Chapter 2 - Amber
It was a perfect early summer day.
Amber’s feet sank into the warm sand as she walked across the beach, her flip-flops dangling from her fingers.
The honking seagulls, the waves crashing against the shore, and children screaming in delight all wrapped around her.
Her bag was slung over her shoulder as she walked off the beach and toward the boulevard of shops, the sidewalks practically overflowing with tourists.
She sucked in a breath, inhaling the salt air, savoring the heat on her shoulders and back.
She hadn’t realized how badly she needed to take a break from work and her daily routine until she had a wild urge to take some of her vacation time to go to the beach.
She used to come to this beach when she was a kid, and a wave of nostalgia had convinced her to come back after all these years.
It had been one of the few places she had truly felt comfortable.
Happy, even. It reminded her of the few good moments from when she was a girl.
Her life certainly hadn’t been the smoothest, even before she became a slave in the Ironbrand pack.
Growing up, her parents had been distant and uninterested at the best of times.
It only got worse when she had reached the age at which most kids began shifting, and she never did.
At that point, her family had dismissed her as a disappointment and lost the little bit of interest they’d had in her.
They had kept her fed and clothed, but beyond that, they hadn’t cared much about what she did.
So, the second she turned eighteen—an occasion her parents barely remembered and for which Amber bought her own cake to celebrate—she packed up her few belongings and left, looking for an escape, someone who cared about her and treated her right.
She thought she had found her escape in Eric.
He had seemed so charming at first. Smart and witty and engaging.
Even though he’d been nearly fifteen years older than her, and she had been barely eighteen, she had fallen for him nearly instantaneously.
She thought he had, too. But it turned out he had seen her as more of an object than a person.
It hadn’t been long before he had turned controlling and manipulative.
Complaining when she came home too late, calling her lazy and worthless, yelling at her if she didn’t clean the entire house to his satisfaction.
Eventually, he stopped her from seeing her friends.
She barely left the house unless it was to go to work.
Shuddering, trying to force the memories away, Amber felt the sudden urge to hide.
She dipped into a nearby ice cream parlor.
She was being silly. It was just because she and Eric had lived not too far from here, a couple of towns over.
Once or twice, she had managed to convince him to take her here, even.
The ice cream parlor was packed, the line to the register nearly trailing out the door.
Each of the tiny tables was full, and the cacophony of conversations mixed with the cheerful, bubblegum-pop music blended together into a din that should have been unbearable.
Instead, she found it oddly pleasant, that hum of life wrapping around her.
Unfortunately, that hum of life didn’t stop those thoughts of Eric from looming high overhead.
She gritted her teeth, willing them to go away.
Most of the time, she could stop herself from thinking too hard about him.
Apparently, though, this close to where Eric had tormented her, simply telling herself to stop thinking about him didn’t have the same impact it did elsewhere. She swallowed.
You’re done, she told herself. He’s out of your life, and you don’t need to think about him anymore.
She still remembered the night she left, how terrified she’d been, and how free she had felt after finally breaking away from him. It had been like finally breathing easily after years of having tight bands wrapped around her chest, ones she hadn’t realized were there until she walked away.
After she’d left, it still hadn’t been easy-going. After a couple of years of wandering on her own, she’d stumbled into the clutches of the Ironbrand pack. They’d caught her and kept her as a slave, along with a dozen other women, before the Silverrose pack had rescued them.
Now, though, she had found her true home, a comfortable place in the Silverrose pack. She had an adorable apartment that she loved, a group of friends, a good job, and she was even having fun training and learning how to defend herself. She was never going to let herself be helpless again.
The next time she found herself coming across someone like Eric, she would be ready.
She shuddered again, as if she could shake him from her mind.
Thinking about Eric still terrified her, still made her freeze.
She had hoped that after years of not seeing him, she could shove that terror and those feelings away.
But whenever she let herself think too much about that time, ice rushed through her veins, and spiders scurried up her spine.
And being this close to her old home dredged up dark memories she wished she could forget.
She squeezed her eyes shut. It was over. She didn’t need to think about him anymore. That part of her life was over. She never had to look back. Dwelling on it only brought up memories that she didn’t want to face.
You don’t need to think about that time, she told herself. You’re free. Stop thinking about him.
She dug her nails into her bicep to draw herself out of those thoughts as she got to the front of the line.
She ordered and stepped to the side to wait.
Her eyes roamed the crowd, the families with children bouncing excitedly as they waited for sweets, the couples with their arms around one another or their hands entwined.
Her lip twitched upward even as she felt a stab of longing.
She was happy on her own, especially after having her life dictated for her.
But that didn’t change the fact that every so often, she felt that need for a deeper connection.
She was happy to wait, though. She would rather make sure whoever she fell for was the right guy than fall into another Eric situation.
The cheerful jingle of the bell dangling from the door drew her attention to the entrance. Then her entire body stiffened, her eyes wide. She recognized the person strutting inside like he owned the place. Her heart began to pound, her mind swirling.
Out of all the people to walk into an ice cream parlor, the last person she had expected to see was Eric.
The breath rushed out of her. The world seemed to stop. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be. Not him. Not after all these years.
But she would know him anywhere. She knew those broad shoulders, the dark stubble, that square jaw, that smug sneer, those scalding eyes that had burned deep into her on more than one occasion. Her entire body went rigid.
She had thought she was rid of him for good. She had thought that she would never have to see him again. Why had she come here at all? She should have taken a vacation on the other side of the country. She never should have come here.
He still hadn’t seen her. Her eyes darted all around, trying to find an escape route.
She couldn’t slip out of the door, not with him right there.
Instead, she turned around and slipped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
She waited there for at least ten minutes, fully aware that the ice cream she had paid for had probably been tossed by now, considered abandoned, before finally slipping out, giving an apologetic smile to the small line that had appeared during her wait.
Warm sunshine greeted her once again when she stepped outside, but it felt cold now, less inviting.
She squinted against the bright light, hunting for any signs of Eric.
Nothing. That should have made her breathe easier.
It didn’t. Her entire body was still on full alert, screaming at her to get to her car as quickly as possible while remaining unobtrusive, unnoticed.
A little ahead of her was a cluster of people wandering down the street, tourists taking advantage of the gorgeous day.
Without giving herself time to think, she dipped into the crowd, making her way along the street, trying to make herself as small as possible.
Forcing herself into the center of the mass had earned her a bewildered look from a small child on her right, but she paid him no mind.
All she cared about at the moment was getting away.
The paralysis that threatened to cripple her at any moment was mercifully being held at bay by her brain screaming at her to leave. She kept looking over her shoulder every few seconds. No sign of Eric.
Finally, finally, she reached the parking lot, her car waiting patiently amongst one of the middle rows. She peeled away and hurried as quickly as possible across the uncomfortably open area, not breathing until her hand had wrapped around the slightly too-hot handle and yanked the door open.
She dipped into her car. Before she cranked the engine, she looked around, checking her mirrors, expecting to see his lurking reflection.
Nothing.
Letting out a slow breath and telling her hands not to tremble, she turned on her car and drove out of the parking lot, going as fast as she could without attracting attention.
After a few minutes of breaking the speed limit, she pulled down a dirt road that dipped into the woods.
A moment later, a cute, tiny house appeared in front of her.
She was renting the small Airbnb on the outskirts of town, far away from the crowd.
She found it comforting, even if it was a little on the small side.