AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 11
Meira
“Please don’t lock me in there,” I plead with Bardhyl, who shoves open the door to a seemingly random room in the castle. Once Kenley’s mate returned home, Bardhyl collected me from her home and brought me back to the castle without so much as a word.
“Don’t make me carry you inside. It’s for your own safety.”
There’s an edge to his voice, which scares me. I step into the empty room. No furniture, just a lit fireplace.
He shuts the door and locks me in.
I dig my hand into my pocket and pull out the two metal rods from the last room, then make my way to the door. This palace has old locks, which are ridiculously easy to pick. But I wait a little while to ensure Bardhyl is gone.
I spent hours with Kenley, listening to her stories about living alone before her transformation. The similarities between our stories are uncanny. By the end, I decided I really like her. But I also don’t want to be closed up in a room and wait for Dušan to come and just mark me. I’ve met three Alphas who have connected with my wolf, and I want to understand that more.
Kinley suggested I spend more time getting to know my potential mates, as the transition will be easier. And tonight, I want to visit Lucien and talk to him to see if there’s any way I can avoid a mating with Dušan. I hate him for kidnapping me…And I hate him more because of the way my wolf and body betray me around him. How they long for him. If I had my head on straight, I wouldn’t dream about kissing him. It’s best we stay apart. Lucien seems the most approachable of the Alphas I’ve met so far.
I jam the two metal rods into the keyhole and twist and fiddle with them until I hear the familiar clicking sound.
Quickly, I slip out of the room and speed down the corridor. The moon is full tonight. I can feel it on my skin, and the wolf inside me stirs more than usual.
A wolf bays in the distance.
Not stopping, I move in and out of hallways, up steps, and then repeat. It’s only when I’m standing in a narrow arched door looking out into the woods behind the fortress that I quickly forget about Lucien. I’ve found a way out of the castle, and maybe while the night cloaks the ground, I can find a possible way through the surrounding fence.
I still haven’t come to terms with the idea of an Alpha marking and owning me.
So I slip outside into the balmy night. Overhead, the enormous moon hangs low, illuminating the mountains in its silvery hue.
With quick steps, I head away from the main part of the fortress and rush into the forest inside the fence.
Twigs crunch, and I twist around to find no one there. I keep going as more and more growls and snapping of foliage move in closer. I pause and press my back to a tree, my heart galloping. Shadows dart around me. Maybe this is a mistake… I should come out first thing in the morning to find a way out.
A figure lingers near—out of sight, but whoever it is, they aren’t leaving me.
I scan the trees behind me for escape.
There’s no answer, but danger snaps in the dark across my skin. Still, I know the man is still there. I can now smell him, his scent…his desire. My boots scrape the soft forest floor as I step back once more. A howl cuts through the air in the distance. It’s low and sorrowful, and the sound slices through me like a knife.
A desperate howl sounds…One call of a beast to another.
That’s what was inside me—a beast that refuses to come out. I swallow the bitter tang of acid as a snap of a twig comes from somewhere to my right.
Shadows shift. I feel them more than see them, just like I feel everything around me now.
Like the moon…
The silver glow throbs in the air, sending shudders along my skin. My heart pounds in response, the tremors carving through my body.
Another sound cuts through the air, only this is somewhere behind me.
“They’re coming for you.”
I flinch at the words and jerk my gaze to the darkened thatch of trees. Dušan steps out of the shadows, striding with long, purposeful steps until he stands in the moonlight.
His soft blue eyes look almost silver in the night. I’m trapped in them, nailed to the spot as he steps closer. His long, dark hair dances in the air with the movement and my breath catches in my chest.
“I told you,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. “I want nothing to do with any of this.”
