Chapter Two - Alina's P.o.V

The door clicks shut so fast I’m surprised I don’t take my own fingers off. My back is pressed to the wood before I even think about it.

Marcus stands a few feet away, wrapped in a loose bathrobe. Damp strands of hair cling to his forehead, and there’s still the faint scent of Sable’s perfume clinging to his skin.

The food behind my back might as well be a neon sign. His eyes drop to it immediately, and the slow, deliberate smile that spreads across his face makes my stomach twist.

He steps forward. Once. Twice. Until I can feel the heat of him radiating into the narrow space between us. I turn my head away, but his hand shoots up, his fingers gripping my chin and forcing my attention back on him.

“What’s with the feast?” he asks, his voice low and casual as if he’s genuinely interested in the answer.

I know he’s not though. I know he’s just looking for an excuse to hurt me in some way.

“I’m hungry,” I say, my expression deadpan as I wish I could just melt into the shadows.

The amber in his eyes sharpens as he senses that I'm not telling the whole truth.

“You’re hungry enough to run off in such a hurry and leave your beloved Alpha’s company so soon?” he croons dangerously as 

“I’m in pain,” I say flatly. “I wanted to rest.”

He studies me for a long, suffocating moment. Then his gaze slides over my shoulder to the door and my pulse spikes.

“I could help you with that,” he says smoothly, his eyes raking over my body,. “Some medicine, maybe.”

My grip on the doorknob tightens until my sore palm protests. He’s not getting past me. Not with who’s inside.

“Are you hiding something from me?” His tone is easy, but the curl of his mouth says lie to me, I dare you.

I’m opening my mouth to deflect when the Beta appears. His posture screams urgency as he leans in to whisper in Marcus’s ear.

His smile drops.

“No hunting,” Marcus says sharply. “Not until the King’s men leave.”

I freeze, committing the words to memory. Why would the king’s men be here of all places? I couldn’t remember a time that they had ever visited, nor a time that Marcus would have ever welcomed them with open arms.

Then he’s gone. Just like that with his Beta on his heels, the hallway is empty now except for me and the pounding in my chest.

I twist the key and push the door open.

Rowe is standing there, awake now, and as his eyes lift to mine and that genuine smile curves at the edges of his lips, my insides feel as though they’ve turned to jelly. I’ve never known a man to communicate his feelings and intent so clearly without even a single word spoken.

For a second, I just stare at him, like an absolute idiot, utterly entranced by his deep green eyes that hold me captive without any effort at all. His dark hair frames his face like he was carved by a master sculptor and try as I might, I just couldn’t stop thinking about him.

A few days ago, Marcus had sent me to clean the warriors’ training ground in the forest and that’s where I had found Rowe, sprawled under a tree, pale and covered in blood. I thought he was one of Marcus’s “hunt” victims. But he wasn’t.

He said he’d come to join the pack but that he had wandered straight into the wrong clearing, and for that he’d paid the price.

I thought maybe, just maybe, we could help each other, so I brought him back with me and hid him until his wolf had gained enough strength to heal him properly.

It was crazy to think that the last time I had seen him conscious he was bleeding under a tree and now he’s already standing upright. Its hard not to stare at his clearly powerful physique…his broad chest and wide shoulders completely dwarfing my small frame.

The fact that his bare chest is wrapped in bandages, and the faint scent of rogue still clinging to him doesn’t phase me at all. He’s an outsider, just like me…a delicious looking one at that.

“You’re awake,” I blurt as I shake myself out of this hold he seems to have on me, dragging him toward the chair. “That’s…that’s great. How are you feeling?”

I set the bread and food in front of him, pushing the jar of jam closer to him as I try to distract myself with anything that means I avoid revealing the way that I can feel my cheeks blushing furiously.

“Go on, eat. You and your wolf need the strength.”

His soulful eyes flick to the bread with disinterest and land straight back on me.

“What was going on out there?” he asked steadily, his gaze feeling as though it burnt straight through into my soul.

“Nothing worth talking about.” I answer with a shrug as nonchalantly as I could.

His gaze drops to my hands and as soon as he notices the split skin and faint bruising that’s already beginning to show, something flashes in his eyes that makes my blood run cold, but as quick as it appeared, it was gone again, his concerned gaze focused entirely on me.

