CHAPTER TEN

“We’ll have a whole family of pups,” Tobias continues.

And in that moment, I realize that I have no way of knowing for sure that this key will work. I hope it will, of course. I need it to work.

I’ve never used it before though. I’ve never used magic at all before. And it’s not like I can test it out first.

This is my only hope. It’s the only chance I have at getting out of this.

So, I ignore Tobias and I focus on getting the key into the lock.

“I’ll train the males, while you teach our girls to be as submissive as you will be,” Tobias continues.

The hope and desperation give me the kind of strength I know I’ll need if the chains unlock and…

They do.

I feel the chains release.

I almost cry as they fall to the floor of the canoe.

Tobias stops talking.

“You don’t want to do anything stupid,” he says in a low, deep, slow manner. “If you try to escape, I will kill you, Sasha. I won’t even hesitate.

“I want you as my mate forever. We’re married. You shouldn’t try to kill your husband anyway. But if you do…”

Before he can say another word, I lunge forward and wrap the chains around his neck.

Tobias cries out as I tighten them, pulling back with all my weight as he gags. His airway is slowly cut off. His face turns red and I’m surprised.

I expected more of a fight from him. I didn’t expect it to be this quick and easy, but I have the upper hand.

I’m killing him.

Then, Tobias pulls back with the full force of his weight and I realize this is far from over.

“You will pay for this,” he growls, as the chains loosen.

He yanks me forward, using the momentum of the chains as leverage.

As he does so, I shift into a wolf and dive after his leg, biting it with my sharp teeth.

He howls and shifts as well, coming after me with his claws. He swipes at my shoulder and I don’t want to show any reaction. I don’t want to reveal my pain and give him that satisfaction.

I can’t help it though. I howl at my bleeding skin.

Tobias tumbles on top of me, overpowering me easily. He’s stronger than me, so I’ll have to be smarter than him. It’s the only way I can get the upper hand.

As he lashes out at me, I shift back into a human and grab an ore.

I swing the ore at him, sending him tumbling into the water.

But as he’s about to fall, he grabs onto the ore.

The weight of his body pulls me forward.

It pulls me forward too quickly for me to react, so I fall into the water with him.

I’m submerged right next to him and I try not to panic but he’s stronger than me. It’d be easy for him to drown me.

I’m a good swimmer though.

He comes after me and gets his hands around my neck.

He can’t stay under water forever, but because my neck is closing up, I’m losing air much quicker than he is. He just has to stay here for a little while longer and I’ll drown. I’ll die.

No.

I can’t do that. I won’t.

I knee him below the belt, causing him to crumple in pain and let go of my neck.

I swim forward quickly, skimming the surface of the water so I can get a much-needed gulp of air.

My lungs fill, expanding like my father taught me. So, I’ll be able to stay under water even longer.

Then, I dive back down.

It’s a risk. If I’m down here for too long, it’ll make it easier for Tobias to kill me. He won’t have to hold me under as long if I’m already using up all my air.

But there’s not much else I can do. I’ll die anyway. He’s too strong. So, I might as well die trying if that’s destined to be my fate.

I’m a quicker swimmer than he is anyway. I suspect I can hold my breath for longer too. So, I take that risk. I dive to the bottom of the lake.

Then, I grab a rock. It’s the biggest one I can find that will allow me to still swim with it.

Tobias is swimming after me. I’m running out of breath.

So is he though.

I just have to hold out longer than him.

I just have to hope that he can’t see the rock in my hand and I don’t think he can. It’s too dark and murky.

He will be able to see it if I emerge though, so I have to do this quickly.

I let him get closer to me, realizing that he could kill me. He could drown me.

As he reaches for me, I pick up the rock and smash it down on the top of his head.

He tries to grab my ankle, but in his disoriented state, he sinks.

Without me.

He’ll run out of breath.

I will too if I don’t resurface soon. So, I don’t hesitate.

My lungs are already in pain. I kick, working my way up to the surface before I can drown too.

Finally, I gasp for air. I take deep breaths as I continue to swim.

Tobias doesn’t come back up.

I don’t wait for him to come back up either. Instead, I use the last of my strength to swim to the canoe. I know I won’t make it back to shore by swimming alone. I’m far too tired, so I row.

I glance back every couple of minutes to see if Tobias will surface.

He doesn’t, and he’s been down there so long that I know he’s dead. There’s no way he survived that.

Finally, I reach the shore. I can’t believe it, but my shaking legs meet the sand as I drop to the ground.

I escaped.

I survived.