LOGINDarren’s POV I looked down at her fingers resting against mine, and the familiar sight stirred memories of everything that had happened before we were imprisoned, including the promises we had made when we still believed that our plans could not fail.For a moment, I wanted to tell her that everything would be different once we escaped, but the words remained trapped behind my teeth, because I had made too many promises in the past without understanding what they would cost.Instead, I squeezed her hand gently, and I looked back toward the crowded room.“We will be careful, and we will not make a move until we understand what is happening around us, because I have no intention of allowing the prison to become the place where everything we have endured finally catches up with us,” I told her, with my voice steady as I held her gaze.Elara gave a small nod, and then she released my hand when Garrick suddenly approached with a folded blanket draped over his arm.“I have managed to acqui
Darren’s POV “You threatened to use a prisoner as furniture yesterday, and today you are asking the guards to provide you with blankets, so I would say that your definition of reasonable is becoming increasingly difficult to defend,” he replied, with a grin as he stretched his legs beneath the bench.I allowed them to continue arguing while I studied the room, because the sudden relocation had created a new problem that I had not anticipated.Elara and I were no longer separated by different cells, and Silas and Garrick had been placed within the same communal space, which meant that the four of us could finally speak without having to rely on brief encounters during prison work.At the same time, we were surrounded by dozens of prisoners, several guards were stationed outside the door, and the new room offered far fewer hiding places than the damaged eastern wing.If we wanted to escape, we would need to become more careful rather than less careful, because any plan we discussed ope
Darren’s POV The prisoners began complaining about the uncomfortable benches and the lack of proper beds, but I barely heard them, because I was thinking about the wall and the narrow opening that had appeared behind it.Tomorrow we would return to the eastern wing, and tomorrow we would have another opportunity to discover what the stranger was trying so desperately to hide.I lay down on the wooden bench, listening to the distant footsteps of the guards as they moved through the prison, and I tried to convince myself that we still had control over what happened next.But as I closed my eyes, I remembered the expression on the stranger’s face when he looked inside the passage, and I realized that whatever we were about to uncover might be dangerous enough to change our plans completely.I had wanted a way out of prison, and now I was beginning to fear that the prison had been built around a secret that someone was willing to burn it down to protect.I had barely managed to close my
Darren’s POV I smiled faintly.“I have considered it, and I am asking because you seem to have a remarkable talent for finding information that everyone else prefers to keep hidden,” I said, with a deliberate look that made him sigh.Garrick shook his head, although the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.“You are very good at making dangerous ideas sound like compliments, and I am beginning to understand why people who know you tend to end up in trouble,” he muttered, with a reluctant smile.Elara laughed quietly, and for a moment the tension eased.Then a loud crash came from behind the damaged wall.Every prisoner in the corridor turned toward the sound, and one of the workers shouted that a section of the inner stonework had shifted.The guards rushed toward the third support, ordering everyone to move away while they inspected the damage, and the stranger in the dark coat reappeared from the main passage with an expression that made it obvious he had been waiting nearby.“What
Darren’s POV The man in the dark coat responded by pointing toward the wall.I could not hear what they were saying, but the gesture was enough to make my stomach tighten, because it looked as though someone had come to make sure that the entrance remained hidden.Garrick followed my gaze, and his expression became serious.“That man is not part of the repair crew, and if he has come to inspect the wall, he is doing a very poor job of pretending that he is interested in the condition of the stone,” he murmured, with his eyes following the stranger.I looked away before the man could notice us watching him, but the image remained in my mind as we continued carrying debris.We had been searching for a way out of the prison, and now I was beginning to suspect that the passage might lead somewhere we were never meant to find.The question was no longer whether we could use the opening to escape, because the question had become what someone was willing to do to keep us away from it.The s
Darren’s POV Garrick noticed them too, because he slowed beside me and pretended to examine a broken piece of timber while speaking under his breath.“They are watching that section much more closely than the rest of the corridor, and if the wall is only damaged stone, I cannot imagine why they need two armed men standing beside it,” he murmured, with his eyes fixed on the wood in his hands.I lowered my head and picked up a heavy plank.“Then we should stop looking at the guards, because the more attention we give them, the more likely they are to notice that we are interested in the same place,” I replied, with my voice quiet enough to disappear beneath the noise of the workers.Silas joined us a moment later, carrying a basket of broken stone, and he gave us a quick glance before turning toward the nearest pile of debris.“The maintenance worker I spoke to last night has just told me that the old passage runs behind three of the eastern cells, and he believes the entrance was seal
Aria’s POV I turned slowly, arching a brow. “The right thing?”She straightened, “I mean things won’t have been so complicated if you had accepted Darren. At least you’d be with your mate while your father handles the pack affairs.”Her lips curved, but her eyes glittered with something sharp. “
Aria’s POV Later that day, I found him in the training yard. Sweat gleamed down his temples as he sparred with two men, moving with lethal grace, every strike precise. My eyes betrayed me, lingering on the way his muscles flexed, the sharp cut of his jaw when he focused.When he finally noticed me
Aria’s POV “Youre too quiet and that’s usually a bad sign.”I forced a smile, “Maybe I’m just tired.”But Eros wasn’t fooled. He studied me like he could peel away my layers, see the storm underneath. “You’re thinking of your pack.” He said, his tone wasn’t accusing. It was matter-of-fact.I lifte
Aria’s POV Ronan walked in, his usual careless smirk absent for once. He looked between us, clearly sensing the tension but wisely saying nothing. “The car is ready,” he said simply.I stood, smoothing the front of my dress, and picked up my bag. The leather strap dug into my palm, grounding me.







