Chapter 2: Escape

Looking at him he gasped, his eyes widening in shock, as he heard my voice.

Without looking back, I ran out of the room. I could no longer stay there. If my mate could reject me, then the pack could kill me. I only knew one thing: I had to run away from the pain, from everything else, from everything.

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, the wind whipping through my hair and the ground pounding beneath my feet. The tears flowed freely down my cheeks, I felt anger and sadness spilling out of me in a torrent of emotions.

I wanted to be free.

Just when I thought I had lost them, I heard the echoing sound of a gunshot.

Searing pain pierced my right leg. “Ah! F**ck!” I felt myself falling to the ground.

"No, no, please give me a second chance to be free." I muttered as a tear fell down my eyes, my vision blurring as the world around me faded to black.

~~~~

I woke up in an unfamiliar room with my head pounding and my body aching. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through my head, and then my leg forced me back on the hard bed.

It was only when I tried looking around that I realized that I was in a cell.

Time flew by, and another week passed while I remained locked up in the cell.

I had little or no appetite and I barely ate anything. I just couldn't bring myself to eat when my life was going to change from bad to worse.

No one showed, perhaps burdened by guilt, but I knew that at the very least I was going to be punished for trying to escape.

"The trial has been set for tomorrow. You will appear before the senior elders for questioning." The announcement from the guard on duty interrupted my thoughts as I looked up at him.

"Tomorrow?” The realization hit me that my fate would be decided that day. 

“I couldn't believe you killed your head consultant just to escape this place. Sigh.” The guard sighed and walked out.

Huh? Grace was dead. But I didn't kill her.

Could I escape the impending judgment? With a mounting pile of accusations and no one to stand up for me, it seemed like tomorrow would mark my doomsday.

I couldn't get those thoughts out of my mind.

Lily! Just then, Lily came into my mind. She knew the truth and could testify for me, but would they listen to her?

"Hehe," I couldn't help but laugh with tears in my eyes and liquid flowing out of my nose.

With my eyes wide, my tear-filled gaze stared off into the distance. Silent tears streamed down my cheeks, leaving shiny tracks against my ashen skin. My eyes were red and swollen, with dark circles underneath, evidence of my sleepless nights.

My trembling lips quivered with the weight of my emotions, but no cries escaped them. I held my breath as I tried to suppress my sobs, my shoulders shaking with each silent sob.

What had I done to deserve such a merciless ordeal?

I knew that my tears would not solve anything, but what else could I do?

Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice taunting me.

"Look who's here, looking like a pathetic homeless dog?" Lily's voice echoed through the dungeon.

I lifted my eyes and locked my gaze with Lily's pitch-black orbs, shimmering with intense hatred.

Why did she look at me that way?

Summoning my strength, I spoke up,

"Lily, what's going on?”

“What's going on is that you're going to die. Yes, I killed grace and framed it for you. Gosh, I hate you so much, Ava.”

I was short of words.

"Why, lily? Why did you set me up?" I at least had the right to know why someone I had considered a friend, a sister, could be so heartless.

"What difference will it make if I tell you? You'll die tomorrow anyway." Lily's nonchalant response fueled my frustration, but she tried to remain composed.

"I never did anything to harm you, Lily. "Why would you do this to me?" I tilted my head to one side as I asked.

"You never did anything?" Avery's voice dripped with venom as she asked with her voice raised. "Your mere existence is wrong. Because of you, I'm still here. Because of you, I can't get a good buyer. What other reason do I need to get rid of you?"

Lily's angry outburst caught me off guard.

Impossible! I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"But it seems I underestimated your powers. You wormed your way up and became the wanted slave omega. But you know what? I didn't give up.” 

I was stunned by Lily's confession. I felt shocked, betrayed, and angry. The truth was that my best friend was actually my enemy. Wow!

The pain was just too much for me to handle; it felt as though someone was stabbing me directly in the chest. The pain of betrayal by someone I had once considered a friend was agonizing. It felt as though I was being fried in a scorching pan of boiling oil.

"You are sick in the head," I spat at her, finding no other explanation for Lily's actions.

"But my madness stems from seeing you live so happily with everything that was meant to be mine. After you're sent to the afterlife tomorrow, I promise to take your spotlight and get hooked up to a rich and powerful alpha. I will be the perfect Luna this pack has ever desired." She paused and looked at me.

"Oh yes, dear! I am sick in the head. In fact, I am crazy." 

"As for you, you'll be rotting in hell, where a bitch like you deserves to be." Lily's words flowed as she relentlessly mocked me. She seemed unburdened by any hesitation to insult the person she had once called a friend for years. She laughed as she walked out of the cell.

"I just have to wait and die tomorrow."

~~~

As I lay in my cold, damp cell, I knew that my time had finally come. I had been awaiting my execution for what seemed like an eternity, and now, with the sun beginning to rise, I knew that my wait was over.

I began to rise to my feet, my limbs feeling stiff and weak after weeks of confinement.

The door to my cell creaked open. The guards were here to take me to my execution, but this time, I was ready.

They came into the cell and dragged me out to the execution hall, but as we approached a window, "I'm sorry, I can't stay here any more." I used all my strength and jumped out of the window. I didn't care how high it was, and I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.

"Stop her!" A guard yelled.

I ran, colorless liquid streaming down my face, my heart pounding so loudly in my chest.

I couldn't stop, not when freedom was calling to me.

This time it's either I die or be set free.