Beyond the Pack’s Law: My stepsister or nobody else

Hayley’s POV

Thump, thump, thump

It got to a point where that was the only thing I could hear; the noise behind me as I ran ahead slowly faded away, and I had become deaf to everything but the agitated beating of my own heart.

I squeezed my chest in pain; the adrenaline was starting to wear off. I could feel the fatigue starting to kick in.

My eyes frantically scanned my surroundings-containers, boxes, and empty space. I couldn’t keep running. I was already lost, and for all I knew, I could have been running straight into the heart of the enemy’s territory. I needed to think fast.

An idea pierced through the fog of panic in my mind, and a small smile crept on my face. It wasn’t going to get me out of here, but it was a backup plan in case I could get out of here.

I ran to the boxes and flung them open, desperate to find something useful, and that I did. If I were going to blindly search for an escape, this could at least take me some time.

Jackpot. I found a box that had exactly what I needed. I crouched down and constructed my plan B.

I silently crept around the warehouse, hiding when I heard footsteps and trying to find an exit.

I couldn’t hear any more commotion, which made me scared. Did Jada manage to capture everyone else?

I clutched the bag closer to my chest; none of it would matter if I let her get her hands on the files.

Even after searching, I could find an open door that led out of the building, so I had to settle on the next best thing: climbing out a window.

I strapped the bag behind my back and used a box as support. The window was about twice my height, so pulling my own weight up was a bit difficult for my already fatigued body.

I should have put more thought into my landing because the moment I got my upper body out of the window, I lost my balance and fell straight down.

A muffled scream escaped my lips; my eyesight blurred as tears came steaming down my cheeks.

Something was definitely broken, but thankfully I could still hear. I made it a few steps forward when I felt a hand grip my shoulder.

I spun around, ready to use whatever little energy I had left to defend myself, but I froze after I was met with Alessa’s bruised face.

“I’ve been looking for you.” She said

Her lower lip was bleeding, there was a very painful-looking bruise on her forehead, and overall, she looked like a battered-up mess, but somehow she managed to put on a strong face.

“I got lost. How did you find me?”

I had never thought I would be happy to see Alessa’s face, but right now it was the only source of hope I had.

“I was close by when I heard you scream.” Her eyes scanned my body, and by the time they returned to look into mine, they were filled with an emotion I found very strange and unsettling.

Empathy.

“Are you okay?” She asked and helped me stand well; she must have noticed how I was slouched because of the pain in my chest.

“I’ll live… hopefully.” I smiled awkwardly, but she didn’t seem to be tuning in to my humor.

“I fell out of the window.”

“A window?!” Her eyes widened in disbelief. She looked back and easily spotted the exact window I squeezed myself out of, and she looked at me like I was crazy.

“How did you fall out of that?!”

“It was the only way I could get out of the building.”

“You should be happy you didn’t break your neck.” Blood from the wound on her forehead trickled down her head, and she casually wiped it off. She was accustomed to things like this, and that realization made me take a mental note to be more cautious around her.

“Where are the others?”

If she was this banged up, I didn’t even want to imagine the state the others were in, especially Aiden. He had just gotten out of a bad situation; he shouldn’t have to go through another fight so quickly.

“They’re going to meet up with us back at Kieran’s place.”

“They sent you to look for me.”

“Yeah, Jada took off in the middle of the fight when she realized you had what she was after, but then a bunch of her goons came. We were worried she’d get to you, so I came to look for you.”

“Okay, let’s get going before she really catches up to us.”

Alessa nodded and put an arm under mine to hold me up.

“Well, the problem is…” A voice called out from the darkness, and I felt the hairs on my back stand.

“She already has.” Jada’s cocky tone flooded my head.

Shit.

I could feel Alessa’s grip around me tighten; she was scared as well. I didn’t blame her; we were in a really messed-up situation.

“There there, I think we all understand the reality of the situation right now, don’t we?” She chuckled lightly and stepped out in front of us.

To my surprise, she looked injured as well. I don’t know why a part of me was expecting her to look unscathed, but she looked like she had definitely been in a fight.

“Alessa, I must say I’m a bit disappointed; you could have been such a good prodigy.”

“If I keep her occupied, can you take a run for it and get back to the others?” Alessa whispered in my ear; our eyes were fixed on Jada the whole time.

“Keeping secrets now, are we?” She said it in an obvious mocking tone.

I didn’t know how to answer Alessa; I wasn’t sure how far off I could get at whatever time she was going to be able to keep Jada busy and not be pessimistic, but I didn’t think that would be very long.

Regardless, I nodded in agreement.

I heard Alessa mumur under her breath and then suddenly launch at Jada.

Two seconds-that was literally all it took for Jada to pin Alessa’s hands behind her back with one of her hands and have the other hand at her throat, claws fully extended.

There was no use in trying to find her; she knew that very well, and now we knew too.

“That was your brilliant plan; act without thinking.” She was a gloating, arrogant bitch.

I thought about stalling, but that would be useless too, especially since no one knew where we were.

“Sorry.” Alessa mouthed with tears in her eyes; the tough girl demeanor was gone. She looked scared sh*tless, and frankly, anyone who was on the brink of death would too.

“Well, this is pathetic. Tell you what? If you hand the files over, I won’t rip your friend’s throat out.”

The ultimatum was weak as hell. I didn’t trust her not to go back on her word and still end up killing Alessa, but I knew she’d be less likely to kill me.

“If you give her it, she’s still going to kill me.” Alessa protested, which didn’t help her case very much.

“Think about it, Hayley. Do you really want blood on your hands? Because if you don’t give me the file, I’m going to kill her, and that’s on you.”

My eyes paced between them for a while before I eventually made a decision.

“Promise me you’ll let her go.”

I knew it sounded stupid, but that was the only way out I could think of.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“Don’t.” Alessa tried protesting again.

“Shut it.” Jada warned

I could see blood trickling down the claws she had at Alessa’s neck; she was tightening her grip.

“Deal, give me the files, and I’ll let her go. There’s no use killing her anyway.” She seemed to be telling the truth, and I had no other choice, even if she wasn’t.

I reached into the bag and pulled the file out. The moment her eye locked on it, a smile crept on her face. She recognized the folder.

I gently placed it on the floor and stepped back.

“There you go; just please let her go, and we’ll leave. You can have the files or whatever, please, Aunt Jada.” I needed to sound desperate if this was going to work; I needed to sound like I was out of options and had been left at her mercy. That would certainly rile up her ego.

“Step back a bit more.” She ordered, and I did exactly that.