Sebastian

Chapter Forty-One

"Thank you," He said, respect in his eyes. Isaac shrugged.

"You know what I want in return," He murmured. I looked at Sebastian, who nodded easily, not burdened by whatever it was that Isaac wanted. He saw my confused expression and gave me a small smile.

"Isaac wants to accompany us away from here," He said, in that quiet voice of his. I didn't realize how much I missed it until it was right in front of me again.

"What?" I asked, staring at Isaac, who sighed.

"There are a lot of things you don't know yet, Elizabeth." He said, his voice so sad it was hard for me not to comfort him somehow. 

Sebastian switched my waist for my hand, and he squeezed a little.

"We'll have to leave soon. You need to pack some things, food and water and blankets." He ordered. "If you insist on bringing the cat, have Isaac pack the food and you pack the other things. That way nobody will be overloaded."

"Okay," I said.

"Isaac, we'll need as much food as you can carry comfortably. But don't take more than what can fit in a carrying bag. Elizabeth, the same goes for you. Isaac and I won't get cold, so grab anything that you believe can be of use to you."

I nodded, and Sebastian leaned in and kissed my forehead. He looked at Isaac again.

"I want this to be done before tomorrow. The sooner we leave, the better." He instructed. Isaac gave a single nod, and touched my arm, letting me know that it was time to go. I stepped away from Sebastian, ignoring the wild thumping of my heart as a lock of black hair fell over his face. He didn't say goodbye as we left. 

We were on our way home, my arm looped through Isaac's as if nothing had happened, and I moved a little closer.

"How?" I asked simply. Isaac's footsteps slowed, and he took a quick look around before answering.

"Roy isn't the only person who has a pack or two of wolves on his side." He said in a hushed voice. 

We reached Roy's house, and Isaac pulled me into a hug.

"You know what to do," He whispered into my ear. "Do you remember the way we went?"

I nodded against his shoulder, understanding why he hugged me; we had just been on a date, after all. It'd look odd if he didn't hug me afterwards.

"I'll be at that park at eleven. If you're not there by eleven-thirty, I'm going to the wall. So check the park as soon as you can get out without being noticed and if I'm not there, go the rest of the way."

"Okay." I muttered. He pulled back, and smiled at me. I could easily tell it was fake, but if I hadn't known he was smiling to escape suspicion, I wouldn't have been able to tell. I smiled back and walked back into the house.

Kaden was sprawled out on the couch, his eyes closed and his mouth hanging slightly open as he slept. He had no blanket, but the fireplace in front of him was crackling brightly, erasing the need for one. Even though it was well into the afternoon, I didn't bother him, turning the living room light off and walking into the kitchen.

Roy was nowhere to be found, but Sarah was sitting at the island, reading a book. She looked up as I entered, her curly blonde hair pulled up in its usual ponytail, and smiled. I smiled back and opened the fridge, trying not to act suspicious. I grabbed a gallon of milk and found a box of chocolate cereal in a cabinet.*

After eating breakfast at four in the afternoon, I left for my room. Inside, I looked around for anything I could use for warmth. Winter was approaching, and it was already very cold outside, meaning that when winter actually did come, it'd be extremely uncomfortable to be traveling in. I had two blankets on the bed, a sheet under that, and I rummaged through my closet for more.

I found two more blankets and another sheet, and I needed something to carry them in. I left my room and walked down the hall, searching for the room Roy was staying in. Surely, he'd have something. I peeked into doors, most of them unlocked because nobody was living in them, and after a few minutes of looking, I found Roy's room.

He wasn't in it, and his room was huge. So big it actually had its own fireplace and its own huge TV in an equally huge entertainment system, something I'd only seen one other time in Sebastian's estate. I locked the door, so I'd have warning if someone tried to come inside. I went into his walk-in closet, ignoring the smell of him that drifted past my nose. He really did smell wonderful.

I sorted through a dresser against a wall, taking a thick afghan out that I knew he wouldn't miss. I opened drawer after drawer, searching for something to carry everything in. At the very bottom of the last one, I stifled a yelp of joy as I found a heavy backpack, obviously made for camping, which meant that it'd hold a lot. I grabbed it and found a smaller, one strap backpack underneath, and took that as well. 

Taking the afghan and the two bags, I rushed to put everything back in order so he wouldn't notice. I hurried into my room and tossed the items onto my bed, ignoring Elmer's angry growl as the heavy wool afghan landed on top of him. I folded the five blankets and the two sheets and fit them inside, shocked that I still had plenty of room in the first large part. I looked in my closet, full of clothes Roy bought me, and plucked a couple of jackets and folded them, placing them in with the blankets. I balled up a bunch of socks and threw them in, too.

That filled up the first part of the backpack perfectly, and I unzipped the second part, which was smaller, but still spacious. I put three pairs of pants and five shirts in it, along with a couple of fuzzy wool sweaters and a pair of my thick pajama pants. The second pocket was practically about to burst, but I managed to shove the zipper over it all.

With the second pocket so full, the third one couldn't hold anything larger than a couple of shirts. So instead, I packed the necessary things like bras and underwear. I pulled it onto my back to gauge how difficult it would be to carry, and I was happy to see that it wasn't as heavy as I though it would be. It wasn't light by any means, but I could definitely carry it and the other backpack.

I grabbed the bag with one strap, and after staring at it for a long moment, I decided to wait and put more important things in it, like matches, if I could find any.

I looked outside; it had taken a while to pack everything, and the clock showed that it was exactly 6:30. I was surprised Roy hadn't tried to find me yet, and I was surprised that it took so long for me to find blankets and shove them in a bag.

Roy usually hunted at night, so I knew I could leave at eleven, like Isaac wanted. I'd saved the empty bag for necessities, and I planned on looking through Roy's room again before I left. He had everything, and I was sure he'd have more things for survival sitting in his room. I looked out the window, and tried not to think too much about what I was planning to do.