Chapter 5
1608 Words
Tabitha
“See you around…Puppy.”
Several hours have passed, and those words still ring in my head, sending cold thrills down my spine. I thought Mathias was the ultimate monster, but after meeting Sloane, it was pretty conclusive that she redefined that meaning. She’s the type that stabs you to death with a harmless smile. And to think I almost fell for her innocence.
I rubbed my elbows as my knees married my chest on the bed. Ever since she left, the room had gotten colder. I don’t even need a soothsayer to warn me that my fate here is grim.
The door creaked open again, and my heart sank, thinking the big wolf was finally here to terrorize me like his fiancée. Instead, I’m greeted by an equally tall man like Mathias, whose brown hair was complemented by strikingly gentle honey eyes. Just one sharp inhale, I could already feel his wolf’s domineering aura, but not as potent as Mathias’s.
He graced me with a tiny smile, but I shifted out of bed. Sloane easily fooled me once; I won’t fall for the same trick twice.
“It–it’s your turn to scare me now, right?” I briskly grabbed the lamp from my side drawer. “Near me and I swear on my life, you’ll pay in blood.”
His smile faded, and then he shook his head, before peering at my window as if he was searching for the right words to say.
“Let me guess, Sloane came here,” his gaze returned to mine.
“And you are?” I quipped back. “Let me guess, Alpha Mathias’s brother.”
“I’m Dominick, his Beta.”
That explains his aura, and more reason not to trust him. I gripped the lamp tighter, and he noticed, yet he didn’t show intimidation in the slightest. The way he looked at the lamp, it felt like I was holding a sword made out of paper.
“It must be hard being a newbie in our Pack.”
Maybe I misheard, but concern was heavily dosing in those words.
“Hard is a far lesser word to describe it,” I scoffed. “You're just monsters. Just drop your act, I know you’re relishing my weakness.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he replied, his voice tender and his gaze soft.
Did he actually mean that, or was he pretending?
“No–” I shook my head. “You’re just putting up a font. You don’t give a s**t about me.”
“Tabitha, I do,” his voice cracked with fragility as he took a step closer.
“Stay back!” tears ripped through my eyelids. “Haven’t you all had enough yet?!”
My chest knotted as last night's memories triggered a migraine in my head.
“Tabitha—”
“What does he even want with me?!” My throat burned as I almost strained my chords.
“You can’t understand, it’s complicated,” he sighed again. “Regardless, he shouldn’t have brought you here. You are a danger to him and our Pack.”
Whatever he meant by those words, they sounded like pure nonsense to me.
“Just leave…” I dropped the lamp as my tears streamed to my lips.
“What if I can help you?”
I peered at him closely; his stern gaze supported his words, but could I really bank on that assurance?
“W-why would you want to do that?”
“You’re not the first white-haired lady he has brought to the Pack.” He took another step, but this time I didn’t oppose it, ”And you certainly won’t be the last.”
My brows furrowed. “What does that mean?”
“It means he’s obsessed with you, but it’s only for a while. With Mathias, he gets tired of things easily. He will use and dump you. And there’s Sloane, at least she didn’t try to brand your face with a red-hot metal this time.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. He didn’t even need to delve deep for me to get the memo.
“What…what happened to the last one before me?”
He looked me dead in the eye, “She died. Sloane killed her just like the other ones before her.”
With the predatory look I earned from her today, it was easy to swallow his words.
“And with their wedding close by. It’s only a matter of days before your time runs out.”
My eyes widened, and my lips trembled.
“You can escape, Tabitha. I wouldn’t want to see you die.”
“B-but how? This place is heavily guarded. Besides, why would you want to help me?”
“Your father saved me once when rogues attacked me.” A tiny smile returned to his lips. “I can do this much for him. I have a plan to help you escape.”
My eyes twitched in disbelief. I had to pinch myself just to confirm I’m not dreaming. I wasn’t, yet it still felt unreal.
“All you have to do is trust me. Can you do that?”
I was quick to nod, but it was only to fool him. If there’s anything I’ve painfully learnt in my short time here, it’s never trust anyone.
“Mathias left early for a business meeting this morning. He won’t return until tomorrow.” He explained. “And tonight is the full moon, which means the guest house will be empty.
I’ll divert our warriors at the southern gate for as long as I can, and take you through there. Once you get outside,” he pulled out a small cellphone from his pocket and pointed it at me. The distrust in my eyes was all the answer he needed. Hence, he dumped it on my bed.
“Call me. My number is already there. I’ll direct you to a safehouse.”
I glanced suspiciously at the cellphone, and back at him.
“I’ll come to your room tonight. Till then, don’t leave this place, okay?”
I couldn’t even if I wanted to. Madam Karen already made that clear to me this morning.
I nodded again, and he heaved one last sigh before easing out of my room. I rushed to lock the door behind him, and then I returned to the bed. I went straight to the contacts log as I picked up the phone; only one phone number was listed. Whether this was a trap or not, my desperation made me cling tight to the phone. One more day in this damned Pack and I might lose my life to a psychopathic fiancée.
The night soon descended, and just like he said, the guest house was empty.
“We need to hurry, we don’t have much time,” he took my hand as we scurried out of the empty compound. My lungs started to fail me as we got to a dark, empty, tarred road.
“We’re almost there, Tabitha,” he encouraged, but not merciful enough to spare me some minutes of rest. Wolves sang to the moon with their howls, and it eerily inspired me to keep trudging forward. We finally arrived at a tall, see-through black gate revealing the woods beyond.
“Run as fast as you can, Tabitha,” he said, almost breathlessly. “The guards will be here for a routine check any minute now, and they’ll easily trace your scent.”
I nodded, too breathless to spill a word.
“Promise me, you won’t stop running,” he grabbed my shoulders with concerned brows.
“I-I p-promise…”
He nodded. “Now go.”
“Thank you, Dominick…” I flashed a beam at him.
“Don’t thank me yet, I’m just trying to repay a favor,” he said and pushed the gates slightly open for me. I slipped through and dashed into the woods, pacing as fast as my weak legs could carry me. If only I had a wolf, I could be so much quicker.
“Tabitha has escaped, find her!!” one of the warriors yelled behind me, but I never stopped to look back. I just kept breathlessly brushing past the heavy branches that almost threw me to the ground. If I’m caught here, only the moon goddess knows the devilish things Alpha Mathias would do to me.
“She’s close by, I can smell her!” hollered another. My foot hit a stone, and I painfully embraced the ground, tumbling downhill across the dirt like a tire on a steep road.
Pain shot up from my ribs and spiraled across my body like a wild wave. I tried to stand, but my legs gave out. My chest became heavy trying to force a breath. Why did my body have to be so weak at a critical moment like this?!
Tears instantly blurred my vision, but a light gradually shone before me. Blue and gentle.
“Tabitha…” An ominous whisper filled my ears.
I wiped my tears off so I could look closely. The radiance was coming from a cave.
“Tabitha…” it called again. “Hurry. Hurry…Hurry.”
“I found her!” a guard yelled above the downhill I rolled from. And with every ounce of strength I could draw, I rose, chasing an unsteady pace towards the cave.
“Capture her!!” another snarled.
I breathlessly reached out to the cave, hoping I could magically disappear into it before the guard laid claim to me.
- Writer
