Pack Gems by Kuro Kusai, WhiteWolf Aura (year 2 reading books .txt) 📕

Her eyes watered as she looked down at them, and although she knew there was a good chance Axel might miss them, Kaden stuffed them into a small pocket on the side of the book bag.

She then proceeded to search the dresser where she found enough money to get them through the journey until they got back on their feet. She mouthed a sorry to Axel as she stuffed the money into one of the smaller front pockets, and continued her task.

Kaden left the room shortly after her pilfering and headed for the garage. Where Axel was and how he hadn't stopped her already Kaded didn't know; she just knew her luck usually wasn't this good, and she had to stash the book bag quickly before her luck decided to change.

Thankfully, the garage was empty and found some flashlights and tools they would most likely use later. After packing away all her newly found goods, she stashed the bag behind a large toolbox on a high shelf.

She made her way back into the house just as Axel exited the kitchen, an annoyed expression on his face as he looked after Gaby storming away.

His expression cleared as he spotted Kaden and headed towards her.She struggled to keep her heartbeat in check as he got closer.

"Hey."

"Hi," She replied, "Why does it smell so sickly sweet?"

"That's the smell of magic, love." He smiled as he extended his arm and tried to hand her something.

It was a pistol.

"A gun? You guys are getting ready to fight with GUNS?" She asked incredulously while eyeing the pistol.

"Look, I know it's kind of low but we can't take any chances. These guns are special."

Kaden laughed, "What are they magical?"

Axel looked back at her with a face that held no amusement.Her own smile fell, as she looked back down at the gun.

"You're serious?"

"Yes. The magic placed on these pistols makes the bullets disintegrate on impact, delivering the parasitic curse straight into the bloodstream that kills the red blood cells so you can't blot. It's gruesome, but effective."

She stared back silently.

"Please take it. If someone should break through our defenses, you need to have something on you as a last resort."

"What if something goes wrong?"

"Like what? Shooting yourself?" He replied half smiling.

She snatched the gun from his hands, and was startled by it's warmth. Kaden would probably never use the gun unless it was absolutely necessary, but deciding to run away left you feeling vulnerable after being under Pack protection.

"You better hope this gun doesn't end up in the wrong hands."

Axel grabbed her wrist, and started to push her up the stairs, "You need rest, we can go sleep in my room."

Kaden's fear spiked as she thought of his recently searched room, "No, we can't."She resisted his pull to go up the stairs.

Axel gave her a level look before picking her up over his shoulder and continued carrying her up.

"Mother fucker!" She yelled as she tried to get him to let her go. "Put me down"

"I'm saving you the trip." He replied.

"I'ma shoot you."

Weres looked up the stairs in amusement as she struggled for freedom.

"No you won't." He spoke while clutching the railing for support, "You'd fall with me." He continued working his way to the room but they approached his bedroom door and he reached for the doorknob, Mason called out Axel's name.

Axel turned around, brow furrowed,"Mason, you shouldn't be up and about. It could be very dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as giving Kaden a gun." He mused.

Kaden frowned, and doubled her efforts until Axel dropped her on her ass.

"Jerk." She snapped as she got up, placing the gun on the small of her back then unleashing a glare on Mason.

"Axel, I think it would be a good idea if Taylor and Kaden shared a room tonight." He suggested carefully.

Kaden's eyes quickly turned from angry slits into round, innocent orbs as she turned to Axel, "It's the least you could do." And in her mind, that wasn't a lie.

Axel considered it wearily, than agreed to it as long as they had guards.Mason nodded and returned to his own room, with his own guards.

Kaden shrugged as she was led to the first room on the left of the stairs.Before she reached the doorknob Axel took hold of her hand.

"Thank you for going out to dinner with me, it was nice." He placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

Kaden looked up into his green eyes, and almost broke into tears.She looked away and cleared her throat, "I did it for the steaks."

He smiled down at her and gave her a short kiss on the lips."Yeah, you keep believing that," He spoke as he backed away, heading for the stairs, "I'll send Taylor up with your guards." He waved a final goodnght.

"And junk food. Lots of it."

He smirked, "Sure thing, Hon'. G'night."

"Goodbye." She replied softly.

Axel turned a puzzled look her way, but continued down the stairs.

In that instant it hit her. The sadness engulfed her like a dark shadow.That would be the last time she would ever see Axel and his beautiful emerald eyes.

She entered her bedroom and closed the door before he could question her. She struggled to rein her emotions in as she tried to make sense of them to no avail.

This was going to be harder than anticipated.

~Taylor's POV~

Her body still tingled from his embrace.He had gone up the stairs to look for Axel and relay her wish.

With a frustrated growl after his disappearance, she whirled around and stalked to the kitchen muttering, "He had to be an Alpha too."

In the kitchen there were wolves mulling about, some seated on the counters and others leaning against cabinets. They all visibly straightened and preened for attention.

Taylor felt sick but decided she might as well take advantage.

"Hiya, boys."

They all murmured enthusiastic greetings back.

"You know where I could find some trash bags?"

One wolf with sandy colored hair obliged by jumping off the counter and rummaging through a lower drawer to produce a small box of Glad bags.

