Chapter 248

Noah and I were able to escape the hospital after only a week. We were still sore, but our werewolf genes had helped everything—even the worst of our injuries—to heal. With Bob dead set on keeping his promise, we just wanted to get out of the territory as quickly as possible.

Terri happily gave me back the Honda Civic. After a little over two days, we crossed the border into Crescent Moon Pack territory. As we approached the small city that we would be settling in, I began to fidget with my seatbelt and grow anxious.

Noah glanced at me from the side of his eye.

“Is something the matter?” he asked.

“What are we getting ourselves into?” I stared out the windshield, watching the road as stretch out in front of us. “We’re going to a new place with virtually nothing now.”

“We don’t have nothing.”

“We lost everything in that U-Haul trailer, Noah. Our lives were in there.”

Noah huffed, though I could tell that it was forced.

“Those were just objects, Crystal. We can build up again.”

I closed my eyes and wiped the tears off my cheeks.

“How? You’re starting a firm, and I don’t know how I’m going to manage Ever After Weddings long-distance with my laptop destroyed.”

“You still, miraculously, have your phone. You can use that to keep in contact with Terri, and I’m sure that she’ll be able to handle everything until you have enough money to get a new laptop.”

“But what about everything else?”

Noah grabbed my hand and kissed the engagement ring.

“It will all be fine. I promise. You just need to trust me.”

I sighed and pressed my temple against the window.

“All right. I trust you.”

I soon saw a sign coming up on our right. It read:

WELCOME TO CRESCENT CITY

CAPITAL OF THE CRESCENT MOON PACK TERRITORIES

My heart soared into my throat.

“Well, Crystal, welcome to your new home,” Noah said as he took the off-ramp into the city.

I swallowed against the hard knot forming in my throat. My nails dug into the side of the car door.

We had arrived. We were really doing this. We were going to live in Crescent City—with a population less than a tenth of the city we left behind—for the rest of our lives.

As we drove through the city, I was amazed by how much it did not have.

There were no neon lights or video billboards. There were no skyscrapers, with the highest building being some government offices. There was even only one mall, technically speaking.

It seemed oddly peaceful, yet also too quiet. I was not accustomed to so little noise and stimulation, and I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to get used to it.

“We’re here.”

We pulled into the parking lot of a small apartment complex with buildings only three stories high. Noah and I climbed out of the car, groaning from the stiffness and pain left over from our injuries, and headed toward the main office.

“Shouldn’t we check in with the Alpha before we get settled in?” I asked.

“We will,” Noah replied. “She owns the apartment complex.”

“She? The Alpha’s a woman?”

Noah smirked.

“This pack is full of surprises.”

As we entered the main office, a tingling bell above the door welcomed us. A woman with a blonde pixie cut popped her head up from behind the desk. Though her lean muscles were intimidating, her warm smile pulled me in like a gravitational forcefield.

“Hello,” she said, her voice ringing like the bell over the door. “My name is Serena Castella. How may I help you?”

“Good afternoon, my name is Noah Bernard, and this is Crystal Blanchard. We’ve talked a few times over the phone and via e-mail.”

“Ah, yes, our new pack members.” Serena searched in a drawer until she took out a pair of keys. “We were all so worried when we heard about your accident, but I’m glad to see that you’ve healed.”

“Yes, we are very grateful for that as well,” I said.

“Since you faxed over the paperwork before you arrived, all there’s left to do is show you to your new apartment,” Serena said as she handed a key to each of us. “You’ll be Apartment 10, on the first floor of this second building over here. Come, I’ll show you the way.”

Noah and I did our best to keep stride with Serena while also making note of which building we were walking to. It would be incredibly embarrassing to get lost in such a small apartment complex.

“So,” I addressed Serena, huffing and puffing as I tried to keep up with her, “as Alpha, do you know of any good but cheap places to get some furniture, like a bed? And maybe an electronics store where I can get a new laptop? We lost everything in that accident.”

“I think I know where you can get some stuff,” Serena said. I didn’t know her well, but there was something about her tone that sounded…suspicious.

“We would really appreciate any help you could offer us,” I replied. “I can’t continue my business without a laptop, and it would be nice to get at least some of the luxuries that we had before back…”

“I think that we can arrange that.”

Serena stopped in front of a door with the number 10 on it.

“Here we are, Apartment 10. Why don’t one of you give your key a try?”

Noah motioned me towards the door.

“After you, my love.”

My hand shook with trepidation as I inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. What I saw as I stepped inside took my breath away.

Instead of an empty apartment, as I had expected, it was filled with mismatched furniture. A plaid couch, leather armchair, and cedar coffee table sat in the living room. In the dining room stood an oak table with chairs from various sets.

I ran into the bedroom like an excited child on Christmas morning. Inside was a queen-sized bed with a patchwork quilt on top. Resting on that quilt was a brand-new laptop.

I rushed out to the living room, where Serena and Noah waited for me with broad grins on their faces.

“What…how?” I asked, astonished.

“Noah told us about everything that you lost in the crash,” Serena explained. “The pack came together and scrounged up what we could so that you could start your new life together. Obviously, we couldn’t replace everything that you had lost, but we did our best.”

Without any forethought, I leapt at Serena and wrapped my arms tightly around her neck.

“Thank you,” I said. “It’s wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.”

I allowed her to squeeze me back before I turned to Noah.

“You knew about this?”

Noah shrugged.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

I pinched his arm playfully, then hugged him gently.

“Thank you.”

“It will do?”

“Yes, it will do.”

I took a moment to look around the apartment. Yes, the furniture and the new laptop would do just fine. If not, I was sure now that we would be able to get enough money to replace them in no time.

Yet my heart still ached.

It was not for all the stuff that I had lost. Noah was right; that was all just stuff. No, it was the fact that this was all real now—that I would now truly never see Andrew again.

There would be no more overnights at his mansion. He would no longer warm my bed in my apartment. He would no longer comfort me when I had nightmares or panic attacks.

I had Noah, but at the same time, I felt alone.

Then there was Bob.

We might have gotten physically away from him, but he would eventually realize that we had escaped his latest plot against us. We would never be fully rid of him, and there was no telling how far his influence actually reached.

No matter how far we ran, I could not run from my past—any part of it.