For the Bleeding Hearts

11.) TITAN

I rummaged through my chest filled with my clothes and various things. I stuffed things I would need for the journey into my backpack. I would make sure to pack light and nothing valuable if I ever had to leave my things behind in the worst-case scenario.

"Wait, Titan, slow down. We need a plan before we leave," Eve sat on the counter, lightly tapping her feet against the cupboards.

I didn't turn to acknowledge her and bit out, "You're not going."

"Like hell, I'm not going! She may be your mate but she is my best friend. Don't underestimate what I would do for her, Titan." I turned finally looking at her. She had gotten down from the counter and stood with her hands on her hips.

I frowned, "And you're the one telling me to plan it out," she narrowed her eyes at me in challenge as I continued, "Think about it, Eve. If we both disappear they will get suspicious, especially since we are both assigned to work. We can't just abandon the assignment, or else they will track us down. If one of us stays we can make an excuse and get them off our ass."

"And what makes you say that I'll be the one staying," she retorted.

I gave her an incredulous look, annoyed, "Seriously, Eve. I couldn't wait around and think about losing both of you. Plus, I'll be able to sense Anna better." She sighed, as she realized she wasn't going to win this battle. She walked over and started to gather necessary things like small amounts of food and medical supplies.

We packed in silence until Eve interrupted. "You be safe, you hear me. I'd kill you if you didn't come back in one piece," she gave me a stern look, and I sent her a grin her way despite the tense air. Her tone softened. "And go easy on Anna when you find her, okay? This is all new to her, and I can't even imagine what they are doing to her in that place," she shivered. My head clouded with anger at that thought. She was right.

Anna was in the Capital city filled with predators. It wasn't like our small town where everyone was your friendly next-door neighbor. Not only that, I assumed that she was brought to the castle where the only people who resided there were predators, except their staff whom they treated like slaves because of their descent.

That's part of the reason me and Eve had left the Capital city. We left with our parents when we were younger. They believed that it was a new age and predators and prey should live in harmony. We shouldn't have to fear each other and shouldn't be controlled by our instincts. But the world wasn't going to change overnight. However, my parents were sick of it and moved us out to a small town on the coast. We have to hide for not to be caught or scare the majority of prey townspeople. We covered our scents and tried our best to mask our descent. We slipped up a few times, but nothing major that couldn't be covered up until—

"You should leave during night, forget what I said before. You cannot waste any time." She shoved the backpack into my arms. I slung it over my shoulder. She leaned against the counter on her hip. "Do you have an idea of how you're going to get to the Capital?"

"Yeah, many of the shipments to the capital are sent out at midnight to arrive by morning. I'm going to hide out and catch a ride in one of the wagons." I peeked out the window, glancing at the setting sun. "I should go, now."

She nodded and then engulfed me in a hug, "Be safe, I meant what I said about you coming home in one piece," I nodded and patted her on the back, "Love you, Bro."

"Love you, too, Sis. Hold down the fort while I'm gone. I'll be home soon." She nodded as I headed out the door. I clenched my fists as the door slammed behind me. The cold air whooshed around me. The town was dead silent at this time in the evening. I sighed, wishing this could have all been avoided.

I just had to make one more stop before I tried to sneak a ride from one of the wagons. I shifted the weight of the backpack and headed for the small apartments, a little while from me and Eve's tiny place.

I entered the shabby building. It was a ghost town. Climbing the rickety stairs, I felt myself get annoyed. When I first saw this place, I had demanded she just move in with me and Eve. However, my stubborn, sweet girl refused. I would have kept pushing, but Eve had told me how proud Ana was that she was able to get her own place all by herself. My heart caved and I stopped insisting she move in with us, but that didn't mean I still didn't hate her current living space.

Finding her door, I pulled out my set of keys from my pocket and searched for the spare key I had for her place. Me and Eve both had one in case of emergencies. I didn't want to invade, but I suppose you could call this an emergency. Turning the lock, I creaked open the door and ducked inside the small space.

I inhaled her scent that coated the room, it would usually put me in a state of calm. However, today it only made me anxious. My mate was not here. She was somewhere foreign and unsafe. That thought had me hurrying.

I knew when I got Anna back there was a low chance that we would be able to return to this town. We would have to travel and find a new place to live out our lives. Once I got Anna and we returned safely we would get Eve and then we would depart. I knew Anna wouldn't like that, so I would get as many of her things now. I wasn't sure what the landlord would do with her things, because people probably didn't expect her to return.

I gathered various photos and some of her favorite books. I shoved them into my backpack along with a few small stuffed animals. The rest would have to be left behind. I took one last deep breath of her scent before leaving and locking the door.

On my way down the flight of stairs,  an old lady caught my shoulder on her way up. I noticed her a few times before, if I remembered correctly, Anna would sometimes watch her pet cat. She gave me a soft, sad smile, "It's a shame, she was a really sweet, girl." I was unsure of how to respond, so I just nodded and ducked my head continuing down the stairs.

Pushing my way out of the building, I watched my breath make puffs of misty clouds from the cold. The sun had set and it was turning dark fast. I made my way along the edge of the road and towards the warehouses. All the goods and commodities were already loaded into the wagons. I heard shuffling around as men prepared the horses for the journey.

I darted in the shadows and made it successfully to one of the already attended wagons. I tried my best to stealthily shuffle my way up and around the wagon. Making space for me to squeeze in, the wagon creaked.

"Who's there!" One of the men shouted out into the night. The horses bristled. The man shook his head and muttered, "I must be imagining things."

I settled down and rested my head against the edge of the wagon. I squeezed my eyes shut. This was going to be a long night.