Trying to escape

I sat there for a moment longer, trembling but resolute, as the adrenaline coursing through me began to ebb. My mind was a battlefield of fear and determination. If they thought I was going to quietly accept this fate, they were wrong.

I stood and surveyed the room again, searching for anything I might have missed earlier. The dresser had yielded the knife, but it didn’t hold much else—a few scraps of fabric and some tarnished trinkets that wouldn’t help me. My eyes darted toward the vent near the ceiling.

It was small—too small for me to fit through—but the screws holding it in place were rusted. If I could open it, maybe I could use it to listen, to learn the patterns of the guards or where they kept the keys. I dragged the chair from the corner of the room over to the vent and climbed up, knife in hand.

The blade slipped a few times against the stubborn screws, but eventually, I managed to loosen one. Then another. The metal grille creaked as I pulled it free, revealing the dark tunnel beyond. Dust cascaded down, making me cough, but I leaned closer, straining to hear anything from the other side.

Muffled voices. Laughter. A woman’s scream cut through the noise, sharp and short, before fading into silence. My stomach churned, but I forced myself to focus.

I heard two men talking, their voices low but distinct.

“She’s the Alpha’s,” one of them said. “Nobody touches her until he says so.”

“Doesn’t mean she won’t break,” the other replied with a chuckle. “They always do. Give her a day or two.”

I gritted my teeth, anger flaring hot in my chest. They thought they could break me like I was nothing.

Not this time.

The voices faded as the men moved away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I climbed down from the chair, my resolve hardening with each passing second.

The knife was dull, but it was enough to defend myself if it came to that. I tucked it into the waistband of my tattered pants and adjusted my torn shirt. I looked around the room again, my gaze settling on the bedframe. The wooden slats were loose and splintered—another weapon, if necessary.

Then, my eyes landed on the window again. It was nailed shut, yes, but desperation made me reconsider. I approached it, running my fingers over the wooden frame. If I could pry the nails loose...

The chair scraped loudly against the floor as I positioned it beneath the window. Standing on it, I pressed the tip of the knife against the first nail, leveraging it carefully. It took all my strength, but the nail began to shift, bit by bit.

A sudden knock at the door made me freeze.

“Hey! What’s going on in there?” a voice barked.

My heart leapt into my throat. I jumped down from the chair and pressed myself against the wall beside the door, clutching the knife.

“Open up!”

I held my breath, every muscle in my body coiled like a spring.

The doorknob rattled violently.

“I’m not playing games! Open this damn door!”

The sound of a key scraping against the lock sent a jolt of panic through me. I didn’t think—I acted.

As the door swung open, I lunged, slamming it back into the guard with all my strength. He grunted in pain, stumbling back, and I darted past him into the hallway.

The world outside my room was a blur of chaos—bright lights, deafening music, and the suffocating stench of sweat and smoke. I didn’t stop to take it in. I ran.

“Get her!” someone shouted behind me.

My bare feet pounded against the cold floor as I turned corner after corner, dodging outstretched hands and shoving past startled men and women. My lungs burned, my vision narrowing to a tunnel of desperate focus.

A staircase loomed ahead, and I didn’t hesitate. I took the steps two at a time, the knife gripped tightly in my hand.

But as I reached the bottom, I skidded to a halt.

Standing in front of me was Alpha Kane.

His expression was unreadable, but the storm in his eyes was unmistakable.

“Going somewhere?” he asked, his voice cold and sharp.

I raised the knife, my hands trembling but my resolve firm. “Stay back,” I warned.

His lips curled into a slow, predatory smile. “You’re feistier than I thought.”

The guards were closing in behind me. I was trapped.

But I’d come too far to give up now.

My heart raced in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears as I weighed my options. The guards were closing in, and Kane’s smile only deepened as he took a step closer, his presence overwhelming, like the weight of a storm just before it broke.

I gripped the knife tighter, my knuckles white. “I said stay back,” I repeated, my voice quivering but defiant. My mind raced, desperate for a plan, a way out.