“Who did that to you?” he asked, his voice soft…almost caring, and the tone he used made my heart feel as if a thousand butterflies had just erupted inside.

Stop it Alina, I chided myself. This wasn’t a damn fairytale.

“It’s not important.” I answered curtly, as I reached for the plate, but he had already reached for  the salve I had been treating him with and took hold of my hand before I could pull it back from him

“We should be planning how to get out of here, not lathering up these superficial wounds,” I said with a sigh.

“Superficial?” He asked, his eyebrows raising slightly as I avoided his gaze and refused to answer.

The silence between us seemed to stretch forever and for some reason, I felt guilty, although I couldn’t explain why.

“Why does your mate treat you like this?” he asked quietly as he focused intently on caring for the wound.

“Because I’m a wolfless omega. And an outsider. He can’t stand the idea of being tied to someone beneath him.” I sigh finally, feeling as though I owe him at least this.

After all, I felt that he needed to know I couldn’t protect myself well if we ran into trouble escaping.

“You’re not beneath anyone,” Rowe snarled suddenly with no hesitation in his voice.

I snort, half a laugh and half disbelief at the indignation and anger that seems to roll off him in waves.

“Well, thanks, I guess.” I replied, not really sure what to say. It wasn’t like I was expecting him to react so strongly to something that I had lived with all my life. It did feel nice to have someone get angry on my behalf though.  

He studies me for a few seconds, his brow furrowed.

“Something else is bothering you though,” he said seriously, and I almost believed that he actually cared, “You know, if you need to talk about it…let off some steam…it’s not like I’m going anywhere right now.”

The slight upturn of the corners of his lips as he spoke managed to pull a smile of my mown that mirrored his.

For some reason, I knew he was right. I knew that I could trust him.

So I tell him about Sable. The way that she had accepted my help when she needed it the most, yet when she saw a way to grab some little vestige of power for herself she was only too happy to twist the knife whilst opening her legs for my mate.

I told him how she seemed to delight in my mates constant attempts to make me suffer and her poisonous smirk when she knew I was hurt.

Hardest of all, I told him how deeply the betrayal had hurt me…that at one point we had been as close as sisters but that now I had realised, I was nothing to her just as I was nothing to the rest of the pack.

I let Rowe see me cry. Something I had never done for anyone other than Sable before. I had never wanted to give anyone the satisfaction of having something to use against me in the future, but it just felt right with Rowe.

All the time that he listened, he didn’t say a word and for that I was grateful. He just let me vent and the way that his jaw tightened and clenched in anger was enough of a reply for me.

For the first time in a long time I felt heard.

I felt seen..

“But, when we leave here, it’s going to be better.” I continue, brushing the tears away as I smile at him hopefully, “You’ll come with me, right? There’s nothing worth staying for in this pack.”

He hesitates before answering me.

“The pack might change though.” He answers tentatively, “Things could get better given time and honestly, you wouldn’t survive long as a rogue.”

My hope dips a little, but I nod anyway.

“You just need to have a little faith,” he says with a small smile.

“Maybe I’ll make a wish at the Moon Goddess Festival,” I say. “That both of our lives get better sooner rather than later.”

He smirks, picking up the bread.

“You might have better luck making that wish with me.”

We laugh, and for a brief moment, the room feels almost light, as if we aren’t huddled in a basement and terrified at the thought of being discovered.

His opinion won’t stop me though. I’m still going to do everything that I can to escape this place and if I die trying? Well, honestly, that option is better than what I have right now. I won’t live this way any longer. I just can’t.

I sleep better than i have for a long time that night, with Rowe’s steady breathing from the makeshift bed across the room providing a comfort that I didn’t know I had needed.

The next day, I’m still carrying that rare good mood when I head to Marcus’s office to clean, my head full of thoughts of Rowe and escaping this place together. I know that the festival’s coming up soon and If I can manage to get Rowe out in the crowd without anyone noticing, maybe we can slip away together.

I’m bent over consumed with my own thoughts as I scrub the bottom shelf, when I feel fingers suddenly tangle in my hair and yank me backwards hard.

I’m pulled to my feet and propelled around against my will, and suddenly, I find myself face to face with Sable’s smirk.

“You’ve got some nerve,” she whispers, her breath hot against my face, “Hiding a rogue in the basement.”