Chapter 4
1096 Words
Morning arrived beneath a blanket of grey clouds.
Selene had barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father lowering his head instead of looking at her.
She refused to think about him.
Instead, she focused on the only thing that mattered.
Getting out.
A soft knock echoed through the room.
The door opened, and a middle-aged woman entered, pushing a silver trolley.
Fresh bread.
Fruit.
Tea.
Clean clothes folded neatly beside a pair of black boots.
Selene didn't move from where she sat near the window.
The woman offered a polite smile.
"You should eat."
Selene remained silent.
"It isn't poisoned."
"I never said it was."
"You were thinking it."
Selene finally looked at her.
"What is your name?"
"Anya."
"Do all prisoners receive this kind of treatment?"
Anya hesitated.
"No."
"Then why me?"
"I don't ask questions."
Selene gave a quiet nod.
That was answer enough.
After Anya left, Selene counted to one hundred before approaching the trolley.
She ignored the food. He had called her mate but she did not want to think about that . She had to escape, that murderer couldn't be her mate . She would reject him !
Instead, her eyes searched every item with careful precision.
Knife.
Too dull.
Fork.
Better.
Hairpin.
Perfect.
She slipped the silver hairpin into her sleeve before walking back to the window.
From there she watched.
The guards changed every four hours.
Two remained at her door.
Four patrolled the east corridor.
The gardens were surrounded by another team.
Dogs.
Security cameras.
Everything was organized.
Military precision.
She smiled to herself.
Nothing was impossible.
Not if someone was patient enough.
⸻
Three floors below, Alpha Dragov sat at the head of a long black table.
Around him stood the men who ruled alongside him.
His Beta.
His Gamma.
His consigliere.
No one spoke until he did.
"The debt has been settled."
Nikolai frowned.
"The girl?"
Dragov leaned back in his chair.
"She remains here."
"As collateral?"
"If that's the word you prefer."
Silence settled over the room.
Nikolai had served Dragov for nearly fifteen years.
He knew his Alpha better than anyone.
Something wasn't adding up.
Normally, a debtor who failed to pay simply disappeared.
Clean.
Efficient.
No loose ends.
Keeping the daughter alive made no sense.
"Should we send her to one of the other estates?" Viktor asked.
"No."
"The underground residence?"
"No."
"The eastern compound?"
Dragov's expression never changed.
"She stays here."
No one questioned him further.
That would be unwise.
He looked around the table.
"One more thing."
Every man straightened.
"If she attempts to escape..."
A faint smirk touched his lips.
"...let her try."
Confused looks spread around the room.
Then his expression turned cold again.
"But no one is to harm her."
No bruises.
No broken bones.
No unnecessary force.
"If anyone lays a hand on her beyond what is necessary..."
His voice remained calm.
"I'll deal with them personally."
No one doubted him.
They had seen what happened to men who ignored his orders.
⸻
Selene waited until sunset.
The mansion grew quieter.
Shift change.
Exactly as she had predicted.
She slipped the hairpin from her sleeve.
The lock clicked twice before finally giving way.
Her lips curved.
Too easy.
She eased the door open.
No guards.
Perfect.
She stepped into the corridor.
Silent.
Light on her feet.
Years of training guided every movement.
She stayed close to the walls, avoiding the pools of light cast by the chandeliers.
Voices echoed somewhere below.
She froze.
Two guards rounded the corner.
Selene ducked behind a marble pillar.
One of them yawned.
The other complained about the rain.
Neither noticed her.
As soon as they disappeared, she continued.
Down one staircase.
Then another.
She memorized every hallway.
Every exit.
Every camera.
She noticed something.
The cameras swept from left to right.
There was a three-second blind spot.
Interesting.
She counted.
One...
Two...
Three.
Then she sprinted.
The camera completed its rotation after she was already gone.
Maybe these people weren't as smart as they thought.
She reached the back entrance.
Locked.
The hairpin again.
Thirty seconds.
The lock clicked.
Freedom.
Cool evening air rushed against her face.
She stepped outside.
The gardens stretched endlessly before her.
Beautiful.
Massive.
And somewhere beyond them...
The gates.
She ran.
Across trimmed hedges.
Past stone fountains.
Over flower beds.
Every heartbeat carried hope.
She was actually doing it.
She was going to escape.
She reached the tree line.
Then stopped.
Six guards stepped out from the darkness.
One.
Two.
Three.
More emerged behind her.
She slowly turned.
The path back had disappeared beneath a wall of armed men.
A sigh escaped her lips.
"So close."
One guard approached carefully.
"Miss..."
"I wouldn't."
She lifted her fists.
He ignored the warning.
Big mistake.
Her elbow connected with his jaw.
He staggered backward.
She spun, kicking another squarely in the chest.
He crashed into the hedge.
Someone grabbed her wrist.
She twisted free.
Another reached for her shoulder.
She ducked beneath his arm.
Three guards now surrounded her.
She growled.
One impatient guard lunged.
His hand clamped around her upper arm hard enough to make her wince.
"Enough."
The single word froze everyone.
Silence swept across the gardens.
The guards immediately stepped back.
Selene followed their gaze.
A tall figure emerged from the shadows, his hands tucked inside the pockets of his black coat.
Alpha Dragov.
His pace was unhurried.
Calm.
Measured.
As though none of this had surprised him.
He stopped a few feet away.
His icy gaze settled on the guard still gripping Selene's arm.
"I gave one order."
The guard released her immediately.
"S-Sir..."
Silence.
Dragov finally looked at Selene.
Her hair was windswept.
There was dirt on her cheek.
A torn sleeve.
A stubborn fire burning in those impossible blue eyes.
She glared at him as though daring him to come closer.
Instead...
He smiled.
It was small.
Barely noticeable.
Amusement.
"You almost made it."
Selene lifted her chin.
"Next time I will."
"I know."
That answer irritated her more than if he had laughed.
He looked toward the guards.
"Take the little raven back to her room."
No one moved until he added quietly,
"And remember my orders."
"Yes, Alpha."
Two guards walked beside Selene.
Neither dared touch her.
As she was escorted back toward the mansion, she glanced over her shoulder.
Alpha Dragov hadn't moved.
He simply watched her disappear into the house before turning away.
High above the gardens, the evening wind carried only one thought through his mind.
She was trouble.
The worst kind.
- Writer
