a moment to stretch her limbs after shifting fully into her form.
• [Take him with us.] Joy demanded.
• Justin smelled better than anything I had ever encountered before; I could hear his heartbeat as if it were my own.
• The idea of leaving with him had come from nowhere, but I found I couldn't let it go once it was in my head. I needed to do what Joy wanted. I needed to take my second chance mate with me.
• What if Alpha King Juden chose to kill his son once he lost his beast? What if he'd only wanted me to seduce him to cripple him so he could kill him?
• My thoughts were scrambled with my wolf's and I realized I was larger. My shoulders stood taller than ever and were broad enough across I could easily accommodate the size of Justin's human body.
• [We are Alpha. We are a strong she-wolf. We can carry our mate far.] Joy encouraged, pushing me toward Justin's body.
• I slipped a pair of shorts over his long legs to give him some protection from the elements. I found it surprisingly easy to do even without human hands to guide me.
• All the struggles I had experienced before were gone as if they'd never been. My wolfen body was stronger than she had ever been. I was stronger than I had ever been.
• Pushing my head between Justin's legs, I nosed forward until he was astride my tall, broad shoulders. His body lay over mine with a weight I would swear was familiar to me. It was as if I'd done this exact thing a hundred times before---maybe I had, in my dreams.
• [We're going to run with our mate now. Don't think about anything except run, run, run.]
• Joy made a lot of sense as I picked up speed bounding down the stairs I had no memory of climbing before. I made it all the way to the entrance without encountering anyone at all.
• No one stopped me as I raced out of the Alpha King's home. The place couldn't be called a palace -there were no real castles in America- but it could be considered a mansion. Dozens of wolves had to call this place home yet none of them came out, stopped me, even looked as I raced away with their prince on my back.
• Justin remained safe on my shoulders as I ran, ran, ran.
• I didn't stop running until I had put so many miles between the Alpha King's estate and us, I couldn't smell even a hint of them any longer.
• I ran until I recognized the woods underneath my paws.
• Being a mixed coat had meant I was not often welcome to run with my pack; they preferred it best when I spent the full moon alone. I was able to recognize the trails gradually, surprised how much sharper my senses felt.
• Was it possible being mated to the last Lycan had given me some extra strength? Could some of his power been transferred to me?
• Mating was not something I'd discussed before. All I had known was my body was to remain pure. If anyone tried to touch me, I was to tell my parents who would save me, protect my virtue.
• I settled Justin at the base of an ancient tree whose roots had been my bed more than one night. He slid off my back with as much ease as I could manage though his head did seem to hit the trunk.
• Even with a knock to the head, my Lycan mate did not wake.
• Something felt different to me. Something about me felt different.
• Nosing along the forest floor until I came to the stream I drank from when my thirst grew too bad, I waded out until I was up to my shins in the still water. My reflection showed me the mixed coat I was used to seeing---but did I see more white than before?
• I did! There was more white around my eyes, my ears, and down my back.
• I twisted and turned to try to examine Joy's form only to be amazed at how I had changed from spending only one night with my fated mate. Was this something only I had to deal with since my mate was a Lycan? Or did this happen to all mated wolves?
• I cursed the fact my mother had never spent any time talking to me about how to become a woman, how to be a proper wolf mate, how to be wolfen at all.
• Justin was safe under the tree. I was stronger than ever. Would my mother and father be able to tell I'd been mated?
• I remembered the mating bite in my shoulder, but I knew it would be possible to cover it with my modest clothes.
• My parents hadn't stopped me from running away from my wedding. I bet they'd known my mate was planning to choose my sister over me, too. Scott was closer to my family than I was myself.
• None of my family knew I'd been taken from the bar to be sent to The Devil; The Devil didn't even know my real name.
• I could go home and act as if nothing had changed…
• I decided to leave Justin safe under the tree and raced for home, knowing my family still slept after running the full moon with the rest of the pack. I would dress modestly. I would do my chores.
• They'd never know what I'd done.
• When I put my maid's uniform on, my hand went to my neck to adjust my necklace with its two rings---only to find my throat bare.
• No! The Devil had my rings!