The Night I Escaped

Chapter Forty Four : The Night I Escaped

Selene’s POV

I had never heard silence so loud before.

The room felt too still, as if the air knew something was about to happen. I sat at the edge of the bed, fully dressed in dark clothes Ronan had given me. My hands were cold. My heart beat so hard it echoed in my ears.

It was time.

I stood slowly and walked toward the window. I had unlocked it earlier, just as Ronan told me. It was open slightly now, letting in the cool night breeze. I stared outside, my eyes searching the shadows.

Then I heard it.

Three soft taps.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I didn’t need to ask who it was.

I opened the window fully and looked down. Ronan stood just beneath, hidden between the trees and the side of the building, dressed in black from head to toe. His eyes met mine — calm but alert.

I took one final look around my room. Would I ever see it again? I didn’t know. But I couldn’t let that stop me.

I pushed my bag out first, then climbed through the window. It wasn’t a big drop, but my legs still shook when I landed. Ronan reached for me and steadied me.

“Stay close. Don’t say anything unless I say it’s safe,” he whispered.

I nodded.

He took my hand, and we moved.

Every step felt like walking on fire. My ears picked up every single sound — the distant creak of a wooden gate, the low voice of a guard somewhere behind the wall, the chirp of crickets. My senses were sharper than ever, and my heart refused to calm down.

We crouched low and slipped past the servants’ quarters. The windows were dark, no one was awake inside. Still, Ronan held his arm out in front of me at every corner, checking before we moved. We passed the back of the kitchen, where smoke still drifted faintly from the chimney. The scent of leftover stew clung to the night air.

He signaled for me to stop and duck behind a crate.

Footsteps.

Two guards walked out of the training hall, laughing softly. I held my breath. My knees were pressed against the dirt, and my hand clenched around a small rock for no reason. I was shaking, but I didn’t dare move.

The guards passed, talking about a shift change and how “nothing ever happens on these night patrols.”

If only they knew.

Ronan didn’t move until they were completely out of sight.

“Let’s go,” he said softly.

We moved again. Slower now, as we neared the edge of the main wall. It was too high to climb and too risky to go through the gates. But Ronan had found another way — a broken section covered with vines, nearly forgotten by everyone.

He led me past the barn, where the horses slept. I tried to stay silent, but a loose piece of hay snapped under my foot. My chest froze. Ronan turned to me quickly, and we both ducked.

Nothing.

The stable boy was probably asleep.

We reached the far edge of the wall where the vines grew wild. He pushed them aside, revealing a narrow crack between two large stones.

“This is it,” he whispered. “I checked earlier. It leads outside. It’ll scratch, but you’ll fit.”

I dropped to my knees and looked through. Darkness.

But freedom.

I didn’t think — I just moved.

The stone pressed into my shoulders and scraped my arms. My bag got stuck, and I had to yank it free. I held back a gasp when my skin tore against the rock.

But I didn’t stop.

I crawled out the other side and landed in a patch of grass just beyond the wall. The night was darker here, and the forest waited quietly ahead.

I turned just in time to see Ronan slide through, more quickly than I had.

“We’re out,” he said, brushing off his clothes. “Now we need to move. Quietly.”

But then—

A sharp whistle cut through the silence.

Then another.

And another.

Three warning howls — long and loud.

My blood turned cold.

“They know,” Ronan growled. “Run.”

And we did.

We ran like the ground behind us was on fire. I didn’t look back. I didn’t need to — I could hear them. The guards. The wolves. The footsteps pounding the earth. The sound of angry growls rising behind the trees.

My lungs screamed for air, but I kept going. Branches tore at my arms. Rocks sliced at my feet through my thin shoes. I didn’t stop.

“Left!” Ronan shouted, pulling me down a slope.

We slid through mud, nearly falling, and crashed through thick bushes. My cloak caught on a root, and I cried out as it pulled me back.

Ronan turned, saw it, and ripped it free with one hard yank. “Go!”

He didn’t leave my side. He held my hand tightly, like he knew I’d fall if he let go.

Then — I heard it.

Snapping.

Fast paws on dirt.

Growls.

Too close.

Too fast.

“We need to lose our scent!” Ronan shouted. “There’s a stream. This way!”

We sprinted until I saw the glimmer of water through the trees.

Without warning, he jumped in.

I followed.

The water was freezing. It bit into my legs and soaked me in seconds, but I didn’t care.

I could still hear them.

We waded upstream, waist-deep in parts, the current pulling at us. I slipped once, and Ronan caught me under the arm.

“Almost there,” he whispered.

We stayed in the water for minutes — maybe longer. I couldn’t tell. Time didn’t exist. Just the sound of water, our breathing, and the fear in my chest.

Finally, Ronan stopped. “Up here.”

We climbed out on the far bank and crawled behind a fallen tree. We lay flat on the cold ground, soaked and shaking.

And then…

Silence.

No more growls.

No more footsteps.

Just wind.

We waited there in the dark for what felt like forever. Finally, Ronan sat up and looked around.

“They lost us.”

I didn’t say anything.

My throat burned.

My legs felt numb.

But I was alive.

I was free.

I turned to him with tears in my eyes. “We did it?”

He nodded slowly. “We did.”

I broke.

I let out a sob I had been holding for days. Weeks. Months. I didn’t even know anymore.

He didn’t say anything.

Just opened his arms.

And I fell into them.