Chapter 5

Lyra's POV

I couldn't stop my heart from beating very fast, it almost felt like it was going to come out of my chest.

 Keto’s grip on my hand was as firm as iron. He pulled me down to a dark, narrow hallway. 

The air inside the hallway was cool compared to the hot air outside.

We got to a spot where I saw a set of metal stairs, and it led to what had to be an underground basement. 

I became so scared, and the sheer terror of what awaited me once I got to the drilling pit hugged me tightly as we walked. What awaits me there? That question lingered in my mind like the pull of gravity.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, even though my voice was shaky.

 It was quite obvious from my voice that I was really scared, but I couldn’t help it.

Keto didn’t answer. He just kept walking as though he was deaf and dumb.

His refusal to answer my question made my stomach hurt.  I haven't heard any tales about Keto, unlike Orion, but I could tell he was loyal to Orion.

 I was terrified of Orion, but Keto? I wasn’t sure about him, I would try to get to him. 

I swallowed hard and summoned every piece of courage I had left.

 I stamped my feet and yanked my arm away from his hand. He stopped immediately. “I said, Where are you taking me?”

He turned to face me, and his silver eyes scanned the area as though he wanted to be sure no one was watching. 

 “You’d better come with me peacefully,” he started trying to make his voice a little calm, “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

Harder? My lungs tightened, but I stood my ground, even though my knees were shaking. “Tell me where we’re going,” I insisted, louder than I intended.

Keto sighed and ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back. 

He stared at me for a while, like he was considering his options. 

Then he opened his mouth to answer me.

“I’m taking you to a place where your chances of coming out in one piece are fifteen percent.”

Fifteen percent of surviving? My eyes widened in fear, and it felt like his words went through me like a spear.

 For a while, I couldn't feel my legs anymore, and feverish sweat broke out across my forehead. 

The drilling pit sounded like a death sentence. I'd rather find a way to escape. 

“Please,” I whispered as I stepped closer to him, my hands still shaking slightly.

 “Keto, please help me escape. Don’t take me to the drilling pit. I’m begging you.”

He stared at me, his expression neutral. 

And for a second, it seemed like I saw something in his eyes, like confusion or conflict.

 I remembered when we just met, how he was my mate, just like Orion. Perhaps I can use that as leverage to make him help me.

His eyes went soft, just a little bit, and I held on to that tiny hope. Is he torn between his loyalty to his Alpha and the bond between us?

Finally, he nodded his head. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll help you. But you have to do exactly what I say.”

I felt relieved, so much that it almost pushed me to tears. 

 “Okay,” I said, and nodded quickly. “I will. I'll do anything you say.”

Without warning, he bent down and carried me on his shoulder without any struggle on his part.

 I gasped, and my hands instinctively grabbed his shirt to steady myself. “What are you doing? How is this helping me escape?”

“You’d slow me down if I let you walk,” he grunted as he walked.

I squirmed, and somehow, my heart started racing again. 

We moved past the basement walls, but something felt odd. “Wait,” I said as I lifted my head slightly. “Why are we going deeper into the basement? Shouldn’t we be going out instead?”

Keto stopped walking, he tilted his head a little bit, “You want me to take you through the route where we came in? Orion is probably right behind us by now.”

I zipped my mouth shut.  Leaving through the same route obviously wasn't a good plan. The possibility of running into Orion was high, like he said. 

When Keto noticed I had no more words to say, he took it as a cue to keep going.

At least he was helping me. I didn’t know how, but if I had any chance of escaping, he was my only option.

We reached a staircase that was sort of narrow and steep, which led deeper underground.

 Keto didn’t hesitate,  he descended through the steps and I held his shirt tightly. 

 At the bottom, we reached a worn-out metal door. He shifted me slightly and used one of his hands to push the door open. 

He stepped inside and set me down on the floor.

I still couldn't feel my legs, but I tried to steady myself.  

 He’d agreed to help me escape, and the least I could do was to appreciate him for risking his life to help me. So I lifted my head up to face him head-on and thank him.

But I swallowed the thanksgiving speech that was already on my lips when my eyes sighted things that looked like I was in a nightmare.

Dozens of men were scattered across the room, their eyes turned to me like a camera detecting motion.

 They were huge, really huge. Some smiled at me, others just kept staring, but they all looked like monsters devoid of feelings.

The relief I felt earlier was quickly replaced by a fear that was almost suffocating.

I returned my attention back to Keto, “What is going on?” I sounded like a child on the verge of sobbing. 

He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He looked elsewhere. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I can’t risk disobeying my Alpha for you.”

The words hit me like a knife to the heart.

 Betrayed. He’d lied to me. He’d never planned to help me escape. 

He’d brought me straight to the drilling pit, or whatever this place was. 

My knees gave in, and I held the wall to prevent myself from falling. 

How could I have been so stupid to believe he was actually helping me?

 One of the men, a fat guy with a handkerchief wrapped around his cheek, walked closer to me.

 “Looks like Alpha Orion brought us a new toy to play with,” he said, smiling.

Panic enveloped me right from my head down to my toes; any moment from now, these men would be all over me.