The First Escape Attempt – Episode 5
1118 Words
The night felt longer than any she had ever known. Every tick of the ornate grandfather clock in the corner of her room seemed to echo against her nerves. Sleep was impossible. The shadows that crept across the gilded walls mocked her, and the sound of howling wolves outside made her blood run cold.
She paced the room barefoot, her mind racing. She couldn’t accept it. She couldn’t stay here, locked away like some prized possession. The Alpha might have bought her body, but he would never own her spirit.
Her gaze fell on the balcony doors. They were tall and glassy, framed by velvet curtains. Beyond them stretched the night sky, painted in silver moonlight. The faint scent of the sea carried through the cracks, and with it came something else, a fleeting whisper of freedom.
Her heart thudded. If she could just make it past the guards, past the gates… maybe she had a chance.
Moving quickly, she slipped into the walk-in closet. The rows of expensive dresses hung stiffly, their silk and satin glimmering like shackles. She tore one down, ripping it into strips until she had a makeshift rope. Her hands shook, but determination fueled her every movement.
When she returned to the balcony, she hesitated only briefly. The Alpha’s words rang in her ears: You’ll never make it far.
She clenched her jaw. He wasn’t right. He couldn’t be.
Tying the fabric tightly around the railing, she tested the rope with her weight. It held. Her pulse quickened as she swung one leg over, then the other. The marble floor seemed to vanish beneath her as she lowered herself carefully, the cold night air biting at her skin.
She descended slowly, her breath shallow, every creak of the fabric rope making her fear it would snap. But when her feet finally touched the grass below, a thrill of victory shot through her veins. She had done it.
The garden was vast, trimmed with hedges that looked like a maze in the dim moonlight. Statues of wolves stood at every turn, their stone eyes watching her escape. She ran across the damp grass, her thin nightgown clinging to her skin.
Her heart soared as she spotted the gates in the distance. The iron bars were tall, yes, but freedom lay just beyond them. She sprinted harder, ignoring the pain that burned in her legs.
Then she heard it.
A low growl.
She froze, her body locking in place. From the shadows of the hedges, a pair of glowing eyes stared back at her. They weren’t human. The growl deepened, vibrating through the air, and then the creature stepped forward.
It was a wolf, massive, its fur as dark as midnight, its teeth gleaming in the moonlight.
Her breath caught. Wolves didn’t grow this large.
The animal advanced, muscles rippling under its fur. She stumbled back, her heart racing. Panic clawed at her chest.
“N-no,” she whispered, shaking her head.
The wolf snarled, cutting off her path. She turned to run in the opposite direction, but another growl came from the shadows. A second pair of eyes glowed, then a third.
Wolves surrounded her.
Her scream tore through the night, but it was quickly swallowed by the forest of sound around her, the padding of paws, the sharp snap of teeth, the howls that rose like a chorus of nightmares.
Suddenly, a commanding voice cut through the chaos.
“Enough.”
The wolves stopped. Instantly.
Her wide eyes lifted, and there he was, the Alpha.
He strode into the moonlight, dressed in nothing but dark trousers, his bare chest glistening faintly under the glow. His presence alone was enough to make the pack bow their heads, retreating a step. The wild power in the air seemed to bend toward him, obeying him like a master.
She stumbled back, shaking. “What… what are they? What are you?”
He ignored her question, his sharp gaze pinned on her instead. “I warned you.”
Her knees nearly buckled as he crossed the distance between them. He didn’t run; he didn’t need to. His every step radiated command.
“You think you can escape me?” His voice was low, but the fury in it made her tremble. “This is my domain. No one leaves without my permission. Not even you.”
She shook her head, her voice breaking. “You can’t keep me here! I don’t belong to you, I never will!”
For a heartbeat, silence hung between them. His dark eyes flickered with something she couldn’t read, anger, frustration, maybe even something else. But then, it vanished, replaced by a cold, cutting smile.
“You’re wrong,” he said, his tone final. “You already belong to me.”
Before she could resist, he scooped her into his arms. She gasped, pounding her fists against his chest, but it was like striking stone. His hold was unyielding.
The wolves parted silently as he carried her back toward the mansion. She could feel their eyes on her, watchful and threatening, as though reminding her of the danger she’d narrowly escaped.
When they reached her room again, he set her down none too gently on the bed. She scrambled back, clutching the sheets like a shield.
His gaze bore into her. “Rule number two,” he said, his voice sharp, “is obedience. Tonight, you broke it. And now you’ll learn why I warned you.”
She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. “Please…”
But mercy wasn’t written in his expression.
He leaned closer, bracing his hands on either side of her. “You’re mine. That means your safety, your choices, your very life are in my hands. And you’ll obey, not because you want to, but because you’ll have no choice.”
His words struck her deeper than any chain could.
Still, through her fear, defiance sparked. She whispered, trembling but fierce, “You may cage me, but you’ll never break me.”
For a moment, his eyes softened, as if her words pierced through his armor. Then his jaw clenched, and he pulled back.
“We’ll see,” he said, before turning sharply toward the door. “Rest while you can. The rules won’t bend for you.”
The door slammed shut behind him, leaving her shaking and breathless.
But even as tears streaked her face, something within her burned brighter. She had seen the truth tonight, the wolves, his control over them. He wasn’t just a mafia Alpha. He was something far more dangerous.
And if she wanted freedom, she needed to learn exactly what kind of monster now claimed her as his own.
- Writer
