Chapter 7

Her eyes swept across the room one more time before catching on something near the far corner.

A vent.

Small enough to miss if someone wasn’t looking carefully.

Nova frowned slightly and moved closer.

The metal grate sat low along the wall beside a cabinet, one side hanging just slightly loose from the screws holding it in place.

Her pulse quickened instantly.

No way.

She crouched carefully beside it and pressed her fingers against the grate.

Very loose.

Nova glanced quickly toward the door Slowly, she tugged harder The grate popped free with a faint metallic creak Nova froze instantly.

Silence.

Dust drifted from the opening as darkness stretched out behind it.

The vent shaft looked cramped and narrow, barely large enough for her to fit through.

Perfect.

Nova shoved the grate quietly aside before lowering herself onto her stomach and squeezing into the vent.

Cold metal scraped against her elbows immediately.

The space was tight enough to force her to crawl inch by inch through the darkness while dust coated her hands and clothes.

Nova grimaced.

This was definitely how people died in horror movies.

Still, she kept crawling.

Every small metallic groan from the vent made her heart jump painfully into her throat.

Please don’t collapse.

Please don’t collapse.

The farther she moved, the louder the compound became beneath her.

Voices echoed faintly through the vents.

Nova finally reached a split in the shaft and paused, breathing hard while she listened carefully.

“…she threatened to shoot him.”

“That’s honestly less violent than I expected.”

A few muffled chuckles followed.

Nova rolled her eyes and crawled the opposite direction.

After another minute, light suddenly appeared through another vent opening ahead.

Nova slowed carefully and peeked through the slats beneath her.

Her breath caught instantly.

The room below looked like some kind of war center. Massive maps covered entire walls while wolves crowded around long tables stacked with weapons, radios, and supplies. Guards moved constantly through the room carrying reports back and forth.

And standing directly in the center of it all…

Was the alpha himself.

Nova froze.

Even surrounded by wolves twice her size, the Alpha somehow dominated the entire room effortlessly.

silver eyes focused sharply on the wolves arguing around him.

“You should’ve informed the council immediately,” one older wolf snapped.

“And say what?” Kael growled back. The human is my business and my business alone.

Another wolf lowered his voice cautiously. “The pack’s already talking.”

“They can talk.

One of the older wolves spoke again carefully. “If the infection mutates further what will you do alpha.

A dangerous growl rumbled from the alpha.

The sound instantly silenced the entire room.

“No one touches her.”

Silence settled heavily across the war room.

Nova swallowed hard.

Slowly, very slowly, she began backing away from the vent opening.

Kael’s voice still echoed faintly through the shaft behind her, but she ignored it completely and kept crawling.

Faster now.

The narrow vent twisted sharply through the tower walls until finally a faint draft of cold air brushed against her face.

Nova nearly sighed in relief.

Outside.

It had to be outside.

She crawled toward the dim light ahead until the vent finally opened near the outer edge of the tower.

Nova stayed perfectly still for a moment.

Listening.

No footsteps.

No voices.

No movement nearby.

Good.

Carefully, she reached forward and began prying the vent cover loose inch by inch.

The metal creaked softly.

Nova froze instantly.

Silence.

Nothing.

Slowly she pushed harder until the grate finally popped free into her hands.

Cold night air rushed over her immediately.

Freedom.

Nova carefully pulled herself out onto a narrow steel platform running along the outside of the tower.

She crouched low beside the wall, breathing hard.

The platform stretched around the tower before connecting to an old maintenance ladder leading downward toward the lower rooftops.

Perfect.

Nova glanced back toward the open vent one last time before slowly moving toward the ladder.

Behind her, distant voices echoed faintly from inside the tower.

“…check the east hall.”

“She couldn’t have gotten far.”

Nova smirked slightly.

Good luck with that.

She carefully grabbed the ladder and started climbing downward.

Halfway down, voices drifted up from a nearby rooftop.

“…Alpha’s gonna lose his mind.”

“He already has.”

Nova paused slightly.

Another wolf laughed nervously. “Seriously though, who escapes through vents?”

Nova silently continued climbing.

