Soren's Blackfire Luna(Breeder#5)

Chapter 9 : Free At Last

My heart sank as I passed the office. Soren had seemed like a nice guy. I let myself believe that he was different and that he was good and decent.

But he wasn't. I had been very, very wrong. He was like everyone else I encountered.

Groaning under my breath, I headed down the stairs, taking one at a time to make sure nothing would creak.

As soon as I hit the bottom of the stairs, I heard muffled laughter and saw lights flooding most of the first floor of the inn.

“Crap," I whispered.

It was late and I assumed everyone would have retired. Especially with Soren's clandestine meeting by candlelight in his office.

The main floor of the inn, where there was a bar and food, was busy as ever. Well, that would make slipping out quietly and unnoticed more complicated.

I walked into the main lobby and everyone got quiet, staring at me. I glanced toward the front door as they watched me. It wasn't the right time to try and make a run for it. I already knew I wouldn't get far.

Instead of going to the door, I smiled awkwardly and turned toward the bar. The shifters in the lobby followed me with their eyes. It was unnerving how they never looked away from me.

As I passed by, I nodded to them.

“Good evening. I was just feeling thirsty and thought I'd grab a drink," I said cheerily. I smiled brightly.

One of the shifters grunted and they went back to talking quietly to each other.

“The bar is open all night," another said, smiling back and nodding toward the bar entrance.

Sighing in relief, I headed on my way. At least, they didn't try to stop me.

Walking through the inn, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. The shifters in the lobby seemed more like guards on duty. There were shifters in the bar, too, that looked like they were there to guard rather than drink and have a good time.

This wasn't just some random inn I'd stumbled into. They were organized and this seemed more like a base than a place to socialize. I saw a lot of the same faces in the bar as I'd seen the last time I was there.

That seemed strange.

At most inns, people came and went. But these guys seemed like they lived here.

Why would they live in an inn and why would they need to guard it?

That didn't make sense for a simple inn, and I had been in plenty of those.

Thinking back, Soren having an office and everything also seemed out of place. I hadn't thought about it while I was eavesdropping, but what inn converted a room into an office for one guy? Did he own the inn?

Even if he did, there should have been a manager's office on the first floor. Why would he need to convert a bedroom?

If anything, this inn was more like a pack house.

But that made even less sense! I knew that I was for sure, without a doubt in a rogue zone. There weren't any packs or alphas here. These shifters were not a pack, either.

And yet… I'd seen the way they were with Soren. They never called him Alpha but they showed him a lot of respect and obviously revered him. He was their leader in some capacity.

I headed to the bar and ordered myself a drink. Everyone was pleasant enough, smiling at me and offering quick greetings. The news of my presence had spread to all of them, which wouldn't have happened if this was a regular inn.

There was definitely more going on here.

I took my drink to a table in the corner and sat down with my back to the wall. I could see the entire room from there while also remaining out of the way and unnoticed.

There were guards by the bar entrance, guards in the lobby, and more guards by a hallway to the left.

With all these guards, would I really be allowed to walk out the front door? Soren had been investigating me. It seemed more likely that he wanted to keep me around and get some answers, especially with all these guards hanging around.

Slowly, I turned my glass in my hands. I hadn't taken a sip yet, still pondering the best escape.

One thing I knew about guards was that they worked in shifts.

I took a gulp of my beer to make it look like I was just there to have a good time. I didn't need to draw any more attention to myself.

As time went on, people stopped glancing at me curiously. I had become a fixture on the wall, nothing special or out of place.

Suddenly, the guards at the hallway entrance straightened up and started walking off.

I glanced at everyone else in the bar. Some of them were passed out on tables, the rest were pretty bubbly and drunk.

The guards were changing shifts. Now was my chance!

I grabbed my backpack and slipped down the hallway. No one was watching me and the new shift hadn't arrived yet.

The hallway was dimly lit and I blended into the shadows. It would be much easier to stay hidden when the new guards arrived, and for that, I was grateful. I couldn't hear any voices down the hallway, either.

