He knew turning his back on his alpha was a sign of disrespect, but he just couldn’t handle it anymore. Landon wasn’t turning away from his alpha, but from his father. He needed space and to be alone from his dad. To open his mind.
After slamming the bathroom door, he was shocked when Alexa wrapped her arms around him and held him close.
“Why don’t we make a run for it?” Alexa asked.
He pulled her into his arms and breathed in the scent of her neck. “What?”
“We can sneak out the bedroom window. We can make a run for it. No cuffs. No pack. Just us and the forest, or wherever the hell we go.” Alexa pulled away. “I’m not promising you that it’s going to be easy. In fact, I imagine it’s going to be hard, but at least we won’t have to be subjected to this. We’re mates, Landon. We both accept that, but this, this way, it fucking sucks, and I for one don’t want to live like this anymore. We’ve got to do something, and it’s going to have to be our way.”
She took his hand, locking their fingers together.
Alexa was right.
Doing this day to day, bound together by a fucking pair of handcuffs, was too much. They needed to be free. To be able to make this choice for themselves and not to have someone else making it for them.
Staring into her brown eyes, he knew he’d follow her anywhere.
Was this what it meant to be mates? To want to follow her anywhere, no questions asked? He didn’t have a true answer to that, but he knew he was willing to do whatever it took to keep Alexa close to him.
The past month had taught him that he never wanted to be without her. Not ever.
“Let’s go.”
****
“Alexa and Landon have taken off,” Marcel said an hour later as he arrived at his home, where Gertie, Dan, and Penelope were gathered. Over the course of the past month, they had felt this punishment had gone on long enough, and that it was time to bring an end to it. He didn’t agree.
He knew that given enough time, and enough push, he’d be able to cause the two to react, to take a chance.
“What?” Penelope asked.
“Where are they?” Dan asked.
“Marcel, why didn’t you follow them?”
He held his hands up, knowing and understanding their concerns. “Please, don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry? Our daughter has run away. How can we not worry?” Penelope went to Dan.
“Look, I was prepared for this. This may seem harsh to you, but we’ve meddled for too long in Alexa and Landon’s lives. It’s time for them to find each other but also to realize they are meant to be together, and they actually want to be together. We all know they love each other. It is clear as fucking day, but they’re both so damn stubborn. Do you think I didn’t know this punishment wouldn’t push them? I knew it, and what’s more, I knew it was going to push them too damn far. They needed to be pushed.”
Gertie went to him, pulling him into her arms. She kissed his cheek. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything. Trust me. This is the right way to do this.”
He saw the doubt on all of their faces. Marcel knew this was what their babies needed. The right push. The right incentive.
“Where will they go?” Penelope asked.
“To start, with the full moon tomorrow night, they’ll be close to the forest. I’ll track them. They won’t go far. Trust me, I will take care of our kids. I won’t let anything happen to them.”