Chapter 6: Fugitive

Ella’s POV

I sit curled against the corner of my cell with my knees pressed to my chest while hunger twists inside my stomach. No one bothers bringing food tonight. Maybe they think a dead woman no longer needs to eat.

The torches along the dungeon walls crackle faintly while footsteps echo through the corridor. I keep my head lowered and quietly watch the guards switch positions outside the cells.

One sentinel leaves his post and another takes his place. The new guard lingers near my cell before lowering her hood slightly. I recognize him. It’s Ronald, one of the Gammas.

“Ella,” he whispers. “Don’t react. Vera sent me.”

Hope surges through my chest so suddenly that it almost hurts.

“She did?” I whisper back.

Ronald warily glances down the corridor.

“Keep your voice down!” he hisses. “The other sentinels are still nearby and if they catch us sneaking you out, we’re both dead.”

My pulse pounds against my ribs as I watch him fish out a key and unlock the cell. The rusty door creaks open.

“Get out. Hurry!”

He shoves an oversized black hood into my hands. I immediately pull it over my head and the fabric nearly swallows my entire body. The guard gives me a quick look before nodding.

“It’s a little too big for you, but that should be enough.”

Ronald motions for me to follow him.

We move through the maze-like tunnels of the dungeon while shadows crawl across the stone walls. I keep my head lowered and force my shaky legs to move faster. Every step feels like walking across thin ice.

Just as we are about to get to the exit, we hear footsteps echo from the opposite corridor.

“Who’s there?” another guard demands.

“Shit,” Ronald  curses under his breath before shoving me toward the next hallway. “Run!” he barks at me. “Get out of here while I try to distract him.”

“What about you?!”

“Just go!”

I hear the other guard approaching fast, so I don’t waste another second and run.

The dungeon paths blur together while panic claws through my chest. I barely know where I’m going as I sprint through narrow corridors and stairways until cold night air suddenly crashes against my face.

Fortunately, I made it outside without stumbling to another guard.

My breathing comes out ragged while I glance around wildly and realize I somehow ended up near the Blackwood mansion.

Alden…

His face flashes through my mind as I stare at the mansion.

He’s just a few meters away. If I run away now, I might never get the chance to properly talk to him again!

Now, it’s probably not a good idea to sneak inside the Blackwood mansion, not when I just escaped from the dungeons. But desperation follows no logic.

And right now, I am desperate to talk to Alden.

He needs to know the truth.

I quickly pull the hood lower over my face and sneak toward the mansion walls. Gammas patrol near the front entrance, so I avoid the main pathways and circle toward the side of the estate instead.

I learned my lesson after the last time. This time, I climb.

My fingers ache from the cold while I drag myself toward one of the second floor windows. I nearly slip twice before finally forcing the window open enough to squeeze through. I tumble inside the mansion and stop for a moment as I nervously look around.

Fortunately, the surroundings are clear.

I quietly move through the dim hallways while searching for any trace of Alden. The mansion feels strangely empty tonight, but distant noises eventually drift through the corridor ahead.

Soft noises drift through the hallway ahead.

“Ahh… Alden…”

A breathless moan slips through the crack of a slightly opened door, followed by the sound of something striking wood hard enough to make me tense.

Was that… a moan?

Another shaky gasp follows right after.

“Mmh…!”

My steps slowly come to a halt as the sounds continue spilling into the corridor.

“A-Alden…”

My stomach twists uneasily.

The noises are coming from the library. The door stands slightly ajar and warm light spills through the narrow gap while my pulse begins hammering against my chest the closer I get to it.

Then I look inside. My steps slow near the library. The sounds grow louder and louder as I step closer.

 I notice that the door sits slightly ajar. Frowning, I carefully peer through the opening.

My entire world stops at the sight before me.

Alden has Vera pressed against the library table while his mouth crashes against hers. His shirt hangs open and Vera’s dress has already slipped halfway down her body while her hands clutch his shoulders.

“Ahh… Alden…” Vera gasps against his lips as her fingers curl tighter into his shirt. “Mmh… d-don’t stop…”

My stomach drops so violently that I almost stagger backward.

No.

No no no—

I gasp.

Alden jerks away from Vera and his eyes widen the moment he sees me standing by the door.

“Ell—”

Vera turns toward me too, but unlike Alden, she doesn’t look shocked at all. She looks annoyed as if I just disturbed her moment of bliss.

I can’t believe this…

Vera and Alden? They have an affair? How long has this been going on?

Alden grabs Vera’s shirt from the floor and gives it to her. Something about the way he gently does it snags my last nerve.

Something inside me snaps.

All this time, I thought Vera was helping me. I trusted her. I believed every kind word that came out of her mouth while she sneaked around with him behind my back like a snake.

As Vera dons her top, Alden turns to me, a hint of helplessness in his eyes, but before he can say a word, I charge straight at Vera and grab a fistful of her hair.

“You lying bitch!” I scream while yanking her away from Alden. “You were sleeping with him this whole time?!”

“AHHH!” Vera shrieks while clawing at my hands. “Alden! She’s hurting me!”

Rage burns through me so fiercely that I barely recognize myself anymore.

“You disgust me!” I shout at her. “You pretended to help me while crawling into his bed like a whore!”

“Ella, stop!” Alden snaps as he grabs my arm.

I shove him away.

“How long has this been going on?!”

Was he seeing Vera the same time as me? I feel sick.

Alden still looks stunned, but his expression hardens once Vera starts crying against him.

“Guards!” he roars. “Get in here now!”

Heavy footsteps thunder down the hallway.

