I slammed the truck door shut with a sigh. My whole body ached from where my mate had hurt me, however my pride was the thing that was hurting the most. I couldn't believe that I was doing this, but I had to make sure that my seven and five year old cousins were safe.
"Cass?" my cousin and supposed to be Alpha asked from the back seat. He looked at me, knowledge in his blue eyes. He had the same look that his father had when he knew that I was hiding something from him. "Is this goodbye?"
I forced a smile on my face. "For now it is, TJ," I said. I started the truck and placed it into drive. My heart yearned for a place where I belonged and not looked at as a murder.
"Did you kill my parents?" TJ asked. "Is that why are we running."
I looked at the mirror, making sure to keep my emotions in check. "If I killed your father, then it would be like killing my own family," I said, my voice void of emotions. "Remember what I had said? Don't believe in all rumors. You don't know the truth, and you weren't there with the person."
"Then why are we running?" TJ asked. "You don't have anything to fear."
I sighed and closed my eyes before I opened them again. My heart clenched in pain, because I had so much to fear. I had so much to lose, and my cousin was too young to understand. "Camen turned the pack against me, against us," I replied. "And... he has hurt me..."
"How?"
"Abuse," I replied. "Without Aunty Hipe and Uncle Derrin, I would be dead."
"But will we be back?"
"Yes."
"When?"
I shrugged my shoulder, not knowing the answer. I was getting close to the border, and I hated that I was running. I hated feeling like I failed my uncle but I had to keep my cousins safe. He wanted to use her against me, and I was not going to let her be used as leverage. "I don't know," I said, honestly.
"Will it be soon?"
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. We were close to the pack border, so I started to speed up the truck. I kept silent as I maneuvered the truck, sensing some of the pack members near by. I was not going to stop for them, no matter what. They had made their choice, and I made mine.
"Cass?"
'I, Cassandra Kristen, reject Camen Hess as my mate and Alpha,' I said, through the pack link. My voice was leveled and hard. 'From this moment on, I will be considered a Rogue and forfeit my position as Alpha. If the true Alpha wants to come back when he is of age, then he will take his position as Alpha.' I sped the truck up some more, glad that it was a straight path. 'I am sorry that I couldn't let you all see the actual truth.'
"Cass?" TJ asked again. Panic filled his voice, and I knew that he felt the pull as well. Our bond with the pack was breaking, and there was no way I could stop the pain for him.
"I don't know," I replied, feeling all my ties pull away from the pack. I bit back a scream of pain as we passed the border and stopped the truck, veering to a complete stop.
My heart pounded in my chest as I looked at the pack that left behind. I could see my mate up front, but he didn't dare set his paw on this side. To do so would be a death sentence, and I knew that that was one thing that I had committed but with good reason.
I turned the truck around and started heading east, wanting to get to the ocean before a week was up. "I don't know, but I hope that all is well soon."