Smart people.

That’s who.

At the same moment, another voice echoed faintly from somewhere above.

“Search the upper floors again.”

Shit it was the alpha

Nova immediately flattened herself against the ladder, holding her breath.

Heavy footsteps moved across the platform above her.

Nova stared downward muscles locked tight as she held her breath and hope they didn’t find her.

The footsteps paused.

For one horrifying second, she thought he’d seen her.

Then Kael cursed quietly under his breath.

“She couldn’t have vanished,” he growled.

Another wolf answered nervously, “Maybe she’s still inside.”

Nova bit back a grin.

Kael exhaled sharply before his footsteps moved away again across the platform overhead.

Only after the voices faded did Nova finally breathe again.

That had been way too close.

Carefully, she resumed climbing down the ladder toward the lower rooftops.

Freedom was right there.

She just needed to get past the wolves on the ground and somehow find a way around the massive walls surrounding the compound.

Easy.

Totally easy.

Nova finally reached the bottom of the ladder and crouched low behind a rusted ventilation unit

The compound stretched endlessly below.

Floodlights swept across the yard every few seconds while armed wolves patrolled in groups between buildings. Massive steel barricades surrounded the entire territory, reinforced with barbed wire and thick metal plating scavenged from the ruins of the city.

No wonder Hollowfangs hadn’t overrun this place.

It was basically a fortress.

Unfortunately for her…

Fortresses worked both ways.

Nova stayed low and slowly scanned the yard below.

Two wolves near the gate.

Three on the western wall.

Another pair walking patrol near what looked like a garage.

Her eyes narrowed.

There.

Near the far side of the compound wall sat a drainage tunnel large enough for floodwater to pour through beneath the barricade.

Too small for a wolf.

Perfect for her.

Nova’s pulse quickened immediately.

Okay.

That could work.

She just needed to cross the compound without getting caught.

Simple.

Probably.

Nova carefully moved along the rooftop edge, keeping low beneath the sweeping floodlights.

Every distant growl made her tense instantly.

The wolves down below moved fast as the patrol the area.

Nova reached another rooftop and slowly peeked over the edge toward the courtyard below.

A group of wolves stood near a fire barrel talking quietly.

“…Alpha’s tearing the tower apart looking for her.”

“Good luck explaining that to the council.”

“She escaped through a vent. That’s honestly impressive.”

Nova smirked slightly.

Damn right it was.

The moment the wolves turned away, she dropped silently onto the lower rooftop and hurried across the surface

toward the drainage tunnel.

Almost there.

Almost free.

Then a howl suddenly ripped through the compound.

Every wolf below froze instantly.

Nova’s stomach dropped.

Another howl answered from the outer walls.

Then shouting erupted.

“Movement outside the barricade!”

“Hollowfangs approaching east side!”

Floodlights immediately swung outward toward the darkness beyond the walls.

Nova quickly ducked behind a stack of crates as wolves rushed across the compound below her.

The entire fortress exploded into motion.

Perfect.

Nova took the opportunity immediately.

While wolves sprinted toward the eastern barricades and alarms screamed across the compound, she bolted from behind the crates and made a beeline straight for the drainage tunnel.

Don’t look back.

Don’t stop.

The sounds around her became chaos.

The tunnel was tighter than she expected.

Sharp rusted edges scraped painfully along her arms and shoulders as she forced herself deeper inside.

Behind her the noise of the compound became muffled.

Nova gritted her teeth and shoved harder.

Almost there.

The opening narrowed painfully around her ribs for one terrifying second before she finally slipped through the other side and tumbled hard into wet grass beyond the compound walls.

Nova sucked in a shaky breath and quickly rolled onto her stomach behind thick overgrown brush.

Floodlights swept across the outer walls while wolves rushed along the barricades preparing for the Hollowfangs gathering deeper in the ruins.

But none of them saw her.

A grin slowly spread across Nova’s face despite the pain from squeezing through the small opening.

She actually did it.

Holy hell.

Nova quickly pushed herself upright and backed farther into the darkness surrounding the compound.

She needed distance.

Fast.