6: Open Up

ADRIANA’S POV

I jerked up, feeling someone's presence near me, my heart raced in my chest and I backed away instinctively until I hit the headboard. I didn't even care to let my eyes focus enough to see who was with me, I just felt a presence and immediately my body reacted the best way it knew how. The last time someone entered my room when I was sleeping, they tried to force themselves on me.

"Don't be afraid, princess," a soft voice whispered, like if he spoke any louder I would sprint. I might. "It’s me, Aiden. I was just checking on you to make sure you were okay." my eyes snapped up and sure enough, the large man was hunched over the bed, looking down at me with worried eyes.

I still moved back a little, searching my brain for the memories that seemed vague.

I studied him for a moment, trying to steady my breathing as my memories slowly pieced themselves.

The party, the lycan king, me running away and feeling dizzy, falling and everything going black, the warrior that gave me food and a potion to drink. He was in a sleeveless shirt, his bulging biceps and broad shoulders tapering down his waist. His chest was on display from the low V of his tank top, his muscles defined and well-trained. The body of a man that trained a lot.

I let out a sigh of relief and stretched, feeling more relaxed now that everything has come back to my mind. "Oh, right. Sorry, I was just a little confused."

Aiden smiled. "That's understandable. You were pretty out of it. How are you feeling now?" He asked, his soft gaze watching me.

I thought about it for a moment. "I feel a lot better. I must have passed out after taking that potion. My leg still hurts, but it's not as bad as it was before." I explained. Since I didn’t have a wolf, my healing process was a lot slower than normal wolves.

"That's good to hear," Aiden said, standing up. "It’s good to know you're awake and doing better. Get some rest, we need to talk. I'll check on you later. I have a few questions." something in my stomach churned but I managed to nod and try to smile.

I watched as he left the room, closing the door behind him. It was nice to know that someone was looking out for me. It’s something I’ve never had even from the people I called family. Though I was still a bit skeptical, he hasn't done anything up till now that shows he has bad intentions, so I guess it means I could trust him.

I was deep in thought when a soft knock came on the door. My first reaction was panic before I told myself it was probably just Aiden, and if he wanted to hurt me. He had plenty o f time to do that when I was unconscious and defenseless. I was still defenseless but he didn't know that.

The door opened moments later and he walked in, his steps unhurried. His large form moving with grace you wouldn't think he was capable of achieving.

“Hope you are well rested now,” he started. He moved to the bench I'd sat in earlier and lowered himself to it. His large form folded as he sat, the chair squeaked under his weight, he didn't look worried that it would break or anything.

“What is your name?” he asks. I stared at him in panic, aware that he could hear the crazy way my heart was beating. I didn't have a way to stop it so I just watched him. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I know you’re doing it for your safety, but I need to know who you are.”

When I didn't say anything, I expected him to blow up but he just sat, looking deep in thought.

"I get that you’re running,” he started, he waited for me to confirm that. I just stayed quiet, staring at him with what I hope is an empty expression. “And if I'm going to try and help you, I need to know who or what you're running from?"

I hesitated, not wanting to reveal the truth. If I told him that I was Alpha Jameson Peirce’s daughter, the daughter of an alpha from a neighboring pack, even if he didn't belong to any of the packs close by, he would still be duty-bound to report me to my father. And if my father found out that I had been running, he would be even more determined to marry me off as soon as possible so I could be trapped forever. I don’t even want to think of what the lycan king would do to me if he heard of what I did. If he doesn't already know, that is.

I didn’t know his stance on the marriage but it was a slap to his face, the highest form of insult for him. I had disrespected him by running and the consequences would be dire for me. After hearing all the things I have about him, death would be the only escape for me. That is if he doesn’t get to me and kills me first. Except, he wouldn't, he is known for his crazy torture techniques.

"I am running from my alpha," I admitted silently, trying to keep my voice steady. "He wants to sell me off to a man who isn’t my mate." The emotions won as I stuttered through the words.

Aiden frowned, his brow furrowed. "I see," he muttered, his voice laced with skepticism. "And who is this alpha?"

I hesitated again, trying to think of what to say that wouldn't immediately make him connect the dots. "I am sorry but I can’t tell you that," I went for the safest option which was telling him nothing, hoping that he wouldn't ask any more questions. Thankfully, he didn’t.

