Chapter 4: The Escape
1290 Words
Chapter 4
Anna’s POV
Warm Bread.
Steamy Stake.
My body trembles in response to the scent, begging me to cave in. I won't.
Like hell I'll give him the satisfaction of seeing that. Not after I've endured three long days in here.
“Are you done being stubborn now?" Levi Steele, Nathan's beta, speaks up.
It's the same man that almost crushed Jacob's head into the floor.
Ironic of him to think I'd even accept a glass of water from his hands.
"Still not gonna talk, huh? You know you're only punishing yourself by keeping this up.”
Even now, the only answer he gets, is silence... and an unwelcome glance that forces him to dart his gaze away.
For a moment, I think I see a flicker of something else – pity, maybe, or guilt. But it's gone before I can grasp it.
"Trying to f*****g kill yourself" he mutters, turning to leave. "Whatever, your loss."
"Leave it at the door” my words puncture his stride. “I'll eat when you're gone” I add, hoping he won't see through my lie.
It's the first time I've talked since I got here.
It's also… the first time a plan to escape has finally made its way to me.
He glances back, and his eyes search me for a subtle change in demeanor.
Unstable breathing? Inexplicable perspiration? Anything that'd give my hoax up.
I grant him none, and after letting out a defeated sigh, he drops the platter of food, and walks out, before locking the door.
But the locked door is the least of my problems. Why would it be? Levi left me a fork!
“Just a little more… almost got it…”
The keyhole tweaks with a silent tick, and the first step to my plan is completed without hassle.
Now all I need to do is find a way through these choking scents without being detected by mine!
With every step, the tension thickens.
It's like the pack members are everywhere. At every turn. At every bend.
And just when I think I'm gonna get caught, I slip through… almost too easily.
“Whatever, I can't get distracted now” I murmur, just before taking the bend through what looks to be a back door.
“All I need to do now is morph and…”
The wind hits me like a punch the second I slip through.
But even more shocking… the sight.
“What… the… f**k?”
I should've known from the plain scent, but I jettisoned it only to come face to face with reality.
Its… Nothing.
Miles and miles of absolutely… nothing.
Not a single tree, bird or sign of life in sight. Just a horizon that seems to stretch into the midnight sky for an eternity.
My skin tightens with fear and confusion.
“Where the hell is this place?” I mouth. “Where on earth am I?”
“And I was really starting to think we'd be able to get along, you know?” Levi's dark and sleepy voice echoes back in, just a couple steps behind me.
Like a robber caught red-handed, I turn and see him resting against the doorpost.
The gammas and omegas stand tall on either side of him.
“Should've known there was something up when I snuck passed so easily” I think to myself.
“Welp, I guess it kinda was a lost cause. Last I remember, you are pretty stubborn. But tell me… where do you intend on running to now, Anna?” He tilts his head, and the snickers of the pack members light up the dark evening.
My fists harden. My heart races.
Perhaps it's because I feel cornered, or because the realization of my helpess cause hits me harder than I'd expected.
Regardless, I don't know when the words slip right through.
“You're all… a bunch of cowards!” I yell, and the thin air helps my shaky but determined voice reverbate.
They all stand quiet, so much so that my exhales are the only sounds I hear.
Stiffening my resolve…
“...what? Did the laughs dissapear so soon? How poetic…” I sneak a sarcastic laugh. “...a pack that hides in the shadows and ambushes from behind, decides to run back into the shadows to avoid being traced. I've never seen a more disgusting set of Lycans. You all make me sick to my stomach” my resolve tightens even further. “Can't blame you side characters though. If the root itself is a coward, the branches have no choice but to—”
“Oi!” Levi speaks up, “...you might want to watch your mouth.”
“Or what? You gonna pull another attack from under your ass? Better yet, you all should gang up and fight me. Ambush me just like the you did the rest of South Dakota. That definitely would be in the character of the White Lotus—”
The roar of an engine cuts me off.
It's source is the stretched out horizon, and even though I don't want to risk getting snuck up on by turning, it's clear that no one’s paying any attention to me or my words on anymore.
The approaching Powerbike is the ‘topic of discussion now’, and the moment it’s close enough, I understand why.
The revving engine of his slick, dark vehicle slowly pours silent.
Streaks of his white, bunned-up air courteously flow down when takes off his helmet and rests it against his keyed bike.
I'd forgotten he was this tall. Nah. He's huge.
But in this moment, neither his height, expressionless demeanor, or odd scent take over.
It's that… dark, booming voice that does.
“Did I miss something?” He says, stopping right beside me, but his eyes are locked on his pack members in front of him.
“On the contrary, you came just in time” Levi's says.
“I wonder how a cheapskate like you managed to snag the title of Alpha. Though it shouldn't come as a surprise since you lead a bunch of screwheads” I mutter, loud enough for him to hear.
At first, he shows no reaction. I even assume he didn't hear my comment.
…until, he turns his gaze to me and I immediately feel a force choke me from the inside out.
My windpipe constricts, and the oxygen previously flooding my body pauses almost on command. My body's submitting to him without struggle!
His alpha aura? It's so… strong!
I drop to my knees, gasping for air, and just when I feel myself falling unconscious, he releases me.
“Cheapskate?” He growls, sounding even more detached than Levi. “This new found strength… has she eaten anything?”
“Nah. Rejected the last meal too. She was just about to run away” Levi comments.
“Oh, I see. We can't have that. Bring her back into the pack house, this time, without food or water. If she wants to starve, we'll have to help her cause.”
And that right there should've been the end of it.
However, my spell of rebellion isn't over yet.
“Last I remember, you're not just a cheapskate or a coward” I sneak a look back, and notice he's stopped in his tracks. “...you're a murderer as well, aren't you?”
Everyone remains still and quiet, for fear that a single breath may snip the emotions in two, or tug it in the worst possible direction.
Why did I even say that?
Oh well. I did. Now what?!
He replies with audible sigh.
“Hmm. Forget what I said earlier. Bring her to MY quarters.”
- Writer
