Chapter 43: Trapped and Cornered Lucas POV

In the prison, the thick darkness and eerie silence made it hard to breathe. The only sounds were Anna's soft, irregular breathing and the sound of water trickling far away. Leaning against the cold stone wall, I tried to clear my mind, but the Alpha's threats kept playing over and over in my head every time I closed my eyes.

With her knees close to her chest, Anna sat across from me and stared at the locked door. The flickering flashlight made the worry on her face stand out even more.

"They're not returning, are they?" She asked quickly in a low voice that was tinged with anger.

I turned my head away. "Not unless they're trying to break us again."

Her laughing was dry and devoid of humor. "They won't need to. It's over if any of our packs find us."

I didn't reply right away. We both knew that she wasn't wrong. However, the weight of our situation grew heavier when she said it aloud.

The quiet was broken by Anna, who spoke in a shaky, harsh voice. "Oliver will kill me if he finds where I am. No second chances. No hesitation."

I sat forward and scowled. "What made him do that? I know of his cruelty, but murdering you?"

Her eyes locked with mine, and for an instant, I saw the dread she usually fought so hard to conceal. "Because I assaulted his Luna."

I felt sick to my stomach. “That really made him mad, didn't it?”

"It wasn't intentional," she responded sharply, raising her voice slightly. "She irritated me. She made me look bad in front of everyone, and I lost it. It wasn't until it was too late that I realized what I was doing."

I leaned back against the wall and whistled softly. "Anna, that is... that is awful. Attacking a Luna? In most packs, that’s basically a death sentence."

Her eyes flashed as she scowled at me. "You think I'm unaware of that? Why do you think I ran? What makes you think I’ve been hiding?"

I raised my hands in submission. "All right, all right. I understand. But we need to act quickly if Oliver is that determined to find you."

With a groan, Anna put her legs to her face. "How about you? What would happen if your pack found you here?"

The truth caught in my throat as I paused. "It won't be good."

Her brows wrinkled as she raised her head. "What do you mean?"

I ran a hand through my hair and let out a deep breath. "I came on a job here. A secret mission. And I failed."

Her gaze widened. "How did it fail?"

"I was supposed to..." Uncertain of how much to share, I trailed off. But then I thought back to the time we’d spent together and the trust we had built. Anna deserved the truth, if anyone did. "I was supposed to track a threat. An outlaw. But I didn’t do it. I couldn’t."

Her eyes narrowed, and I could see her thoughts racing. "Hold on. What are you saying?"

With the words weighing heavy on my tongue, I nodded. "You were the threat."

Her breath caught, and for a brief moment, I feared she might snap. Instead, her face went blank as she simply stared at me.

"You really meant that you were supposed to kill me?" she asked flatly.

"Yes," I said. "But I didn't. I couldn’t. And now, my pack will consider it a betrayal if they find out. I'll be punished for disobeying their orders."

A sour grin tugged at Anna's lips as she shook her head. "So, we're both running from those who want us dead. Great."

"Not just running," I firmly stated. "We’re making plans. We’re leaving this place."

She snorted. "And how do you suggest we accomplish that? Did you forget about the Alpha breathing down our necks, the guards, and the locked doors?"

I replied, calmly but resolutely, "No. But every lock has a key. Every plan has a flaw. All we need to do is find it."

Anna folded her arms and leaned back against the wall. "What if we can’t? What if they decide to turn us over to our packs and we’re left here?"

"Then we fight," I said clearly.

She squinted. "Fight? Against a whole pack? Are you crazy?"

"Probably," I said, grinning a little. "But what are our options? I refuse to stay here and let them take us to our deaths. I'm sure you don't want that either."

Her eyes fell to the ground, and she stayed silent for a long time. When she spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Lucas, I don’t want to die."

I moved across the small aisle between us and knelt before her. "You won’t. Anna, I promise we’ll get through this. Together."

Her gaze locked with mine, and I noticed a glimmer of hope for the first time. It was faint, but it was there.

"So," she answered, her tone steadier now. "What’s the plan?"

My mind raced as I sat back on my heels. "First, we need to figure out the guards' schedule—when they patrol, when they change shifts. We need to know every detail."

"Then?"

"Then, we look for flaws. Unlocked doors, loose bars—anything we can use."

Slowly, Anna nodded, her determination strengthening. "What if we don’t find anything?"

After hesitating, I shrugged. "Then we make something. A weapon, a distraction... whatever it takes."

A tiny, sad smile curled her lips. "Are you sure you're not afraid of anything?"

"Oh," I confessed, "I'm scared. But I won't let fear stop me. Not when it comes to keeping you safe."

Her face flushed a little, and she turned her head away. "You realize you're an obnoxious noble, right?"

I winked and answered, "I try."

A shared sense of purpose replaced the faint stress in the room. We weren’t beaten, but we were stuck. Not yet.

We started trading whispers when I heard a slight sound coming from the hallway. My hand automatically went to Anna's arm as I froze.

"What is it?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I held up a finger to tell her to stop talking. The footsteps grew louder, heavy and purposeful, coming straight toward our cell.

With my heart pounding, I whispered, "Someone’s coming."

Anna’s body tensed, her eyes widening as she scrambled to her feet. The question hung between us as we traded a look.

Were they coming to question us again? Or was this the end?