Chapter 5

Amelia

“Cunning and egotistical,” Director Crane drawls as she drags me along by my elbow, my bundle of provisions confiscated in her other arm. “A dangerous combination for anyone, though in your case I expect it will eventually turn out to be lethal.”

I struggle against the director, but she has too many other kids helping her now. When I first ran into them, they pinned me to the ground, tying my limbs with rope. Now, they pull tightly on the ropes, ensuring I go only where they want me to go.

The director leads me downstairs, but when I turn toward the basement door, she tugs me in a different direction to another set of stairs I didn’t even know existed. The suffocating humidity of the basement slowly gives way to a depthless darkness and a frigidity that seeps into my bones with every step down.

I can no longer see, only hear the director turn a key in a lock, followed by the sound of hinges squeaking, presumably under the weight of a heavy door. Then Director Crane pushes me inside, her subordinates never letting go of the ropes tied to my legs so that I fall flat on my face against an icy floor.

“Lucky for me,” her voice echoes in the darkness, “in two more days, you’ll be someone else’s problem.” The ropes tied to me are thrown on top of me, and the sound of the door slamming shut rings in what sounds like an empty room, followed by the thunk of the lock engaging.

I search the space blindly, unable to see, even as my eyes adjust to the darkness. I find no food or water in this dungeon, no matter how many times I explore.

For two days, hunger, thirst, and cold torture me. My fingers go numb from pulling at the rope knots on my limbs in an attempt to use the rope as some sort of weapon.

But I never manage to undo the knots. I am completely out of ideas.

Eventually, the squeaking hinges grind once again, and the director returns, this time with full-grown, well-trained guards. It’s time to meet my new master.

The guards use candles to find me in the dark dungeon, the light blinding to me. They use the ropes already tied to me, pushing me toward the stairs, and dragging me up to my fate.

Director Crane leads the way, not even bothering to make eye contact with me. Once we’re on the ground floor, Zella comes running.

“Director, the Alpha Prince has arrived to visit the orphanage!”

“The – the Alpha Prince?” Director Crane sputters, quickly smoothing out her hair. Her gaze accidentally catches mine, and she quickly squares her shoulders and pinches my chin.

“Not for you, Amelia. No royalty would ever want you.”

She pats my cheek roughly. “Besides, after your last escape attempt, I renegotiated your original contract from pet to slave as promised.”

Straightening up, Director Crane turns her attention to the guards. “I must greet the Alpha Prince, so I leave her in your capable hands. But do keep on eye on her.”

She narrows a glare at me. “She’s a runner.”

Once the director is gone, I struggle against the ropes, but after two days without any food at all, I’m too weak to break free from the guards’ hold. The most I do is delay us a bit.

They yank me through the front doors into the courtyard that’s packed with every resident and staff member of the orphanage. While the guards drag me off to the side, the carriage set to take me to my new master in sight, everyone else is bowed down in greeting to the Alpha Prince. The guards seem to realize their mistake, stopping to bow out of respect.

And I find my moment.

Taking advantage of the guards’ distraction, I give one final heave of the ropes to break free of their control. To my shock, it works, and I give every last ounce of energy I have into running away – away from the carriage, away from the bowing crowd, away from the Home for the Forgotten.

But even every last ounce of my energy is insufficient. It takes about two seconds for the guards to catch me, kicking me to the ground. I collapse in the courtyard, crying out in pain.

The guards hold me down. I don’t even have the strength left to raise my head.

I’ve missed my final chance to escape, and the weight of my reality comes crashing down, tracking silent tears down my cheeks. I truly thought that I’d be able to find a way out of my terrible fate. I thought finding that man in the woods was a good omen that Fate was on my side, that I had a purpose other than serving some werewolf master.

Yet here I am, on my way to a fate worse than death.

That stranger said at least I’m alive, but right now, I wish I’m not.

“Who is she?”

I’m not sure who asks the question, confused by the vague familiarity of its timber. Before I can spend a second trying to place where I’ve heard it before, I’m distracted by the sound of every head in the courtyard turning to look at me. I’m sure it would be a sight to see if I had enough energy to raise my head and meet their gazes.

“I’m so sorry, your Majesty.” That voice is all too familiar, though I’m not used to hearing Director Crane sounding quite so groveling. “She’s just a disobedient child.”

In that moment, I realize the director is wrong. I am disobedient. I plan to be for the rest of my life, as long as the rules continue to keep me imprisoned.

But I’m no longer a child. Today is my eighteenth birthday. I’m officially a woman.

So far, womanhood sucks.

“She tried to escape,” Director Crane continues in the silence that follows. “She’s no longer suitable as a pet, obviously, so she’s being carried off to Alpha Constantine to be his slave. You can be assured, your Majesty, that her insubordination will be handled correctly under his oversight.”

The second time she says “your Majesty”, I realize she’s talking to the Alpha Prince – which explains why she’s tripping over herself to provide a reasonable explanation. I hope briefly that he’ll be dissatisfied, that my last escape attempt, albeit a failure, will have earned the source of my abuse these eighteen years some sort of punishment.

But he says nothing, and Director Crane continues babbling.

“I offer my most heartfelt apology for offending you, your Majesty. I promise to dispose of the slave immediately.”

My heart lurches at the relief that floods my veins. If she executes me to please the Alpha Prince, at least I won’t have to live my days out as a slave.

The sound of fine boots clinking against the courtyard stones lays a rhythm for my final moments. As the royal riding boots come into my line of sight, I decide that I’d like to see the face of the man who has just spared me my awful fate with the promise of death.

I raise my head to a bronze hand resting on a royal sword and muscular arms that even the royal robes cannot hide. My gaze meets his, and I’m shocked to find the amber eyes of the man who was in my bed two days ago.

He opens his mouth, and says, “I want her.”