Escape plans

The sound of footsteps approaching broke my concentration, and I stiffened. The door opened, and another girl, I hadn’t seen yet entered her eyes scanning me with an almost calculating expression.

“Oh, God! Are you the new whore?” She asked, her eyes fixed on me like I was some kind of curiosity. I didn’t reply. Her gaze lingered as she started walking toward me.

“You haven’t showered, have you? Goodness, you smell like rot,” she muttered, her tone dripping with disgust. Still, I ignored her.

She sighed and shrugged, undeterred by my silence. “Fine, don’t talk. But the rumors are already spreading-about how the new whore the Alpha rejected”

My chest tightened at her words, but I held my ground. Finally, I spoke, my voice hoarse and cold. “And do you think I give a damn about that?”

She snorted, a dry laugh escaping her lips. “I don’t give a damn either, but being rejected hurts like hell,” she said, heading toward the closet.

“Anyways I didn’t expect you to still be standing,” she remarked, her voice light but with an edge of mockery. “Most girls would have already broken by now.”

I said nothing, refusing to let her provoke me.

“The name’s Jane, by the way,” she added as she rummaged through a pile of clothes. I scoffed, offering no reply, and asked instead, “Why am I here, then? I was rejected but still I am mated to your Alpha.”

Jane turned to glance at me, a shadow of pity flickering across her face. “The other girls are wondering the same thing,” she said simply. “Sex slaves, huh?”

She began dressing with practiced efficiency, slipping into a pink button-down shirt that stopped just above her midriff and a leather skirt so short it barely covered anything.

“I won’t be a sex slave of anyone?”, I hissed.

“Listen,” she answered, her voice dropping to something closer to sympathy, “you don’t have to fight it so much. I get it, okay? I do. This life—it’s not what any of us wanted. But sometimes, you have to make the best of a bad situation.”

Her words hit too close to the truth. I clenched my jaw to stop the emotions from spilling out. “I don’t need your pity,” I snapped, my voice sharp. “And I’m not staying here.”

She tilted her head, her gaze cool but not unkind. “You’ll learn quickly. You’ll have to. The guards will make sure of that.”

I glared at her, not willing to let her see how much her words affected me. “And what about you? You just accept it?”

The girl’s smile faltered for a brief moment, and I saw something dark flash in her eyes—something that reminded me of myself. But she quickly masked it, shrugging. “Some of us don’t have a choice. You’ll see that soon enough.”

She paused, her gaze flickering to the door before returning to me. “But if you need help... sometimes the best way to survive here is to make the right alliances.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “I’m not making any alliances with anyone here.”

She sighed, as if she had heard this all before. “Suit yourself. But it might make things easier for you. Trust me.”

With that, she turned to leave. “Remember, you don’t have to make it harder on yourself,” she said over her shoulder, as she headed to the door.

“You need to shower by the way,” she remarked before leaving the room quickly, the faint sound of her heels clicking against the floor fading as she walked away.

I was alone again. But her words lingered in the air, like a faint whisper that refused to leave my mind. Was she right? Was making alliances the only way to survive this place? Or was that just another trap?

I couldn’t afford to let my guard down. Not yet.

I paced back and forth, my chains rattling with each step, my thoughts spinning. I would find a way out of this. I had to.

The train of my thoughts was soon distracted when I all of the sudden heard muffled screams. My ears perked up, my curiosity piqued. Standing abruptly, I made my way to the door. Gripping the handle tightly, I opened it just enough to peek outside.

The sounds were louder now- music blaring downstairs, a cacophony of rough male voices mixed with softer tones, and the unmistakable moans of pain or pleasure. My stomach churned as my eyes adjusted to the dim hallway.

Men were moving up and down the corridor, some carrying girls in their arms like trophies, others stumbling away, drenched in sweat and something more sinister.

A sharp breath escaped me, trembling as it passed my lips. My heart pounded as I opened the door wider, just in time to catch sight of Jane.

This was really a whorehouse.

She hadn’t been gone long, but now her back was pressed against the wall, her face pale and her eyes hollow. My throat tightened as fear clawed its way through me.

I backed into the room, slamming the door shut. My heart raced, my mind spinning with the reality of it all.

I had escaped one nightmare, only to walk straight into another. How much worse could my fate possibly get?

I sank to the floor, my back against the door as I tried to steady my breathing. The muffled chaos outside seeped into the room, a haunting reminder that escape was impossible. My thoughts spiraled, each more dire than the last.

What had happened to Jane? Was she even still Jane? The vacant look in her eyes didn’t belong to the girl who just spoke to me. She’d been full of life, but now, she was a shell.

I buried my face in my hands, fighting back tears. I now got it why Alpha Kane wanted me to be just his breeder. This is what he dealt in. My only solution was to run away from him.

The room felt smaller with every passing second, the walls closing in as the weight of my helplessness bore down on me. My mind raced, clinging to fragments of plans that dissolved as quickly as they formed. The window? No, it was nailed shut and faced a sheer drop to the ground below. The door? The hallway was swarming with those men-predators disguised as humans.

I swallowed hard, my gaze darting around the room. There had to be something-anything-I could use. My eyes landed on the rickety dresser against the wall. It wasn’t much, but desperation fueled me as I yanked the top drawer open. Inside, I found a small, rusted pocketknife. The blade was dull, but it was better than nothing.

The muffled chaos outside continued, and I strained to catch any sign of Alice’s voice among the cacophony. Nothing. Just the sinister blend of laughter, screams, and pounding bass that made my stomach churn.

Think. My pulse thundered in my ears as I assessed my options again. I couldn’t stay here forever; they’d find me eventually. And if they found me- no, I couldn’t let my thoughts go there. I gripped the knife tightly, my knuckles whitening.