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Then comes the hard part.
I bite back a groan as I start to wiggle through the opening. The cold bricks of the wall dig into my stomach and I grunt as I pull myself through. I crawl out onto the roof on my hands and knees, trying not to look down because I know that if I see how far up we are, I’ll freak out and change my mind about all of this.
I crawl over to the tree branch, gulping as I see how thin the branch looks. I came this far so I drop my legs over the side of the roof and scoot toward the tree branch. Once I’m close, I wrap my legs around the branch and then push off.
I bite back my shriek as my hands cling to the tree branch. There was probably a better way to go about this but now I'm committed to scooting down this tree possum-style.
The process is slow and by the time my feet land on solid ground, the sun is starting to set. I know they must have noticed that I'm missing by now, so I take off for the forest. I run as fast as I can into the woods and don't stop until another castle comes into view.
My foot catches on a tree root, and I barely have time to cover my face before I hit the ground with a smack. The air is momentarily knocked out of my lungs, but I manage to pull myself up and hobble toward my destination.
Branches scrape my legs and arms, my left ankle is screaming at me, and I think I have a trickle of blood dripping down the side of my face, but I don’t care. It’s worth it for my freedom. Right?
Then why is there a sinking pit in my stomach at the thought of never seeing Koda again?
I’m panting and out of breath as I near this castle’s walls, and as I reach them, I hear Koda yell my name. He sounds close, and panic spikes my veins as I pick up my pace.
“Please, let me in,” I beg the guard at the gate. They both look at each other in surprise.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Salem. I was being held at King Koda’s castle. I escaped but I still need to hide from him. Please, just let me in.”
I glance over my shoulder as the sounds of branches breaking and leaves crunching gets louder. When I glance back, another man is standing with the two guards.
“You’re with Koda, right?” he asks. I shake my head.
“I need to get away from him,” I pant.
He raises his eyebrows, then glances toward the forest. I know he must hear the beast chasing me too.
“Well, let her in,” the man says with a wicked grin and the guards jump to do as he says.
I pause for a moment and wonder if I just traded one cell for another. Can I really trust this guy? I don’t even know his name.
The sound of Koda getting closer thunders in my ears, and I know I don’t really have a choice.
I dart into the gates and breathe a sigh of relief as the metal clangs shut behind me.
SEVEN
Koda
I do one nice thing and look where it gets me. Chasing some girl through the woods like a psycho.
Not some girl, my wolf growls. Our mate.
My wolf is just as pissed as I am that our mate managed to escape, but he’s focusing on the wrong thing. He seems to think this is my fault. How is it my fault? I let her out! I thought we were making progress and that she would see me letting her out of the cell as a step forward. Instead, Salem ran off, forcing me to chase her.
My wolf snarls, pushing to the surface. He reminds me of what it was like getting the news from the terrified maid that Salem was no longer in the bathroom. She was no longer anywhere. I stormed into the bath, my eyes immediately honing in on the open window.
My mate is clever, brave, and resourceful, I’ll give her that. I don’t like her using her talents against me, however.
Anger and adrenaline pump through my veins, the familiar feeling of betrayal threatening to choke me up. Mostly, however, I just want her back. I still need her in my life. I’m not done with her yet.
She’s done with us, my wolf unhelpfully adds. I growl at him, but he's right. I know he's right. Too bad I'm in no mood to deal with that pile of regret right now.
We follow Salem’s scent through the dark woods and right to Ryker’s gate. Relief hits me. He knows she’s my mate and he won’t let anything bad happen to her. I’ll just collect her, take her home, and lock her away again.
