"Let's get out," I then said to Maya after we had made some distance from the castle. The driver was solely focused on what was ahead so he couldn't see us. He wasn't expecting anyone to be in the back so he shouldn't check.
We quietly went to the edge of the wagon and jumped out.
We then quickly ran from the road to the trees of the forest nearby on either side of the road extending on and on. We ran further into the forest in our human forms, making sure we were far from army.
When we stopped, I felt we were far enough. We needed to discuss what we were going to do now.
I opened my bag, took out a lamp and switched it on.
I then turned to Maya and my gaze went to her collar. "Let's get that off you now," I told her.
She got close to me and I extended my claws to start.
Removing a transformation prevention collar was complicated in the sense that it required a lot of strength. More strength than an ordinary wolf had. Only noble wolves had the strength to remove a collar as they were much larger and stronger than regular wolves. Which was the intention of the design, that only nobles who typically owned slaves had the power to free them.
On top of that the collar wasn't designed to be safely removed or for that matter to be removed at all. The assumption was one was going to be a slave for the rest of their life. Since it was around the neck, a very sensitive area, when you used your strength, you had to be careful, or you could over do it. My thoughts went to Elodie when she mercilessly killed that servant.
Holding Maya's collar carefully and focusing I broke it off
"There," I said, once it came off. "How do you feel?" I then asked her as I looked at her neck which she had started to massage. I noticed a dark purple mark around it cause by the collar.
"Relieved, that thing is quite heavy you know," she told me. "So, what's your plan now?" she then asked me.
"We have to distance ourselves from this area as quickly as possible before my father returns to the castle." I told her.
I then took out my map and opened it.
"We are currently here," I pointed on the map. "My father is heading for the border in the east, we need to head west. That way we won't risk bumping into him or his army. We need to reach the west border within the next two days. In our wolf forms we should be able to do it."
When he returns to castle and starts looking for me almost he wouldn't be able to follow my scent, he might have the entire kingdom searched instead. Maya and I had to reach the border before then. Changing into our wolf forms we began to run east. I sniffed the air to ensure I would detect if any wolves were approaching.
We quietly ran for several hours only taking occasional breaks to drink water and map out where we were.
"What's that?" Maya asked me once we reached a clearing. The once dark sky was now becoming an orange haze indicating dawn was approaching.
"It's one of the raided cities," I told her. "It must be the former Ibis pack's city if I'm not wrong." From the position we were on the map this was where it was located.
"There are guards posted there so we shouldn't get too close," I warned. My father had guards posted here because of some operations he had going in all invaded cities. There were very fertile soils in this area so many farms to produce food for the kingdom were here.
"Let's go," I told Maya.
She let out an exhausted sigh. "It's almost morning and we've been running all night. We're surely far from your father now. How about we rest for a while and continue after?" Maya asked to me.
"Okay, lets find a cave so we don't bump into a wolf or something and we can rest," I agreed with her. It's not that I wasn't tired I just wanted to get to the border as quickly as possible.
Using the map, I located where the nearest cave from where we were, and I led us there. Upon arriving we put our stuff down and set up makeshift beds using the cloths we had brought.
"I know I'm asking this a bit late and quite frankly it's reckless of me to be asking this question when it's too late to turn back…but what do you intend do? How do you actually plan to stop your father?" Maya then asked me.
I looked at Maya for a moment and contemplated how I should respond. "I'd be lying if I said I had this plan figured out. I think the best shot we have at stopping my father is by asking the raided wolf packs outside the kingdom for help.
"How are you going to convince them to work with you? You are your father's daughter after all. They will probably try to kill you," she told me.
"Yes, I'm aware that it's not going to be easy, however, I don't intend to immediately approach them and ask them for help. Once we reach the border and leave the kingdom, I intend to observe the packs outside first before doing anything else. Observing will help us understand how best to approach the situation," I explained to her.
Maya was quiet as she contemplated. "Alright then," she finally accepted my response.
We then lay down and went to sleep. When we woke up it was late in the morning.
We then decided to look for food, firewood so we could eat before we continued our journey. We went to look in the nearby forest. I had seen lots of plants that contained what appeared to be edible fruits and vegetables.