Within seconds she was slipping out the front door and closing it silently.
The natural borders, trees and greenery that the Breeds left for privacy and seclusion worked to her advantage now.
With her gaze trained on the ground, she sidestepped the monitors built into the stone pathway that led to the narrow graveled road, and ducked beneath the motion sensor cameras.
Moving low and fast, she skirted the trees, crossed the road at a fast run then entered the forest as sirens began to sound behind her.
She must have missed a sensor or a camera, she thought. How unusual. She had always been able to detect the traps laid for her thoroughout the years.
As Styx had said before, she was growing weak, soft.
She didn't bother to look behind her, didn't bother to attempt to see if she was being followed. Her only chance lay in keeping as much distance between her and Styx and the Enforcers as possible.
The farther she ran from him, the harder it became to hold back the tears, or to keep her breathing even enough to allow her to run.
Her vision became dazed and watery, her breathing short, choppy, as she fought back a regret that threatened to overwhelm her.
She didn't want to run from him.
She didn't want to leave, and she didn't want to stay to have her heart ripped from her chest.
She didn't want to ever lose anyone else she loved.
She stumbled, almost going to her knees at the thought.
She couldn't love him. She wouldn't allow herself to love him.
She cared for him. That's what it was. She cared for him and she wasn't used to caring for anyone. Other than Gena, she'd had no friends; they made her vulnerable. They frightened her.
Bracing herself against the trunk of a tree, she wiped her face and looked up as lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the trees, and the rain began to fall in a hard, steady downpour.
How perfectly fitting, she thought as she drew in a hard, ragged breath and stared around the darkened night.
She could still hear the sirens blaring behind her and knew the Breeds already had teams scouring the forest. They were growing closer by the second and she was just standing there.
"Damn you," she whispered desperately as she fought the sobs that wanted to tear at her chest. "Damn you, Styx."
He was breaking her, she could feel it. She had never had a problem escaping the Council or the Breeds sent after her. She knew their tricks; her brother had taught her how to evade the training they were given. She knew them as only one who had been raised around them could know them. And yet here she stood, as though she couldn't force her legs to move, couldn't force the will to run.
Thunder shook the ground as lightning lit up the sky.
Flinching, Storme pushed herself from the tree as she forced herself to keep going, to keep running.
It was damned hard to run and to cry at the same time though. And why the hell she was crying she couldn't figure out. It wasn't as though she had allowed herself to get close to anyone here, besides Styx. She'd stayed secluded, refraining from joining the evening community meals or responding to any of the invitations issued by the mated couples along the "block."
But she had wanted to visit. She'd wanted to see Chance's child, talk to Faith Arlington about the recent negotiations in Russia concerning a discovery of gold on land ceded to a small Wolf Breed pack years before.
She'd wanted to see Jonas Wyatt and Rachel Broen's child, the one they feared Brandenmore had somehow infected with a potential Breed virus.
What was she doing?
Fists clenched, she added speed to her legs, forcing herself to push faster, farther.
She had to get out of Haven if she was going to escape. There was no way she could manage to protect her heart this way, or the information her father had given her.
As another crash of lightning lit the sky, followed by a Wolf's howl that echoed through the trees as though it had been dragged from hell and was rushing up her ass.
She couldn't help turning to look, eyes wide, her lips parting in a surprised scream at the vision behind her.