CHAPTER SEVEN

I wake up shivering.

The cell is bare. Cold. My body aches after my second night sleeping on the hard cave floor.

I am still covered in Romulus' blood. I can't believe I really killed him.

I can't believe I killed the guard, too.

I am a murderer.

Just then, I hear a noise. It sounds like tapping. I realize it is coming from the cell next to me.

It is the girl I met yesterday. Romulus' discarded mate. The one who gave me the knife. Who told me the plan.

"What?" I call.

"Did you do it?" she calls back. "Did you kill Romulus?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you set me free?"

"The guards caught me. And now I am going on trial."

She does not reply.

I want to yell at her, to tell her it's all her fault. But she did not force my hand. She did not make me plunge the blade into Romulus.

The sound of footsteps approach. My cell door is opened.

The guard stands there. "Come with me," he says. "It is time for your trial."

I gulp and stand.

I follow him out the room.

The guard leads me from the jail cell, through a long dark tunnel, and out into a large cave like a grand hall.

It is full of the rest of the pack. They stare at me, full of hate. I have killed their Alpha.

The guard escorting me points to a spot.

"Stand there," he says. "And don't move."

I do as he says. I stand there, shaking from head to toe.

A judge bangs the gavel for silence.

"You killed the Alpha," his deep voice booms.

My stomach lurches. I feel like I am going to be sick. There are so many eyes on me, all filled with hatred. I feel like the pack wants to tear me limb from limb.

"Is it true?" the judge says. "Did you murder Romulus, Alpha of the pack, and one of his guards, in cold blood last night?"

"Yes," I say. I try to keep my voice steady. "I killed Romulus. I killed the Alpha and I killed the guard when he tried to stop me fleeing."

The judge stalks toward me, lip curled, teeth bared.

I hold my breath.

I am waiting for him to grab me. To rip me apart with his claws.

He takes several steps toward me.

I close my eyes. I prepare for the attack.

But it does not come.

Instead, he stops right in front of me. I can feel his hot breath on my face.

"How do you plead?" he says.

A hush falls over the room.

All eyes turn to me.

"Guilty."

The judge looks me up and down. His eyes flick to the dagger that is still strapped to my hip.

"Then I have no choice," he says, grabbing it from me. "I sentence you to execution."

The pack erupts into a noise of agreement. Braying. Howling. Hissing. Snarling.

They start to pace.

I tremble all over as I realize what is happening.

They are going to kill me. Right here. Right now. I am going to be torn limb from limb by the Alpha's furious pack.

The pack starts to circles me. Their snarling becomes louder and louder.

The judge takes a step toward me. "Do you have anything to say before the sentence is carried out?"

I hold my head up high. "I did what I did to save myself. I did not want to mate with him. That would have been worse than death to me."

The packs snarls.

"You'd rather die then mate?" one of the pack growls.

"She is not worthy of the honor," another adds.

"What did Romulus see in her?"

"She is ugly," a third adds.

"She does not smell right," a fourth says.

The pack is moving faster now.

I have to admit that they have a point. I am not pretty. And I am not a natural wolf. But I would never be okay with mating with a male I did not know.

Not a male as dangerous as Romulus. A male as cruel as him.

The pack is nearly upon me. Moving so quickly that I can barely see them any more.

I am going to die. My life will be over in a matter of seconds.

I close my eyes and wonder how it will feel to be ripped apart. Will I die instantly, or will it take a while? Will the pain be unbearable, or will I lose consciousness first?

I brace myself for the end.

"Stop!" a voice cries.

A hushed silence falls.

I peep through my eyes. It is the guard from yesterday, the one I did not kill.

The pack turns to look at him.

"What?" the judge demands.

"She spared me," the guard says. "She chose not to kill me. I do not think she deserves to die this way."

A hubbub ripples through the hall. The pack are not happy.

"She has confessed," the judge says.

"Yes," the guard agrees. "And so she should be given the same dignity as other prisoners. A last meal. A priest's blessing. She may be a murderer, but she is still the Alpha's wife."

The judge pauses.

"Very well," he says, finally. "We will do things the right way. We will give her a dignified execution."

I've been spared. For now, at least.

And that means I have time. Time to formulate a plan. To think of a way out of this lair.

The guard grabs me and drags me from the hall. The sound of snarling wolves fades to silence behind me.

He escorts me back to my cell.

"You saved my life," I tell him.

He says nothing.

He stops at the door and pulls it open. "What do you want for your last meal?"

I suddenly realize I am starving. I have not eaten in days.

"Meat," I tell him. "Raw meat. And water."

He nods and turns to leave.

I grab his arm before he goes. "Thank you."

He pushes my hand off of him. "Now we're even."

He slams the cell door shut.