There had to be a side door on the inn, otherwise, why would the guards be protecting the hallway? There wasn't anything down this way but a big empty even room and a room with card tables.

Both were dark and empty and didn't look like they'd been used in a long time.

There wouldn't be a reason to guard it if there wasn't a way outside. At least, that was my thinking.

“Score," I muttered when I came to the door. And once again, my knowledge of guards and escape routes had paid off.

I tested the door handle. It wasn't locked.

Suddenly, I paused. This was almost too easy. If they were really concerned about someone getting in, they'd lock the door and have guards in the hallway.

The inconsistency in security was troubling.

I chewed my lower lip debating whether or not I should turn the handle. There could be more guards waiting for me on the other side of the door. Either that, or there was a security system I hadn't considered.

This was an old inn, though, and no one would want to stand around outside at night in the frigid desert. That was cruel and unusual punishment.

In all likelihood, I was just being paranoid.

Sighing, I pushed the door open.

Screech! Screech! Screech!

An alarm blared and blinding lights flashed on in the hallway.

“Ow," I groaned, covering my ears.

Squinting through the lights, I tried to find a place to hide. The doors to the event room and card room were too far away and over the screaming alarm, I could already hear approaching footsteps.

I crouched down in the white, blinding lights. Even if I did run, the guards had already seen me. They'd be down my neck in a second.

I could push out the door and try my luck in the village but I still wasn't up to full strength. My joints still ached and I wouldn't be able to outrun them.

Suddenly, shifters swarmed around me, pointing weapons at me.

I shuddered and looked around at them. There were five shifters. Two had guns, one had a spear. I couldn't see the weapons the other two had.

If I tried to fight my way out, I'd never make it. I had as much chance of surviving a fight against these guys and their weapons as I did in running away. Even at full strength, I wasn't a match for guns with my little knife.

There was no point in risking myself by attacking or doing something rash, either.

What would it accomplish?

My options were limited but there had to be something I could do!

The alarm cut off and the blinding lights dimmed.

That helped. I stood up straight and surveyed my surroundings. There had to be some way out of this that allowed me to escape and upped my chances of getting away safely.

The guards parted in front of me and Soren appeared. He saw me and pursed his lips as he approached.

“Are you leaving?" he asked, nodding to the partially opened door behind me.

I composed myself and nodded. “Yes. I will remember how you helped me and saved my life but I have to go now." I kept my voice steady and looked right at him, showing I didn't care what he thought about the matter.

“Hmm, well, you see, I'm not sure you've told me everything about you. If trouble happens to come looking for you here, who will compensate me for my trouble?" he asked. His voice was steady and smooth but there was no mistaking the threat under it all.

I narrowed my eyes at him. This had to be a trick question of some kind. He already knew my history, or enough of it. I'd heard him discussing it upstairs with his lackey.

What kind of game was he playing now?

I wasn't going to answer quickly and lock myself into some kind of trap. He was testing me and I needed to figure out what to say so I could slip out of this situation.

Soren threw his head back and laughed, clutching his chest.

I stared at him, eyes wide as saucers. What the hell was going on? He had a split personality or something!

“Put your weapons away, she's free to go," Soren ordered, making a motion to the guards to put their weapons away.

None of them moved at first. I saw them exchange confused looks.

Soren shot them each a look.

“Do I need to repeat myself?" he asked.

He was so much like an alpha, I was shocked that he was here with a band of rogues. He should have been leading a pack. Clearly, he'd be good at it.

I wondered what secrets he had that landed him in a place like this. Maybe we had more in common than I thought.

The guards put their weapons away with inaudible mumbles.

“Step back, give her space," Soren ordered them and this time, they didn't hesitate. “Mila, go ahead. Know this… other places will certainly be more dangerous than here. If you need a safe place to recoup, you are welcome back here."

I wasn't expecting his invitation and I faltered for a moment. It was something a good guy would do. It was also something someone that wanted something from me would do. Make me feel safe and welcome until they could get what they wanted.

I licked my lips and nodded as I reached for the door handle again.

“Thank you for your kindness," I said.

Soren nodded.

I threw the door open and flew into the night shadows. I was free at last!