Aiden seemed to consider this for a moment, his expression softened slightly. "I'll help you," he said finally. "But you have to promise me that you'll not attempt to run until you're well enough to leave. I can't risk the Alpha finding out where you are."

I nodded, relief washing over me. "Thank you," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "I promise I won’t run."

Aiden gave me a curt nod and got up to leave the room. "I'll bring you more food and water," he said over his shoulder. "Rest and get your strength back. We'll figure out a plan to get you out of here."

“But I am okay now. I should leave immediately, the alpha must be looking for me.” My heart was racing in my chest. Just thinking of my father’s wrath made me want to get the hell out of here much faster.

I trusted Aiden to a certain degree but every second I spent in this room was a second wasted when I could have used it to put so much more distance between my father, Xander and I. I approached him, my hands shaking with fear, the desperation leaking out of me like the breath I was exhaling.

"I need to get out of here, now.” I pleaded, my eyes narrowing in panic.

Aiden's brow furrowed with concern. "I get that you think it is urgent but you are more than safe here, try and get some more rest. You said your leg was still hurting, didnt you? How do you expect to run in that state?"

I took a deep breath and tried to steady my voice. "I know I said that, but I feel better after taking that potion. See, I can even stand on my own and I barely feel any pain."

Aiden paused, looking torn. His hand hovered over the knob of the door. "Listen, I can't just let you leave without knowing where you're going or how you'll survive. If that's the case, I will go with you."

I shook my head frantically. "No, you won't. If you come with me, you will end up getting yourself killed. You have done enough already and I don't want to hurt you. Just let me go."

Aiden's expression softened and he placed a hand on my shoulder. "I can’t let you go alone. Look, I will get some supplies and let you rest for a bit before we go. You can't just run off into the wilderness without any provisions. When you get to your destination safely, I'll come back. I'll feel better knowing you are safe and i didnt let you go by yourself." His tone suggested I couldn't change his mind, and I decided it was better to let him and prepare for us to leave than me stopping to argue, and wasting more time.

Tears of gratitude welled in my eyes. "Thank you, Aiden. Thank you so much."

He nodded and exited the room, leaving me inside. I sat on the bed, my hands wrapped around myself as I tried to calm my frayed nerves.

I wasn't even close to being out of danger yet, I doubted I would be safe even after leaving the werewolf community, but at least I would be somewhere that they weren't the vast majority. I just had to keep my mouth shut and hope Aiden doesn't figure out my true identity. At least until I was far away from here, from my father and King Xander.

I sat nervously on the edge of the bed, my hands twisted together in my lap as I waited for Aiden to return with the supplies he said he was getting.

Just when I wanted to start pulling my hair out of worry, Aiden walked back into the room with a backpack, similar to the one I had but bigger. He’d just slipped in when we heard a loud banging sound. My heart dropped and my eyes widened in panic. I turned to Aiden, trying to make sure he heard the same thing.

He was frowning, which told me he did.

"What is it?" I asked, my heart racing.

"I'm not sure," Aiden replied, his voice low and guarded. "But I'm going to go check it out."

I watched anxiously as Aiden slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. I didn't need him to tell me to stay back, or that things aren't alright.

I had always known that my father's guards would come after me, but I had hoped that they were not the ones here and that they wouldn't catch up to us until we were far away from here.

As the minutes ticked by, my fear grew. I strained to hear what was happening outside, but all I could make out was the muffled sound of voices. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Aiden returned.

"I assume it’s your father's guards, they said they are looking for a young lady that got lost." he said, his face grim. The first thing that came to my mind was he knew, but he didn’t seem bothered by the bit of information I hid from him. The guards would have told him anyway. "I’m guessing they're here for you."

My heart sank. I looked up at Aiden, my eyes pleading. "I don't want to go with them, please what are we going to do?" I asked.

“The potion I gave you hides your scent, only high ranking members can smell you so they can’t tell you are here, but they won’t believe me.” He looked around with a sullen look on his face.

“There is no way for you to run out but the front door.” My heart has dropped to the pit of my stomach at this point. My father wouldn’t show me any mercy and I doubted the lycan king would too. I was between a rock and a hard place with no sight of escape.

“What else can we do?”

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "We're going to fight," he said. "We'll never make it out of here if we don't."