AllFreeNovel
Share Us
So why was he trying so hard to keep going?
He took a single step away from the table.
If Isa Frost caught him, he wouldn’t have to worry about tomorrow. Wouldn’t have to worry about all the things Odin had in store for him.
Wouldn’t have to worry about how he might enjoy some of those things.
And if he didn’t, if Hunter somehow managed to make it out of this mansion without running into any of the Brumal…then what? It was back on the streets and back on the run.
Which was the lesser of two evils in this situation, really? He was finding it difficult to tell.
“Sir,” a waiter appeared then and placed a crystal glass on the table, “I was ordered to bring this to you.”
“By who?” Was it drugged? It was so drugged. Hunter wasn’t going to—
“Dominus Snow, sir,” the waiter told him, then bowed his head and left just as quickly as he’d arrived.
Hunter hesitated, waiting to see if Loni was about to rush into view and stop him. Surely if it was a lie and someone else had sent the drink over, she would know about it. When nothing of the sort happened, he lifted the glass and sniffed it.
Water.
He didn’t know whether to be grateful to Odin for sending it or pissed at the man for obviously realizing he’d been thirsty and doing nothing about it sooner.
Hunter gulped the contents and practically slammed the glass back onto the table. Despite his irritation, he started to feel a lot better. His body was weak, healed from most of his injuries, but frail from ill use. A month’s worth of bed rest would do that.
He inwardly laughed at himself. Make a run for it? He was almost winded from walking around this ballroom a couple of times. How on Sanctum did he actually think he would stand a chance at running?
Even if one of the Dominus didn’t catch him, Loni certainly would.
He’d just made the final decision to stay put when suddenly someone’s hand was on his arm, ripping him away from the table and into the crowd. People tried to move out of the way but quickly forgot all about him, seemingly uncaring that he was struggling with the person who had a hold of him.
It took a moment for him to gain his barring enough to look up, too busy trying not to trip over his own feet, but when he caught sight of who was dragging him away, his heart stuttered in his chest.
The man who’d been standing on the balcony with Isa. Hunter had recognized him. First. Isa’s second in command.
His struggles increased, but he was no match for the underboss on a good day, let alone now. Desperately, he turned his attentions elsewhere, searching for Loni, feeling the fear cloy at him even more when he couldn’t spot her.
Had something happened? Had Odin lied? Was this all part of his plan, too?
Why had Hunter trusted him enough to think for even a second that Odin wouldn’t toss him to his death to satisfy his own means?
He’d probably wanted this. Wanted to get rid of Hunter in this deplorable way. Was probably laughing somewhere, imagining the look on his face right now as—
They slipped through a door at the side of the ballroom, instantly bathed in darkness before another was opened, and he was thrust inside.
Hunter stumbled, hitting his hip against the side of something he realized was a table a moment later when the lights were flicked on. The sudden brightness blinded him, and he backed away, covering his eyes with his arm.
The sound of the door slamming shut had him risking a look, and he found himself alone. He rushed over to it, pressing his palm against the high-tech keypad at the side of the wall, only to have it beep and do nothing.
In his panic, he hadn’t taken stock of the rest of the room and hadn’t noticed the other entrance on the side until he heard the sound of a click and spun around to find Isa there.
He tilted his head at Hunter, pausing just within the doorway. “It’s locked.”
Hunter stopped trying to open it and turned to face the other man fully.
“You’ve always been horrible at masking your emotions,” Isa said, chuckling slightly as he stepped in. “Everyone could read you like a book, that was why you were never given any of the important jobs. Did you know that?”
Isa glanced around the room. “This used to be my mother’s favorite place in the entire mansion.”
