She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get them to listen to her. There was only one solution. She’d considered it before but ultimately dismissed it as too extreme. But now it seemed reasonable.
She had to move.
She would get started that evening. She would tell no one. She would move to a city and start a new life. She would not join a clan. She would not live among bear shifters or any type of shifters at all. She would not give her family her address.
Oh, she had no doubt they could find her. Shifters were resourceful and her clan was well respected in Alaska and had connections to other clans. They were in contact with both wolf shifters and other bear shifter clans. Someone would find her and they would show up on her doorstep. But she would not let that stop her.
Moving away would be extreme. But it would be a statement to them. A statement that she was finally fed up.
She loved her family. Maybe some distance would give her the opportunity to actually have a good relationship with them. When it wasn’t full of resentment and irritation. One where they could have a mutually respectful consideration for each other.
She didn’t want to tip them off.
"I’m really mad right now, so I’m going to go. I’ll see you soon."
Her parents hugged her, and she allowed it. As pissed off as she was, she still cared about them.
* * *
As soon asshe got home, she pulled up a map on her computer. Anchorage was going to be her new home. Once she’d decided what she was going to do, it all went rather quickly.
She found a place to rent and she put down a deposit. She got all her utilities set up. All of it was new to her because the pack handled all of their living expenses. But for the first time in her life, her space was her own. She rented a run-down place in an older area, but she didn’t have to worry about humans. If shifters wanted to come after her, a lock, an alarm, or even a doorman wouldn’t stop them.
She bore the full responsibility for taking care of it and paying her own bills, but as a result, it was hers. She could do anything she wanted.
This space is mine.
Her space belonged to her and so did her time.
There was a lot to be said about being part of a group, a family. But in her case, she’d been yearning to break free for years. It was a taboo thing to say, but maybe some shifters just needed a little breathing room. Most shifters preferred communal living, but maybe every now and then, a loner was born. Like Everleigh.
No one else in her pack had ever struggled the same way, and it left her feeling alone and isolated. Now though? She felt lighter and happier than ever.
And work? That was amazing too. At first, she didn’t have many clients, and she was showing the least desirable properties. They trickled in, slowly, but she knew she’d brought them all in herself.