Can't Escape Novels & Stories

I’m stuck. Alina looked up at me. “Well, what are you waiting for?” “My wolf can’t shift,” I replied, completely confused. This had never happened before. Why now? “I guess now we’re even. Neither of us have wolves.” “I have a wolf!” I argued, raising my voice. Alina looked away, surveying our surroundings, before returning her gaze to me. “The border isn’t this high all the way around. The path into the forest near the packhouse is flat ground. We should follow the border and exit from there.”

Something pulled inside me, asking to be let through. That’s it, Lyra said. I’ll take it from— Pain spiked too fast, white and hot. My knees dipped. The pull slipped, like a door slamming shut from the other side. Amelia, you have to let me take control, Lyra said, but the pain was too much, and no matter how hard I tried to let go, I just couldn’t— “No—” The shift faded out. I steadied myself, frustrated. “I can’t.”

He just wanted to escape. *********************************

You have invited pain for yourself by trying to escape. ………….

Ash burst across the marble floor like a cloud of smoke. My mother's ashes. I froze. Then dropped to my knees, frantically trying to gather them with trembling hands. But I couldn't. No matter how I tried, I couldn't hold her. Then—coffee splashed across the floor. Shelly laughed. "Oops!" Others followed. Cups tilted. Brown liquid seeped into white dust, turning it into something sticky and foul. Something unrecognizable. "AHHH!" Something inside me broke. My wolf shattered the shackles of reason.

She cooked it into his meals three times a day for years. Over time, he lost his ability to have children, and she never got pregnant again. Mom once told me, “No matter how hard it is, you must survive. Find a way to escape from here.” She spent her whole life trying to leave this place. On her tenth attempt, she tried to escape with Eve. They were so close, just one step away… That was when Mike accidentally alerted the villagers and surrounded them. Without hesitation, Mom shielded Eve, taking the blows meant for her. The villagers attacked her with sticks and fists, and the blows rained down on Mom.

Fast. “Listen,” Alaya looked at me with sorrow in her eyes. “You remind me so much of Sariya. I wouldn’t wish her fate on you, but escaping from here is truly impossible. Between the roaming lone werewolves and the wild beasts, our valley is surrounded by mountains. There’s only one road out through the gorge, and it’s guarded. And even if you hide somewhere inside the valley, sooner or later the king’s guards will find you.” “Can you read minds?” I asked in surprise—because honestly, at this point, anything seemed possible.

How could I have dared to even think about him that way? How could I have let myself want his touch, even for a second, knowing what he was? “The only thing I can see now,” I said, my voice low, raw, “the only thing I can possibly do, is escape. I can’t confront him, not at this point, and I definitely can’t just wait it out until my supposed time is up. Two years from now feels like the end of my life, not a possibility of freedom.” “An escape.” She picked up on the word, a flicker of something, maybe curiosity, maybe calculation, in her eyes. “Yeah. An escape that should work fine.”

But it feels like an eternity as I wrestle with my thoughts. "Let's escape right now. We can't die like this," Sasha's voice whines in my head. I feel a surge of panic and uncertainty grip me as I consider her words. The temptation to flee is strong, but I know that running away won't solve anything. With a deep breath, I steel myself and push aside the impulse to escape, determined to see this through to the end, whatever it may be. "Stop being dramatic, nothing is going to happen," I say to Sasha, attempting to reassure her, but my erratic breath betrays my unease.

Once they had their say, I ripped my hand away from Cecelia's grasp hard and said sternly, "Cecelia." Cecilia froze as she didn't expect that reaction. Lillian and Isabel quickly sensed something was wrong and exchanged glances. "Maddie, what's wrong?" Cecelia whimpered, squeezing a few drops of crocodile tears. "We will end up homeless if you insist on moving out," she cried. "I still have a huge number of installments in my Apple Pay Later and Klarna accounts to settle." I took out my phone, opened my WhatsApp, and tapped on the "Free Riders Club" group chat.