Chapter Five: Barely Escaped

Anastasia's POV

I froze, my entire body grew cold as I stared at the remote in his hands.

My breathing was unstable, and my heart hammered against my chest.

Why were they doing this? I asked myself, but that was obviously a stupid question. Mafias do whatever they can to get what they want, even if it’s at the expense of a life.

Looking over to Father, he didn’t even flinch, but I saw the trembling in his fingers and the red dot on his temple didn’t shift for a second.

The blonde man smiled at my reaction, like it was normal. “See?” he said, waving the remote around. “I’d rather not ruin such a lovely evening.”

My stomach twisted. I didn’t know what emotions I was feeling, anger, self-hatred, fear, or anxiety… maybe all at once.

“Call them off,” I said, trying to sound calm, but my voice cracked halfway. “If you hurt my father…”

“....you’ll what?” he interrupted. “Will you hate me, or will you try to fight me? Honestly, I prefer the latter. Haha.”

Donovan sighed beside him. “Enough. Let’s not drag this out, and call the snipers off. You’re misusing them again.”

The man tilted his head, his eyes narrowing as he stared at me. “I’m not going to ask them to shoot on a whim, you know. This is me being gentle.”

He smiled, his voice softening. “Now, Anastasia, you’ll quietly walk out with Donovan and get in the car. No screaming and no drama. I’ll join you at the estate after I’m done speaking with your parents.”

Father’s eyes met mine. He didn’t say a word, but the small shake of his head told me everything. That gesture alone told me to go.

Every muscle in my body resisted, but Donovan’s hand brushed my shoulder, guiding me toward the door while my legs moved on their own.

Outside, the mansion yard was lined with black cars. Men in suits stood everywhere, weapons in their hands. I spotted the man the blondie had shot earlier, lying beside the gate.

I still wondered why his own boss would shoot him for no reason.

We approached a larger car, almost resembling a truck, if not for the unique design. Donovan opened the back seat for me. “Get in.”

“You’re really going through with this?” I asked, speaking gently to him for the first time.

Donovan didn’t even spare me a glance. He simply shrugged. “Orders are orders. And you’ll end up not regretting it, trust me.”

I gave no reply and slid inside. The doors closed just as another guard sat in the driver’s seat, and the drive began, with a long line of cars both behind and in front of us.

The ride was awfully long and silent. I watched as the trees blurred past the car. The sky was still dark, since it was still early in the day.

I felt uncomfortable, not from the fact that I was being taken away forcefully, but because of the cars surrounding us. I Ignoring that, I pressed my palms together, forcing myself to think.

There had to be a way out.

“Stop frowning,” Donovan said suddenly, without turning. “He won’t like it.”

“That’s his problem,” I murmured.

The silence returned, minutes turned into an hour until the cars slowed down. The area we were in was surrounded by forest, leaving nothing but a long, straight, empty road.

My heartbeat suddenly increased. If I was going to escape, this was my last chance. My eyes drifted to the window switch, but it was locked.

“Hey,” I said softly. “Can you open the window? I feel sick.”

“Deal with it,” the driver muttered.

I instinctively leaned forward, hugging myself. “I swear, I’m throwing up in this million-dollar car if I can’t get enough air.”

He groaned and lowered the window halfway. Cold air rushed in, mixed with the fresh scent of wet wood and rain.

Without thinking twice, I raised my legs the moment they stopped paying attention and kicked the glass covering the window, startling the two men in front. I quickly slipped through the gap, not caring about the shards that cut into my skin.

I was better off injured and free than a prisoner in my so called husband’s house.

The car pulled to an abrupt stop, and I fell to the ground from the force. Taking a deep breath, I forced myself up, gripped my wounded arm, and made a run for it, bolting into the forest beside the road.

“Shit! Anastasia!” Donovan roared behind me. “Get back here!”

“Fuck You!” I yelled back.

Before I knew it, the other cars stopped.

“Open fire!”

Gunshots tore through the air, filling the silence of the forest. Each bullet hit the ground behind, in front, and beside me, which meant they were targeting my legs.

However, I could hear growls and barks accompany the gunshots. I slowed down and glanced back, but froze.

Some of the guards had shifted, and some were still shifting. Their bodies stretched and grew larger, eyes glowing in different colors, the majority, a burning red.

“Donovan the boss already arrived.” one of them snarled mid-shift while I turned to keep running.

Donovan nodded at what his subordinate said and then shouted, “Draco! She’s running toward the east slope!”

The name hit me like a punch to the gut.

I know that name… why do I know that name?

What does he have to do with the Vasilevs? It couldn’t be right...

I asked myself, even though I already knew it was. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. It was times like this I wished I was a werewolf too, but I had to do all I could to escape.

Tears flowed down my cheeks unknowingly. My heart and lungs burned. The sound of growls and galloping drew closer and closer.

“Draco!” Donovan’s voice came again. “She’s taking a turn, left!”

If he was here, then that meant…

I didn’t think. I couldn’t afford to slow down.

I ran faster. The gunfire and growls followed close behind, echoing through the forest.

When the noise finally faded, I slowed down but stumbled over a tree branch and fell. My entire body was shaking, drenched in sweat, and covered in bruises from branches scraping my skin.

“What do I do?” I whispered. I couldn’t head back home with werewolves on my tail. I couldn’t afford to put Father and Mother in danger.

I had already made a mistake by ruining the marriage deal. Anything more, and I’d actually end up losing one, if not both of them.

“Do you really think you could run from me?” a voice came from behind me. The hairs on my skin rose, and a shiver ran down my spine.

I slowly turned around, raising my gaze to the figure standing there. Pale under the dim sky, eyes peering into my soul. His shirt was half-open, revealing the bandages across his chest.

“Stay away from me,” I said with a shaky breath, forcing myself to stand. “If you dare come closer, I’ll shoot you.”

He smiled. “You don’t have any weapons on you.”

I didn’t answer, I slowly took a step back.

“You make it hard not to chase, you know that?”

“Who are you?” I asked, though I already knew.

He stepped closer, ignoring the question. “I don’t want to hurt you, Anastasia. And I don’t like seeing you hurt. Why do you keep putting yourself in danger?”

“Stay away from me!”

He kept coming. “You’ll freeze out here before sunrise. Just come with me.”

“I’d rather die.”

His expression hardened. “You’re slowly getting on my nerves.”

Before he could take another step, something heavy slammed into the back of his head, hard and I gasped.