5: Running from Destiny

Quincy St. Martin

I can’t go to WVU as planned. It’ll be the first place they’d look for me when they discover that I’m gone.

I have to get as far away as possible, where they can’t trace my scent.

I have to get myself a job. Who’s going to hire me? I would have to go down south. Maybe I’ll go to Vegas and be a showgirl.

Maybe I’ll move to Texas and work at a seedy bar as a waitress.

“I might have to work the streets or something and change my name to Candy.”

No offense to all the Candys out there, but if I have to work the streets, I want that to be my name.

“Why do you have to work the streets and change your name to Candy?” Jorden asks me after staring at me oddly for almost a minute.

“Well, a girl’s gotta eat. Duh!”

Jorden sighs. “You’re not going to sell your body, Q. I won’t let you,” he says. “You’ve got such a wild imagination.” He shakes his head. “Don’t worry. I have it all figured out.”

“Where would I go, J? I have nowhere to go. I have no money. Even if I had the money, I know they’d find me if I went to the university as I planned to.”

“No, the university is now out of the question. You have to go far away. As far away as you can so nobody can trace your scent. Here, this is where you’re going.”

He hands me a piece of paper from his back pocket.

It’s an acceptance letter from a small college in California. I remember leaving that letter in my old room in Nana’s house. It was just wishful thinking on my part when I applied to that college. I dreamed of going somewhere far away from here where nobody knows me. Back then Nana was still alive and I had no real intention of moving across the country from her.

I stare at the letter.

“But I emailed the college that I wasn’t going there. I think they’ve probably given my spot to somebody else by now.”

“Yeah, but Jonah is there to look out for you, and he knows somebody who can fix that.”

“Jonah?” My mouth is hanging open. Jonah is Jorden’s older brother.

He was supposed to take over the beta title from his father when he turned twenty-one, six years ago, but he left the pack before that happened.

I had heard that he had a big fight with his father and old Mr. Maddox, who was still the alpha back then. I was twelve when he left, and I don’t know much apart from what I heard from everybody.

Jonah was known as a troublemaker. He was always rebelling against his father, always doing what he was not supposed to be doing, mixing with the wrong crowd, fighting. They said he was bad news. Nobody knew where he went. Well, apparently, Jorden did.

“I didn’t know you’re still in touch with him,” I say.

“Yeah, he got in touch with me two years ago, and he gave me his number, just for emergencies. This qualifies as an emergency,” Jorden answers.

“They’re having the Burning Moon gathering tonight. Get ready to leave around eight when everybody’s occupied out there, okay?”

I know what’s going to happen. There’s going to be a big gathering under the moonlight.

The body will be burned in a pyre out in the clearing in the woods about half a mile from the pack house. Then everybody will change into their wolves. They will howl at the moon and go for a run to show their last respects to the person, in this case, old Mrs. Maddox.

I was there for my Nana’s, though I just stood on the side by myself when everybody phased and went for the run.

“Here, take his number,” Jorden says. “Call him as soon as you get there, and here’s some money. I know it’s not enough, but it’ll get you started.”

I stare at a piece of paper and the thick wad of rolled-up fifty-dollar bills in my hand. There must be over a thousand dollars in there.

“I can’t take this money, J. This is your money.”

“Precisely. It’s my money, so I can do anything I want with it, and I want you to have it,” he says. “Just take it, Q. Stop arguing with me. You can’t afford to be proud right now. You’re going to need it.”

I stare at the money in my hand again. I know he’s right. “Thanks, J,” I tell him.

“Hey, Q?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry I never defended you when they made fun of you and bullied you. I’m—I’m such a coward.” He looks down at the ground, not meeting my eyes. It must be hard for him to admit that.

“That’s okay, J,” I answer truthfully. I never expected anybody to fight my battles for me.

“For what it’s worth,” he continues, “I’m proud of you. You never backed down. You don’t deserve any of it, and you’re so strong,” he says. “You go out there and have a good life, Q. Don’t ever look back.”

Yes, I have nothing else here. I don’t think I’ll be coming back. The only person I would miss would be Jorden. Tears start to well up in my eyes, but I lift my chin up and smile.

“I’ll pay you back, J. One day I’ll pay you your money back.”

I don’t know if that’s possible, but it feels nice to say it. It makes me feel like I’m going to see him again.

“You are so much like Nana, Q.”

“Really???” I smile up at him. A couple drops of tears fall on my cheek. I wipe them away quickly. That’s the biggest compliment anybody could’ve given me. My Nana was awesome!

My Nana had just lost her beloved mate when her daughter dropped an unwanted newborn baby that she didn’t even bother to name on her doorstep.

My Nana took the baby in. She named it after her mate, Quincy St. Martin. Yes, she named me after my late grandfather.

She could’ve rolled over in grief after suffering such a great loss, yet she got up and gave the baby a name and a home.

That’s how awesome my Nana was.

“Yes, you’re proud and strong, yet gentle and kind...and a bit cuckoo,” says Jorden.

“I love you too, J. I love you too.”