ESCAPE

RIONA'S POV 

A small groan erupted from the corner of my lips. My head was heavy with a terrible headache that banged at the base of my skull. Another groan erupted from my lips when I made to crack my eyes open.

Ouch! That hurts. Slowly, I clenched my fist around the edge of the bed I was lying on and pried my eyes open. For Pete's sake! The room was just about the size of my room in the attic, except for the smell of eucalyptus that serenaded the entire room.

I managed to sit up on the bed, as I took in the entire features of the room. The walls were painted white, but the strain of aging had faded the paint, to a dull white feature. 

Brown tiles chipped at the corners spread across the length of the room. This wasn't my attic, matter of fact, this place felt strange. I looked around, my head spinning with a thousand thoughts.

The headache blossomed into a full-blown migraine, as the pieces of the puzzle struggled to come together in my head.

Just then, I zoned out, to mindlink with my wolf, ‘Elara. Elara, are you there? Can you hear me?’

A jolt of electricity snapped through my spine. She snapped her head up, not in the least way weak. ‘Don’t worry about me. I'm fine. We have to think of a way to get the hell out of here, before we're noticed.’ She bellowed.

“Where are we?” I looked around, mumbling under my breath.

Elara let out a whine. ‘Oh Ri. Don't you remember?…’

“Yes!” When I spoke again, my voice was slightly higher than the first time. Suddenly, the memories came flooding into my mind, and a cold feeling trickled through my veins.

My father had sold me off to the man whose eyes didn't show the slightest sign of emotion. I must find my escape route out of here. I couldn't risk lingering around the Silverfang pack for too long.

From the tales I'd heard about Theron, he didn't spare any of his captives who tried to escape. I let out a litany of curse words, as I struggled out of the bed, and stumbled towards the door in ungraceful steps.

My entire body still wracked with the pains inflicted on me, by Luna Stacy's men. I fumbled with the knob of the metallic door, much to my chagrin. It was tightly shut, and the key was probably thrown in the abyss.

I grunted. ‘How do we get out of here, if we can't find an escape route?’ I winced. My eyes hovered around the room. Then, my eyes lit up when I caught sight of a small window in the left corner.

My wolf leaped for joy. That was it. I rushed towards the window, clicked the handles off, and it creaked open. I let out the urge to yelp for joy. Alerting anyone stalking around, was a death sentence.

I was going to plan this and pull it off strategically. There goes Elara again, baring her fangs in a low growl. The golden sun was, by now, flanked by orange and blue skies, indicating sunset. If my plan fell through, it would be easy for Theron's men to pick me out.

Gently, I closed the window and stumbled back to bed. This time, it felt like the pangs of pain from my injuries had fizzled out, and were replaced with exhilaration. I lay back on the bed, staring into space, till the sound of approaching footsteps forced me to clamp my eyes shut.

The next time my eyelids fluttered open, everywhere was pitch black. Gosh! It took me five minutes for my heightened sense of sight to set in. The minute it did, I got out of bed, and headed straight for the window, my eyes pressed against the tinted glass, listening for the faintest sound.

‘Are you ready?’ Elara quipped, her tone dripped with determination.

I nodded but didn't say a single word. Ever so gently, I reached for the lock, clicked it open, and pushed the window wide enough to fit me in. So, I wouldn't cause a scene.

First, I perked my head out and scanned the environment. It wasn't much of a hassle since my special abilities were heightened. When I was satisfied, I slowly tipped my leg over and jumped out of the window.

I groaned as I landed with a thud against the earthy ground. I pushed myself up and dusted the dirt off my dress. Suddenly, I felt a strange sensation around me. The atmosphere around me crackled with an energy that left a wave of goosebumps in its wake.

A strong hand shot out above my head and pulled the window shut. “Going somewhere?” The voice slithered with a heavy dose of sarcasm. 

I froze to my core. I recognized that voice from the first second I heard it. Beads of sweat glistened on the lines of my forehead. The temperature suddenly dropped, and my body trembled with a cold.

I’d been caught before I could make my first move. My mind raced with a thousand and one impressions of the punishment Alpha Theron would mete out to me.

Another growl rattled his chest, snapping me out of his reverie. “I demand an answer.” The goosebumps on my body intensified. 

Albeit, my survival instincts wrapped in the fangs of fear kicked in. I started coughing, and gasping for air, just then, I collapsed at his feet and held my breath, hoping that would disgust him even more, and let me be.

A grunt pierced through the air. “You've got to be kidding me.” Then, I felt strong arms lifted me and carried me to another room. From the sterile smell that hung in the air, I perceived it was a hospital room.

******

For the next three days, I was kept under strict surveillance by a handful of creepy-looking men who took turns watching me. My entire body was weak from being subjected to days of torture by my stepmother. 

Finally, my eyes pried open to an empty room. My heart slammed against my chest. I made to get out of bed when I fell right back in shock.

My clothes were stripped off, and my entire body was covered in bandages. My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. How’d this happen? Had any of the guards done this?

The door cracked open, and a familiar figure strode in, walking with an air of charisma to my bedside. Theron must've sensed my confusion because he said. “I did it to take care of the wounds,” he paused, “And oh, don't worry. I did it personally. There's no need to be scared,” his words had come out reassuring but the emotions in his eyes spoke otherwise. 

My heart thumped against my ribcage. I stared at him, not uttering a word. Then, I shrugged and ran a loose finger over the nape of my neck.

A glimmer of surprise flickered in his eyes. But it fizzled out as fast as it had shown, his eyes fixed solely on my neck the whole time.