Chapter 5
1038 Words
Lena’s pulse was a steady drum in her ears as she stared at the iron bars of her cell. She had to get out. Now.
She could still hear Lucian’s voice echoing in her mind—his smug certainty that Kade would come for her. That her mate would walk into a trap, all because of her.
But it wasn’t just about Kade anymore. If Lucian found out she was carrying Kade’s child, he would never let her go.
And she couldn’t let her baby become a pawn in a war.
Lena took a slow breath, forcing herself to think.
The cell was small, damp, and carved into the depths of a stone fortress. The air was thick with the scent of wolves, sweat, and something metallic—blood. Other prisoners had been kept here before. Not all of them had made it out alive.
She flexed her wrists, wincing as the rope bindings dug into her skin. They had left her tied up, but not shackled. A mistake. They must have assumed she was too weak to fight back.
That was their second mistake.
Lena shifted, twisting her hands against the bindings. The rough fibers burned, but she ground her teeth and kept pulling. Every second counted. Lucian would return, and when he did, she needed to be gone.
Outside the cell, faint voices drifted down the corridor. Guards. Their footsteps were lazy, their conversation low and bored.
She focused on the knots at her wrists, twisting her fingers until—yes. The rope loosened slightly.
Another sharp pull—and her hands were free.
Now the hard part.
Lena stood slowly, rolling her sore shoulders. Her balance wavered. Her body was still weak from the river, from the fight, from the stress of survival. But she forced herself to stay upright.
No room for weakness now.
She glanced around the cell. Nothing useful. No weapons. No way to break the bars. But…
She stepped toward the heavy iron door and ran her fingers along the frame. Old hinges. Rusted.
If she could force it—
A sharp whistle echoed from the corridor. Footsteps.
Shit.
Lena pressed herself against the wall just as a figure appeared at the cell door.
The rogue from earlier. The one she had hit with the iron poker. His jaw was bruised, his lip split, and his eyes burned with resentment.
“Well,” he sneered. “Still feisty, Luna?”
Lena didn’t hesitate.
The moment he reached for the lock, she lunged.
Her fist collided with his throat, cutting off his snarl with a choking gasp. Before he could recover, she slammed her knee into his ribs, sending him stumbling backward.
The keys.
Lena dove for his belt, her fingers snatching the ring of iron keys before he could react.
He snarled, but she was faster. Before he could grab her, she shoved him backward and slammed the cell door shut.
The lock clicked.
The rogue let out a furious roar, slamming his fists against the bars. “You little—”
Lena didn’t wait to hear the rest. She turned and ran.
The corridor was long, narrow, and lined with more iron-barred cells. Some were empty. Others weren’t.
She didn’t stop to look.
Get out. Get out.
A shout rang out behind her—the rogue calling for backup.
Lena’s legs burned as she sprinted toward the dim light at the end of the tunnel. Where was she? A dungeon beneath the main keep? An underground holding chamber?
The ground sloped upward. A way out.
She pushed forward, her breath ragged, her muscles screaming. Behind her, footsteps pounded the stone floor—fast. More than one set.
Lena rounded the corner and nearly crashed into a wooden door. Locked.
Heart hammering, she fumbled with the keys. Too many.
The first one—no. The second—no.
A snarl behind her.
She spun just as the first rogue lunged.
Lena ducked, twisting at the last second. The rogue’s momentum sent him slamming into the door. She used the distraction to shove the key into the lock—
Click.
The door burst open.
She stumbled forward, blinking against the sudden flood of moonlight.
She was outside.
The cold air hit her lungs like a slap. The night stretched wide before her—a dense forest, a dirt road leading away from the stone fortress.
Run.
She bolted.
Freedom—or Something Worse?
Her feet pounded against the earth as she tore into the tree line, her breath ragged. Branches clawed at her arms, roots threatened to trip her, but she kept moving.
Behind her, wolves howled.
Lena gritted her teeth. They were shifting.
A burst of panic surged through her veins. She couldn’t outrun wolves in human form.
She needed to shift.
But shifting would burn energy, and she had already pushed her body too far. The baby—would her body even allow a full transformation?
The answer came when her legs buckled, her vision blurring with exhaustion.
No. Not now.
The first wolf burst into the clearing behind her, a massive gray beast with red-rimmed eyes.
Lena turned sharply, trying to lose them in the underbrush, but her body wasn’t cooperating. Her limbs felt sluggish, her breath shallow.
She was slowing down.
No. No, no, no—
The wolf leaped.
Lena braced for impact—
And then, a blur of black fur crashed into the rogue, sending them both rolling into the dirt.
A growl—deep, furious, unmistakable.
Lena’s breath hitched.
Kade.
He was here.
The rogue barely had time to react before Kade’s jaws clamped around his throat. A wet, sickening crunch, and the wolf went limp.
Kade lifted his head, golden eyes locking onto Lena.
She had never seen him like this—feral, bloodied, wild with rage.
His gaze flickered over her—her torn clothes, her bruised wrists, the exhaustion in her face.
His chest heaved. His wolf was still on the edge of a kill.
“Lena.” His voice was gravel and fury.
She opened her mouth—but the world tilted.
Her knees buckled. The last thing she felt was strong arms catching her before darkness swallowed her whole.
- Writer
