Episode 2: A Desperate Escape
1083 Words
*Selene’s POV*
(Ragged breaths)
Branches whipped against my skin while I ran. Their thin fingers snarled at my arms and legs. Each inhalation brought to mind my current reality, which was our continued enslavement.
Lily's tiny body clung to my chest as she tightly gripped my dress while breathing light little sobs that soaked into my clothing.
"Shh... baby," I whispered hoarsely. “We’re almost there.”
But I had no idea where there was.
All I knew was that I had to run for my life from the Blood-fang Pack. Run from him.
And so I just kept on running. My vision soon became blurry, I was already getting tired. Every muscle in me cried out for rest, but it was simply out of the question.
Not yet.
Not while I could still feel Marcus's grip on my chin where he had hissed those vile words behind my face, hot.
"You will marry me, Selene. For our daughter's sake."
That man didn’t even care about our daughter.
Tears stung at the back of my eyes, and my vision blurred. The taste of blood, that metallic taste filled my mouth while my body still ached from where he had tossed me across the bed.
I held Lily against my body as she moved before giving gentle kisses to her forehead. My focus remained entirely on her well-being because I could not let anything harm her.
Not again, I swore to myself.
EARLIER….
Marcus slammed the door behind him. The baby had been crying. He threw me on the bed and my body caused the bed to creak under the impact. I barely had time to react.
"Do you have the slightest idea of what you have done?" He growled.
I pushed up with shaking arms as the world spun around me. "I did what I should have done ages ago."
His eyes dimmed, and one instant later, he was on me with one hand tugging at my hair. "You humiliated me, Selene. In front of everyone. You made me look weak."
I bit down on my lips to stifle the yell. He wanted me to break. He wanted to see the fear in my eyes. But I wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
"Good," I spat. "You deserved it."
The next thing I knew, a slap landed on my face. The slap was furious, and my head swam with stars. I felt blood flow into my mouth as I fell weakly against the bed surface.
"There will be another ceremony." He spoke in a quiet but disturbing calmness. "Tomorrow night, and you will accept me as your mate."
I forced myself to meet his eyes, while the ring of pain still pulsed in my eyes. "I won't."
His face moved closer to me while his hold on my chin became too tight to bear. “You will do this for the sake of our daughter.”
I sobbed, hating myself for it. Hated that he could still make me feel like that, small and powerless and caged.
"You don't know what love is," I choked it out.
His expression softened, mockery disguised as affection. "I love you, Selene. I always have."
Without any additional remark, he abruptly turned his back and departed. He slammed the door shut behind him, reminding me that I would be forever his prisoner.
I fell against the door, letting my fists pound against the wood. “Let me out!” I screamed with my voice hoarse and desperate. “Marcus! You dirty bastard! You don’t know what love is!”
There was total silence at the other end of the door.
I slumped down onto the floor as my body shook with tears. My daughter's sobbing gradually quieted while she breathed heavily against my body beside me as I placed gentle hands over her pretty hair trying to find comfort in her tiny figure.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
I need to get us out of here. I won’t let her grow up here, in his shadow. She deserved better. We deserved better.
A knock that could barely be heard at all made me sit up straighter from my thinking.
I jumped up and pressed my ear against the door. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me.”
“Ahh! Iris?” I gasped.
Hushed but trembling. “Yes. I... I don’t have much time. I got a key. You need to leave. Now.”
“How will I leave? Where should I go?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just run. Take Lily and don’t look back.”
Hot tears burst out of my cheeks. “Thank you.”
The key slipped to the ground with a gentle clink. I bent down and picked it up.
“Be safe,” she whispered. “And don’t let him win.”
Her footsteps faded, leaving me alone again. But not powerless.
I locked my thoughts on us, firmly wedged the key into the lock, and turned it with an almost inaudible click. The door opened with a creak and a heavy breath, and from the other side was an assurance: the unlit hallway.
With Lily hooked to my chest, I slipped silently into the night.
The pack house was quiet; the halls were empty. I moved quickly, sticking to the walls, every step bringing me closer to freedom.
I reached the back door. My breath quickened under the cool, breezy night that signaled an end to the irritable heat indoors. I hesitated, turned back just once, and plunged into the woods.
I ran.
I ran until my lungs burned and my legs threatened to stop moving.
Branches whipped across my skin and roots twisted under my foot, but I still didn't stop. I couldn't.
We were not far now.
Just a little bit more.
I saw everything grow misty, dropping and leaning sideways. My foot snagged on something and sent me tumbling to the ground hard onto my knees.
"No," I gasped, clutching Lily tighter. "Please, not now."
I tried to lift myself up, but nothing happened. I was about to give up, I was about to lose hope but then someone approached me. His face was shadowed by the moonlight and only the hard line of his jaw and the warmth in his eyes betrayed his shape.
I looked up and blinked with my lips moving. "Who... what are you?"
But before he or I could say anything else, my eyes fluttered shut.
- Writer
