Window

Violetta

Bile rose in my throat, but before he could touch me, the glass shattered. He paused, and I scrambled under the nearest metal table and tucked my injured leg beneath me. I gripped the leg like my life depended on it.

The alarm stopped. "Fan out," Ferrara growled. "Find out what happened."

Great. More people to witness my humiliation.

"Alpha," Charlie called out. His voice trembled just a little, and I couldn't help but scowl.

Surely, he wasn't worried that he'd be in trouble. "We're back here."

Ferrara and two other wolves joined him. One was Jenson, and the other was a female that I didn't recognize. She radiated power, so she was definitely high up in the pack. The alpha's eyes darted to me and narrowed. "There was a report that she almost reached the river."

"Yes, sir. She ran. I caught her just in time," Charlie said proudly.

"What were you doing here so late?"

"She's let this place become a pigsty. I've been giving her extra cleaning duties. I came back to make sure that she was doing what she was supposed to, and I caught her trying to run."

"Bridget, Jenson, take Charlie out and get a full report. Then see that he gets home. I'll deal with her."

Bridget. Ferrara's third-in-command. Did he really think he needed both to catch me?

"But alpha..." Charlie protested. When Ferrara snapped his head around to stare at him, he ducked his head. "I only meant to say that an escort home is uncalled for. I can make it on my own."

"Nonetheless, an escort you will get." Pack magic trembled in his voice, and the two flanked Charlie as they walked outside. Still under the table, I reviewed my options. There was no running. Not on this leg, and I sure as shit wasn't going to complain to Ferrara about Charlie.

That was, no doubt, the fastest way to worsen my situation.

"Come out, Violetta."

No point in trying to stay under the table. It wasn't like I could really hide from him.

With some effort, I tried to scoot out. My knee bent, and I cried out involuntarily.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" With a growl, he reached under and tugged me out.

The pain worsened, but as soon as I was free, he picked me up like I weighed no more than one of the bags of flour stacked in the corner and sat me on the table. "Couldn't even escape without fucking it up, huh?"

"I was just doing just fine until one of your wolves stepped out right in front of me while that drunk asshole you made manager was chasing me," I said through gritted teeth as he probed my knee. He'd already seen my pain. I would not give him the satisfaction of seeing it again.

"Be glad you didn't make it to the river because if I have to get wet to chase you down, I'm going to make you pay. It looks like you just twisted your knee and ankle, but I'll send a healer to take a look at it."

"No, thank you." The last thing I needed was more wolves touching me. "I'm sure it's fine. Get on with your punishment so I can try to get at least an hour of sleep before I start inventory and my shift later today."

Ferrara just grunted and lifted me again and slung me over his shoulder. Fear coursed through me. "What are you doing? I can walk!"

"As entertaining as that might be, I don't have time to watch you hobble painfully around," he grunted as he walked through the kitchen to the stairwell that led up to my apartment.

"You don't have to stick around and watch. I can crawl up the steps without you in the audience."

He didn't say anything as his boots landed heavily on each step. It suddenly occurred to me that he was very dressed for this late in the night.

Or early in the morning.

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

"An alarm goes off in the territory, I'm alerted."

I could buy that, but he had a security team and guards for this very reason. I highly doubted he personally checked out every alarm. Not to mention that we were pretty far out in the territory. He'd made it here in record time. Even for a shifter.

"I guess it was dumb of me not to disable the alarm before I tried to escape."

"You're many things Violetta, but I don't believe for a single second that you're dumb."

When he reached the top, he started patting my ass.

"I can get the key," I said hastily. To my surprise, he removed his hand, and I reached in my pocket. It took a second because I always clipped the key to my belt loop to make sure I didn't lose it. After some wiggling, I got it free and handed it to him.

When the door was opened, he stepped inside and flipped me onto the bed. Then, he stepped back and stared at me.

My mouth dried. Ferrara had never been into my small apartment. Even Parker had never come up here. Until Charlie muscled his way in, this had always been my space. Small. Quiet.

Relatively safe.

Now, with Ferrara's hulking form in the middle of my room, nothing felt safe.

The bed was a twin, which was fine. I often slept curled up and rarely moved in my sleep.

When I'd first been told that it was mine, I immediately rearranged. The bed had been pressed against the wall, and I'd moved it to make sure that I couldn't be trapped on it. An armchair was now in the corner, catty-corner but right next to the window. There was also a crowbar under the chair in case I needed to smash the window and make a quick getaway.

On one side of the apartment was a small bathroom. It had no windows which allowed for privacy, but I couldn't relax there. No luxurious baths or long hot showers knowing that there was only one entrance or exit.

On the other side was a kitchenette. It had a small fridge, a kitchen sink, a microwave, an air fryer, and a crock pot. No oven or stove, but there was a Bunsen burner in the cabinet, and Parker told me I could always use the kitchen downstairs if I needed it.

Sometimes, when he was alive and I was certain I was alone, I'd sneak down and make a big heavy meal. I hadn't done that in a long time.

"It's certainly cleaner than when Parker lived here," he commented as he moved and began to inspect everything. "You're neat."

I was neat. Almost obsessively. There were few things that were in my control, and what was, I...well, I controlled. I didn't have much, but I knew where everything was.

Most of it was in a small duffel bag under my bed. The dresser and closets were both empty. There were a few toiletries in the bathroom, but I had clothes, some bottles of water, and snack bars in a bag under my bed.

Just in case I found my chance to escape.

Ferrara's gaze moved slowly around my space, and I gripped the comforter. When he looked at my dresser, I held my breath. Maybe he wouldn't think it was strange that the dresser blocked the closet door.

With one hand, he reached out and moved it in front of the door. It might be empty, but it was heavy wood. It took effort on my part to move it.

Just like that, he'd trapped me in.

Leaping from my bed, I tried desperately to get to the window. As pain shot up my leg, I cried out and crumpled.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?"