The Gammas burst into the library moments later and seize me before I can reach Vera again.

“Let me go!” I thrash against their grip while glaring at Vera with pure hatred. “You fake, manipulative bitch!”

One of the Gammas violently shoves me back.

“You have no right speaking to Lady Vera that way!” he snarls. “She’s going to be the future Luna.”

That makes me stop.

“W-What?” I choke on my breath.

My eyes instinctively drop toward Vera’s hand. A diamond ring gleams against her finger, and a smirk curls on her lips despite the apparent rage and disgust in her eyes directed at me.

The sight of it feels like someone drives a blade straight through my chest. I slowly look at Alden in disbelief.

He avoids my eyes for a moment before clearing his throat.

“Vera and I are engaged,” he says heavily. “She will become my Luna.”

**

I don’t even have the chance to react before the Gammas grab me once again and drag me back to the dungeons for the nth time. But I don’t bother fighting back, not when I’m still in a state of shock after what I just learned.

Vera and Alden… are engaged?!

My chest aches with pure age and pain, that even tears are not enough to express the overwhelming emotions I am feeling.

Alden is engaged to another woman. The man that I love… the father of my child. And worse, it’s with Vera! The woman I had grown to trust these past few days. The woman who promised to let me escape!

We come to a sudden halt as a deafening explosion erupts near the Blackwood mansion. The force of it shakes the ground beneath us, nearly knocking me off my feet.

“What was that?!” I gasp.

Before I can even process what happened, a familiar siren blares across the entire pack compound.

Everyone in the pack knows exactly what that sound means. We’re under attack!

Everything turns into chaos. Heavy footsteps from the summoned Deltas and Sentinels shake the ground as some of them begin to head to the mention. I hear a distant screaming somewhere.

Before I can digest what is happening, a sharp smack from my nape whacks me out of consciousness.

**

Somehow, I have developed a habit of waking up in unfamiliar places. But this time, I find myself curled up in a dark room.

At first, I'm convinced that I'm back in the dungeons.

But even the dungeons aren't this dark.

Where am I?

"Has she woken yet?"

The familiar voice of a woman jolts me up.

"V-Vera?" I rasp as I crawl to where the voice is coming.

Something heavy creaks, like the sound of metal scraping against an old unpolished floor. Then a slit of light appears in the dark room I am in. It widens and reveals a door where Vera stands.

She crosses her arms as she casts me an unmistakable look of disgust.

"Ah, good. You're awake," she drawls. “Did you have a nice sleep, princess?”

Rage spreads in my gut like a house tossed in kerosene.

"YOU—!" I bare my teeth as I lunge at her before I trip over and roll onto the dusty floor.

Something tugged on my leg and it hurts!

Horror fills me when I turn around to see something attached on my ankle--a silver shackle!

A choke cry escapes my throat as the shackles bite into my skin when I try to yank out of it.

“Don’t waste your energy. Silver is a werewolf’s kryptonite. With that much wrapped around your leg, I’m surprised you can still stand. Especially for a she-wolf as weak as you.”

“You traitorous bitch,” I spit in pure contempt.

She just rolls her eyes.

“Oh, spare me.” Vera leans against the doorway. “You think you’re in any position to be throwing insults around?”

“What is this place?” I demanded. “Where did you take me?!”

“A safe place.”

“For who?”

Her smile sharpened. “Not you.”

Cold dread slid down my spine.

“The timing is perfect, really. Everything is working out in my favor. A rogue group attacked the pack earlier, so it provided the perfect distraction to drag you away without anyone noticing.”

Is that what happened? The explosion I heard before I lost consciousness? It was a rogue attack. But if what she’s saying is true, then…

“Are you saying that we’re no longer in the pack?”

Panic swells in my gut. Where exactly is this place?

Ignoring my question, she paces around the room, smiling. “Right now, you’re nothing but a fugitive who ran away to escape her sentence.”

“But I didn’t! You’re the one who brought me here!”

My hands tremble from anger. I want to hit her!

“Oh, but they didn’t know that, right? And they’ll never know. The longer you’re gone, the angrier Alden will get.” She lets out an evil laugh. “You’ll be buried beneath every terrible thing they can say about you. You’ll be remembered as the coward and traitor who turned her back on her own Alpha, and while they spit on your name and tear your memory apart, you’ll rot in this cell until everyone forgets you ever existed.”

“You’re evil!”

I throw myself toward her again, but the silver chains snap taut around my ankle before I can reach her. Pain shoots through my leg as the shackles burn against my skin, forcing a gasp from my throat. I collapse onto the floor, my fingertips barely grazing the polished tip of Vera’s shoe.

She stares down at me with cold disdain.

“You really are pathetic.”

She nudges my hand away with the tip of her heel before turning toward the door.

“Why are you doing this to me?” My voice cracks.

Vera pauses.

“For the same reason anyone does anything.” She glances back at me over her shoulder. “Because I refuse to let someone else take what belongs to me.”

My stomach twists.

“Alden is not yours!”

“He will be. And while you waste away down here, I’ll have everything that should’ve been mine from the start. Alden, the title of Luna, and every privilege that comes with it.”

“I-I trusted you…” my voice breaks as tears sting my eyes. “I’ve never done anything wrong to deserve this! How can you be this evil?”

Vera sighs as if tired of hearing my voice.

“Whatever. Cry all you want. Believe whatever helps you sleep in this place.”

She steps outside the room without sparing me another glance. The heavy metal door groans as it swings shut.

“Wait—NO!”

Darkness swallows the room before I can finish screaming.