The members of his... pack or whatever stared at me expectantly.

Finn realized my gaze was focused on them, and must have known how uncomfortable I felt answering in front of them, because he tells them to give us a minute alone. They clear out, and once we're alone, I give him my answer.

"Look... I appreciate what you do here," I tell him earnestly. "I think it's great that you made a safe space for rogues, and give them a home."

He gives me a sad smile, already knowing from my tone what my answer is going to be.

"But I can't stay here," I continue. "I have a pack. A mate. I can't give all of that up, no matter how much I respect what you do."

He flinched at the word "mate", but nods, and wipes all of the emotion off his face as he speaks. "Very well. I understand. I'll take you back right away, if you wish."

"I can find my way back, you can let me go alone."

"Absolutely not," He says seriously. "Firstly, you have no idea where we are, you wouldn't be able to find your way back. Secondly, I'm not going to let you go into the woods alone, unprotected."

I nod, knowing he's not going to let it go. And honestly, that was probably a good thing, because I don't have a great sense of direction and make a hobby out of being kidnapped.

He doesn't make eye contact with me as we walk through the doors of the house. He walks by my side, and says nothing as we continue to walk away from what he hoped would be our future.

I turn around to look one last time at the house, but to my surprise, it's disappeared. There's only a large empty clearing of grass.

"Where did it go?" I ask in surprise.

"It's enchanted to hide once you leave the borders of the house," He answers, still not looking at me.

"Enchanted how?" I ask out of curiosity.

"I can't answer that in case if you run back and tell Thane about this," He says quietly after a moment.

I swallow thickly. "I wouldn't do that."

"Because you know he would slaughter us all for daring to live as rogues?" Finn scoffs.

I don't answer, because we both know he would, and the thought makes me ashamed to have someone so cruel as my mate.

We plunge deeper into the forrest, taking random turns, and I realize that Finn was right. There was no way I would have been able to navigate the woods by myself, and probably would have accidentally ended up crossing into another pack's land.

"There aren't many rogues out here," I note after we've been walking uninterrupted for about an hour.

"We've recruited most of the rogues in the area. The rest have been killed by the Reaper," He says scornfully.

"The Reaper," I echo. "She's never found your home?"

"She?" He asks, making eye contact with me for the first time since I told him I wanted to leave.

Oh shoot. I had forgotten that all rogues just assumed the Reaper was male, as I had done before figuring out their true identity.

"She or he," I try shrugging indifferently. "It could be a girl, you never know."

He stops, grabbing at my wrist so I'm pulled near him. "Do you know who the Reaper is?" He asks intensely.

I gulp, unsure of what to say. "No," I choke out.

His green eyes narrow. "You know something."

I shake my head furiously, and he pleads, "Please, if you know something, tell me. Not just for me, for the safety of my family. I can't keep them safe from the Reaper if I don't know who it is."

"You have to promise not to go after her," I say finally.

Shaking his head, he says, "I can't promise that."

"You have to, or I won't tell you," I beg. "She will kill you if you try to attack her."

He scoffs. "I'm not scared of the Reaper."

"Then you are a fool!" I chastise him. "She is lethal in every sense of the word. She will kill without mercy and she is the strongest wolf alive. She will slaughter you and everyone you know if you go after her," I warn, and I am absolutely sure of my words.

"Okay, okay," He says. "I swear to the Moon Goddess that I will not pursue her. I just want to know her identity to keep my family safe."

A swear to the Moon Goddess cannot be broken, so I nod slowly. He's right. He can't protect his pack if he doesn't know what, or who, to look for. "The Alpha of Blood Lake," I say finally.

"Cain?" He asks in surprise. "I thought you said the Reaper was a girl."

I shake my head slowly. "You don't get it. His mate is an Alpha. She's strong. Deadly. You can't win against her," I warn him. "She's more cruel than Cain. Don't approach her."

He nods. "I won't. I promised you I wouldn't, and I wouldn't put my family in danger by having them go after her, if she's as dangerous as you say."

I exhale in relief. "Good. Just... keep your pack away from Blood Lake, and they'll be okay."

He nods again, deep in thought, and removes his hand from my wrist, leaving it feeling cold as soon as his touch is gone.

We continue to walk, and after a while, I begin to recognize some of the area. "We're about half a mile away from the border," Finn says, his voice slightly strained. "I can't take you any further without the wolves patrolling to smell me."

I smile slightly. He really was letting me go. "Thank you," I say quietly. "For letting me go."

He nods silently, and I can't read the expression on his face. He no longer looked at me with the adoring expression he did when we were at his home.

In a moment of equal parts boldness and stupidity, I grab his hand, unable to see him so distraught, even if he is a delusional kidnapper.

"You'll be a good mate to someone someday, Finn," I say genuinely, and I mean every word. "You're a great guy, and have a huge heart. I'm... I'm sorry for hurting you. I just have to go back," my voice cracks slightly.

He shakes his head sadly. "You are my True Mate, Onyx. I wish... I wish you could see it. But since you can't, and don't want to be with me... I won't force you. If you ever change your mind about joining our cause... follow the North star. You'll find us. I will never stop waiting for you," He whispers, and my eyes water.

"Goodbye, Finn," I say softly, squeezing his hand one last time before pulling my hand away.

I walk towards the border of Blue Moon.

I don't turn back, but I can feel his eyes burning a hole through me.

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