"But I have to admit that those men are quite charming," sighed the redhead with a dreamy look on her face. "If they were hunting me down, I would have let them catch me without wasting a darn second."
Leah snapped out of her thoughts just as the woman finished speaking and her heart dipped.
"Are you crazy? They would have thrown you in that godawful place. Do you even know what kind of place Virelith Academy is?" said the extra cheese-loaded French fries. She popped one in her mouth and then continued, "That place is for those criminals who have gone completely unhinged. The one who cannot control their urges and acts like a rogue. As if they had lost every sense of being different from an animal. You want to be thrown in a place like that? No matter how charming those men are, they are not worth going to that place."
As soon as she finished speaking, a young woman sitting in the corner pulled her hoodie over her face to cover herself better. Maybe she was someone who was about to be caught and thrown in the Virelith Academy like her, or maybe she had gotten out of there. If it was the latter, Leah truly had mad respect for her because no one ever got out of that academy intact.
Some even died.
"Well," said the redhead with a smirk. "I saw the wolf shifter. The one who was in charge of tracking down that arsonist. And I have to say, he looked hotter than the fire set by that criminal."
Shit. Those men were really fast. They actually came so close to catching her. Leah knew that the shop that the three women were talking about was not far from this fast-food centre, which meant that those men were really close.
She couldn't stay here any longer. She had to get out of here no matter what. With that thought in her head, Leah ignored the tittering and chatter of the three women and pounced on the table. All three ladies screamed in terror, and Leah, without waiting for them to gather their bearings, snatched the chicken sandwich from the woman in the middle.
Once in possession of what she wanted, Leah darted out of the shop.
"Cats! There are strays in this shop. I need damn compensation!" the redhead was screaming at the top of her lungs while Leah bolted out of the shop. But not before receiving a heavy knock on her back by the server who had appeared at the entrance with a broom.
Leah gritted her teeth as the broom struck her on the spine. What the hell? All this fuss for a cheap chicken sandwich? Could they not be a bit more understanding towards the strays?
Was breaking her spine over a six-dollar sandwich worth it? Dang, the hearts of these people were really small.
Leah made her way out of the shop. The server was still chasing after her; maybe he was adamant about proving that they took this matter quite seriously, which was why he chased her for a rather long time.
Leah tried to run as fast as she could without giving the server a chance to catch her, and even though her legs were screaming at her to stop. Leah didn't dare to stop. She ran harder and faster, as she tried to convince herself that she was going to be fine. That she was going to get out of this state sooner or later, and one day she was going to prove her innocence. Those beasts who were trying to catch and throw her into prison would never succeed. That she would truly taste the freedom that she had been craving for all along.
One day, she would be free of the voices in her head and the dangers that surrounded her.
Leah ran and ran. She had no idea how long she had run; she only knew that by the time she left the server behind, her legs were shaking with the effort of continuing to run, but she pushed herself as hard as she could. There were all kinds of dangers circulating around her; she was close to losing her mind with the voices whispering in her ears, and yet Leah only had one thought in her mind.
She needed to get this sandwich to safety.
She ran as hard as she could before reaching the small forest that ran on either side of the road that connected the two cities. She tried to find the safest place to hide from those men who were chasing after her. As a pallas cat, she was trying her best to pretend to be a loveable stray and hide her scent.
A scent that would be the cause of her doom if she were not careful.
After running for another thirty minutes, Leah found herself standing underneath a tall banyan tree. She took a wary look around the surroundings; once she was certain that there were no men dressed in the uniform of the Virelith's dogs, she heaved a sigh of relief and slithered down the small hollow at the base of the tree that was hidden by the entangled mess of the leaves.
Leah didn't transform into her human form; instead, she first finished the sandwich. She gobbled it like a real animal. The taste of mayo and fried chicken, along with tomatoes, lettuce and bread, filled her mouth. The delightful combination made her moan in delight. Leah was now certain that the Night Goddess hadn't abandoned her. Because the taste of the sandwich was literal heaven in her hungry mouth.
Small bursts of energy flickered through her veins as calories entered her system after weeks. It was nowhere near enough for her to feel full, but at least she was no longer close to starving.
Once she was done eating, Leah sneaked out of the hole; she darted a careful glance around the trees, and sensing that there was no one, she transformed into a human form, falling butt naked on the muddy floor. But just as she closed her eyes, she heard soft humming.