Chapter 7

"You’re bleeding. Eve, sit down. Come—"

Beta John’s voice was calm, but I didn’t have the patience to hear it. My hands shot up, grabbing his arm, gripping him like he was my last lifeline.

"Sir, please," I rasped, my voice trembling. "They took her. I don’t know what to do—"

“Eve," he interrupted, his brow creased with concern. "You’re not fine. You’re injured. First, let us—"

“No!" The word erupted from me, sharp and raw. I didn’t care if my voice cracked or if my ribs screamed in protest. Desperation surged in my veins like fire. "Why don’t you understand? I am fine! But she’s not! God knows what those men are doing to her! I need you to find them—I need you to do something! Talk to your highness for me, sir! Please!”

My outburst left him momentarily stunned. His hand dragged through his hair, his expression shifting to one of reluctant defeat.

“Fine," he muttered. "Tell me her residence number, and I’ll send my men to search thoroughly.”

My heart plummeted. Panic clawed at my chest as I avoided his eyes, staring instead at the paper he held out to me. My vision blurred, the weight of my lie crushing down on me.

“Eve?"

I didn’t answer. My hands were clammy, trembling as I tried to think, to fabricate something that wouldn’t expose me. My mind raced, but my silence only stretched, drawing his suspicion.

“Eve, her number?”

“I—I don’t remember,” I stammered, my voice barely audible.

He sighed, the sound heavy with disappointment. “Fine. Then give me your number. It will help lodge a report, and I can look into it.”

My stomach twisted. Shit.

“P...N 1365,” I blurted out, the lie spilling from my lips before I could second-guess it. It sounded plausible—two letters, four numbers, just like the format I’d seen before.

He studied me for a moment, then nodded. “Fine. Settle down now. Relax. I’ll speak with the Alpha tomorrow—”

“But I want to talk to him right now!”

His expression hardened. “It’s one o’clock in the morning, Eve. This isn’t the appropriate time. His Highness never deviates from his schedule, and barging in at this hour won’t help your case. I promise, yours will be the first matter he hears tomorrow. Fine?”

I nodded begrudgingly, biting back the frustration that threatened to spill over. He didn’t understand. Every second felt like a lifetime, every delay another moment Lilly was left at the mercy of monsters.

“Now, wait here until I get a doctor. Okay?”

I nodded again, but my agreement was hollow. My gaze followed him as he walked away, his footsteps echoing through the hall.

The second he disappeared, I moved. This is my chance.

The hall was quiet, the kind of silence that made your breath sound like a storm. I crept along the walls, my movements slow and deliberate, my ribs screaming with every step. Shadows stretched and danced under the flickering torches, making every corner feel like it hid something waiting to pounce.

The place was massive, a labyrinth of cold stone and endless corridors. My heart pounded in my chest as I ducked behind a pillar, narrowly avoiding a guard’s passing footsteps.

Finally, I spotted it—a door unlike the others. Its towering frame was lined with ornate gold handles, the wood dark and polished, exuding an air of authority. This has to be it.

I glanced around, ensuring no one was watching, then slipped inside.

The room was dark, the kind of darkness that swallowed sound. The faint glow of moonlight filtered through the tall windows, casting silvery patterns on the floor. My breathing was ragged, uneven, as I pressed my back against the closed door.

For a moment, I thought I was alone. But then, faint footsteps sounded outside, and fear gripped me like a vice. My hands trembled as I pressed them to my chest, willing myself to stay silent.

This was a mistake.

I should’ve waited. Should’ve listened.

“Eve! Where are you? Eve!” Beta John’s voice boomed in the distance, growing louder with every passing second. "Goddamn it, this girl!"

My breath hitched, my heart racing. I took a step back, my body pressing deeper into the shadows of the room, but then—

Warm breath.

It ghosted against the back of my neck, the kind of sensation that sent icy tendrils of dread curling down my spine.

I froze.

There’s someone here.

I spun around, my eyes darting across the room, but all I saw was an empty bed, its massive frame bathed in moonlight.

What? No. I wasn’t imagining it. I felt it.

Before I could move, a force slammed into me from the front, sending me sprawling backward. My body hit the mattress hard, my limbs flailing in a futile attempt to push myself up.

Before I could catch my breath, a towering figure loomed over me, his presence swallowing the room like a storm. He moved with the grace of a predator, deliberate and unrelenting, until there was no space left between us.

My chest heaved as I stared up, the air stolen from my lungs as the moonlight caught his face.

Grey eyes.

Piercing and cold, like twin shards of silver ice. They bore into me, unyielding, merciless.

And in that moment, I knew I had walked straight into the den of a monster.

Shit!