"Well, thank you." She touched his hand deliberately while grabbing the box, "Maybe you could help me…with a few more things?"

A hasty few minutes and five disappointed wolves later, she walked through the door that their, apparently new, guard held open for her.

Taylor nodded, because she didn't have any other way to thank him.

Her mouth held two spoons, her arms held a lot more.

Kaden watched soundlessly as she unloaded garbage bags, knives, various sealed foods, a small notebook, pen, map, duct tape and bandages.

"This is all I could grab without being too conspicuous." Taylor mouthed, while reaching in one opened garbage bag to reveal a jar of Skippy peanut butter.

Unscrewing the lid, she dipped one of the spoons in the jar to gather an impressive amount of Skippy and handed the loaded spoon to Kaden before mimicking the action for her own spoon. Shoving the utensil in her mouth she mumbled, "I don't know why girls always eat ice cream when depressed. Is that a stereotype? Either way, peanut butter works better."

Kaden absently licked her peanut butter-sicle.

Taylor flipped open to a blank page in her stolen notebook and wrote with her pen: What time are we leaving?

She pushed the book, with the pen on top, to Kaden.

Kaden read the sentence before sliding it back to her with a reply, 1:10 A.M.

The guards change, Audrey persuaded Connor to turn a blind eye.

Sweet. Taylor allowed herself a small smile.

Good thing they're family. Connor probably wouldn't have defied his Alpha for just anyone.

A vulnerable, injured, begging baby sister would do the trick.

Taylor swiped the pen enthusiastically, underlining: We are lucky.

Kaden nodded, setting down her empty spoon, "Want to try and get some sleep?"

Taylor looked at the clock that read eleven and shrugged, "Might as well try…it'll be hard with all that's happened today." She tossed the last bit in just in case their guard was listening more intently than necessary.

After Kaden packed everything else into her backpack, she clicked off the bedside light.

Both of them stared up at the ceiling, knowing full well they wouldn't get any rest any time soon.

***1:10 came sluggishly but the quiet whispers of Connor arriving, greeting the old guard reached each of their ears.

Not risking walking out the door, Kaden hopped out of bed and started the painstaking process of unscrewing the bolted window.

It wasn't a particularly noisy process, but one that would certainly tip off the guard standing right outside their room.

Taylor watched the door, waiting for Connor to change his mind and storm in to stop them but he never did.

The window wasn't that hard to unscrew from the inside, probably because it wasn't meant to be used to keep wolves in—but out.

Thankfully, they were in a regular room, not a holding room because that would have been a different story.

Setting aside the bars and screwdriver on the bed, Kaden eased open the window and popped out the screen. Taylor rearranged the screwdriver to weigh down a torn out piece of notebook paper with a heart drawn on it with their names signed at the bottom to reassure everyone they weren't kidnapped but left of their own free will.

With one last glance at the door, Taylor gathered up the bag before turning to the windowsill, lowering it to Kaden—who had already jumped out the window.

Taylor did her best cat impression and jumped down, hopefully silent enough.She could hear other wolves patrolling the area and knew they didn't have much time.

Nodding at Kaden, they took off, careful to stay in the shadows and downwind as much as possible from the guards.

Taylor didn't let her legs, and heart, slow down until the gas station parking lot was under their feet.

It was a miracle they weren't caught. But they wouldn't have long.

By grace of God, the old white landrover was unlocked—however, absent of keys.

"Hotwire it." Kaden climbed into the passenger seat, throwing the bag in the backseat.

"Hotwire it? You know how long it's been since I did that sucessfully?" Taylor asked incredulously, popping open the front compartment conceiling the necessary wires, "I have an equal chance of sounding the horn and starting the wipers simultaneously than starting the engine."

Wouldn't that be great? Honking the horn for all the wolves to hear?

Taylor shuddered at the thought of seeing Mason's hurt gaze after learning of their attempted escape.

"Move. I got it." Kaden slung herself over the armrest to pull at the wires.

"You sure? I've never seen you do this."

"Well, as it turns out, I've been to Juvie for this exact sort of thing." Kaden worked while she talked, stripping wires with her teeth.

"Juvie??" Taylor raised her eyebrows, "Out of all the memories you remember from that blanked head and its Juvenile hall?"

"Hey, I can't pick and choose," Kaden retorted as the engine came to life with a subdued purr, "But we should be glad it did."

Taylor nodded and gave a short laugh, "I suppose so…you delinquent."

"Like you can talk!" Kaden pushed up on Taylor knees to get back up and into her seat, "The only difference between you and I is that you never got caught."

Taylor thought back to her little flash of life before her Change, "Hick towns don't throw you into Juvie…and it helped that I knew the sheriff."

Kaden snorted. "Typical. Dirty connections at a young age."

Taylor hit her playfully with the map she had fished out of the backpack before proceeding to unfold it and hand it to her.

Pulling out of the lot and onto the quiet back road they sped away from Axel's house.

"Where to, Tay?" Kaden turned on her dome light to see the map in the dark.

"San Antonio, Texas."

Before Taylor had stumbled upon Kaden, she had originally heard that there was a neutral, unclaimed territory near the border where all kinds of magically beings gathered without much structure—a place she had planned to live out her numbered days.

"Texas?" Kaden repeated