Rena's PoV
I squinted my eyes at the light that was pouring in on me.
I had left the curtain open last night so I could look at the moon.
I haven't been as religious as many shifters because, since I stopped hearing Lily, my wolf, observing all the rituals has been too difficult.
Hopefully, the moon goddess would look past that and keep Daisy safe.
My mind was much clearer this morning. The most important thing was convincing Alpha Rhys to either work with me or abandon the entire project.
After that, I needed to find a way to go back to the laboratory. I had all the data that I needed on my laptop, but there were some of the samples that I needed to take with me.
Jason controlled most of the people in the laboratory, but I trusted Nancy.
I grabbed my phone, turned it on, and then went into the bathroom to clean up a little. I'm starting to regret not grabbing my own clothes.
It would be a little awkward to wear the same clothes from yesterday to meet Alpha Rhys.
I made a mental note to stop by a boutique before going to Carter Pharmaceuticals.
After dressing, I grabbed Daisy's teddy that I had held all night and packed every other thing.
A loud knock on the door startled me, and I froze on the spot for a second.
Was that Jason? Had they found me?
Some part of me felt that if Jason found me, I might not be able to make it out of there again.
"Miss Rena?" The voice of the receptionist pulled me out of my thoughts, and I walked slowly to the door.
"What's the matter?" I asked while also searching the room to know if there was another way out of here.
"There's a lady here to see you. She's at the reception."
My stomach tightened immediately. Vanessa?
"Did you tell her I'm here?" I wanted to open the door, but I was worried that Vanessa might be standing right there, staying silent.
"She made the reservation."
Her reply was so unexpected that I opened the door without thinking.
"What did you say?" I asked. Even I could hear the panic in my voice.
"Miss. Nancy made the reservation late last night in your name. She said she came here to check on you."
My heart was going through too many shocks these last two days.
But I definitely felt my shoulders slump as soon as I heard Nancy.
I cleared my throat and tried to look less scared.
"You can let her in." The receptionist nodded and then scurried away. I probably scared her with the way I yanked the door open.
I didn't bother to go back inside, instead, I waited by the doorway, and it wasn't until I saw Nancy's figure down the hallway that I truly believed that it was her.
Thank the moon goddess.
There was no way I could handle anymore shock today.
Nancy saw me and then broke into a small jog with a large suitcase being dragged behind her. In seconds, she threw herself at me and then, to my surprise, burst into tears.
"Baby, thank goddess you are safe," Nancy managed to say amidst tears.
Once she finally pulled away, I dragged her inside, dragged the suitcase, and closed the door.
"The receptionist said you booked the hotel room?" I asked, watching as Nancy rushed to the suitcase, opened the zipper, then pulled out a box.
"We need to refrigerate this," she announced while waving the box in the air.
I'm still confused, but I pointed at the mini fridge that was on the left side of my bed.
Nancy opened the small box, and my mouth fell open as I saw the familiar tubes.
"Nan, what's going on?"
She didn't answer until she was done arranging, and then she joined me on the bed.
"I don't know what's wrong, too, but yesterday morning, Kevin told me that I was the only one he could trust not to betray you."
"He told me that if he doesn't send me a message by early noon, then I shouldn't bother, but if the message comes in, then I should follow the instructions."
Kevin must have known that things would get messy the moment I went back to the Pack.
Nancy wiped her eyes. "Well, the message came in, and he asked me to come here and make a reservation for you."
"Then last night, another message came in. He asked me to take all the tubes in your personal laboratory and to grab your clothes and any important things here. Do you know…" Nancy's words became inaudible as she burst into tears.
My heart is heavy as I think of how worried she must have been the whole night. I stood up and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry. You must have been worried."
I felt Nancy's body tremble in my arms, and I hugged her even tighter. How was I meant to tell her about Daisy when she was already this way?
After some minutes, Nancy finally calmed down and pulled away.
"So, what's going on? Are you running away?"
The look on her face would have made me laugh if the situation weren't so terrible.
"I left the Iron Ridge Pack," I announced, and Nancy's eyes grew wide. "You are leaving Jason?"
I shook my head. "This whole time, we were never married."
Nancy stood up and then tilted her head from side to side continuously until she was able to find the right words.
"You guys were not married? Or do you mean you are getting a divorce?"
Oh, darling, that's the exact same way I felt yesterday.
Even right now, it still feels hard to believe, and somehow, I keep wondering if I had either been too desperate or too naive.
Or maybe it was both. There was no telling at this point.