“Ah,” he murmured, crouching over me and inspecting my exposed body. “How I’ve missed your lovely voice. You beg so wonderfully.”
He didn’t touch me, though. Not this time.
Sometimes Marco would taunt me, exposing his knot and waving it in front of me until I became feral with need.Sometimes he would even let me close my lips around it, just long enough for me to taste what my body craved more than anything. Today, he only watched, keen eyes assessing how close I’d come to my limit.
“Remember, this was your choice, Lena,” he said as he stood. “You could be panting with pleasure, satisfied and content. Instead, you’re a pathetic puddle on the floor, crying out desperately for relief,” he said, tutting softly. “Now I’ll satisfy my rutt upstairs with one of my other omegas.”
"Please, Marco!" I begged, voice raw from disuse. "Please knot me! I'll do anything!"
He tutted again, "You know it's too late for that. Maybe next heat, you'll say 'yes' before–"
The door swung open, and one of his top lieutenants, Luca, rushed in.
“Sir,” he said nervously.
If there was anyone I hated more than Marco, it was Luca.
“What is it, Luca?” Marco snapped. “You know better than to interrupt now!”
“I’m sorry, sir, but you said if anything came in from General Green, you wanted to be notified immediately. I thought you’d want to see this. It’s urgent.”
The man held out an envelope, stamped with the Arca emblem, which Marco ripped from his hands. He unfolded a letter, reading part of it, as his expression shifted from stern to furious.
“Fuck!” he roared, then turned to Luca. “Gather everyone. Send messengers to the Russo family as well.”
He barked orders rapidly as he turned on his heel and left the room. Marcos' rabid dog followed. The door slammed shutbehind them.
I had grown very adept at infuriating Marco, but whatever was in that message had enraged him far beyond anything I’d ever managed. Then realization hit me. In the fog of his fury, he hadn’t locked the door. It slammed shut with a sharp sound, but I hadn’t heard the familiar click of the deadbolt.
The door stood unlocked!
I could escape.
Except my body was still in agony. I could barely unfold myself from the fetal position, let alone stand, walk, or leave the confines of my room. I’d been in heat for some time, but not long enough for the contractions to ease. By the time they did, someone would notice the unlocked door.
I had no other choice.
In five years, I'd never gotten this chance.
Marco’s words from earlier replayed in my head.
Every heat takes something from you. I’ll keep chiseling away at what’s left until there’s nothing to resist with.
He was right. Eventually, I would give in. I’d come terrifyingly close this time, having genuinely considered it. If I didn’t escape now, I wasn’t sure I would survive another heat.
As that realization settled in, the image followed, like it always used to. Before this place, they formed in my mind more clearly. Captivity had dulled my brain.
Still, in the haze of heat, through the panic and pain, I saw it.
A map. The basement first, then the long hall I’d walked after the stairs. Years ago, Luca had brought me down hereblindfolded, so I’d never seen the upper floors, yet the layout, the turns, even the shift from cold air to warmth as we entered the house, all aligned in my mind.
Every detail I’d gathered laid itself out, telling me which turns to take, forming an escape path .
The map was so clear in my mind.
Another image surfaced alongside the first.
Two outcomes unfolded at once in my mind. One ended with me still on the floor, the door locked again, the chance to escape gone so completely it might never return. The other carried me forward, through the halls, up the stairs, and out into freedom.
