Sold Mate Bride (Silverrose Wolves #3)

Prologue - Amber

A full moon hung overhead as a window opened. A duffel bag slid over the sill to plop onto the soft earth. A moment later, Amber dropped down next to it, barely making a sound.

She stayed in a crouch for a long moment, ears pricked, heart thumping in her throat as she waited for the sound of footsteps inside the house, for the light to click on.

Nothing.

She breathed a little easier, her shoulders easing even as her heart continued thundering in her chest. She knew she needed to run, and quickly, but her legs stubbornly refused to move, as if glued to the earth.

Move, she told herself. Otherwise, all of this was for nothing. He’ll find you and make you regret even considering leaving.

Despite that insistence, her legs stayed rooted to the spot.

You need to leave, she reminded herself. Now.

Eventually, her legs began to listen to her.

Amber bent, grabbed the duffel waiting patiently in the dirt, and slung it over her shoulder.

She took another glance at the window, heart pounding, her hands trembling from adrenaline.

When no light shone through the window and the house remained mercifully silent, she finally began to move, dipping into the woods.

At first, each step was hard, as if her shoes were made of lead and she was wading through honey.

Every minute or so, she twisted to peer behind her, long after the dark house had vanished from sight.

Eventually, the weight lessened; the honey feeling vanished.

She stopped glancing over her shoulder as frequently.

Finally, she allowed herself to accept the truth: she was leaving.

She couldn’t believe it. She honestly hadn’t thought that she would have the courage to do so.

It didn’t feel real. After being under his thumb for so long, walking away felt like a breath of fresh air after days of smog.

A weight she hadn’t realized she was carrying began to lift from her shoulders, growing lighter with every step until it had dissipated entirely.

She half-expected to wake up at any moment.

Even through that surreal daze of giddiness and disbelief, a sliver of fear pierced through, threatening to ruin her elation. What if Eric woke up sooner than she expected? What if he managed to track her scent, regardless of any precautions she took? What would he do if he found her again?

She didn’t want to think about that.

She glanced behind her into the darkness, waiting to see if a figure emerged from the dark. Nothing. No one.

She let out a deep breath and pushed forward, reminding her feet to move one after the other.

Her body remained a tightly coiled spring all the way to the bus station.

When she arrived, a bus stood idling outside, right on time.

She had memorized the bus schedule and had picked her timing carefully.

This particular one would take her several towns east, far enough away that Eric wouldn’t be able to find her anytime soon.

She bought her ticket with cash. It had taken her a long time to squirrel away enough money for a ticket that would take her far enough away.

Eric had always taken whatever money she earned waitressing, going so far as to check her purse when she got home.

He had told her countless times that she wasn’t good enough with money to manage it.

In the end, the best she could do was stash most of her cash tips in her cubby at work, bringing home just enough each shift for Eric not to grow suspicious.

He hadn’t let her have her own bank account, either, and any money she could have withdrawn from one would have raised angry questions.

When she got to her final destination, she would have almost nothing to her name beyond her duffel bag and the change leftover from the bus ticket.

You don’t have to think about that right now, a voice in her head whispered. Getting out was the most important step.

The ticket in hand, she clambered onto the bus and took a window seat.

Every minute the bus idled at the station was agony.

She stared out through the glass the entire time, searching for Eric’s broad shoulders, his black hair, a furious scowl on his face.

She pictured him storming onto the bus, grabbing her arm, and dragging her back to their house.

It was impossible; she knew that. There was no way he knew she was here.

That didn’t stop the scene from playing out in her head, and it didn’t stop her pulse from thundering.

Her hands trembled, and she shoved them into her lap.

It wasn’t until the bus lurched to a start that she took her first truly easy breath. It wasn’t until they were two towns over that her shoulders loosened. It took another two stops for her to finally accept the truth.

She was free. She would never have to see Eric again.