5: Escape Gone Wrong

Maria 

I am free! 

Finally free! 

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, my heart pounding in my chest like a drum. I couldn't stop, wouldn't stop, not until I was sure I was safe. I can’t think about spending another moment with King Leo, the thought alone made my body shake in disgust. But my body betrayed me, my legs trembling beneath me like leaves in a storm. I stumbled, my vision blurring, and collapsed onto the cold, hard ground.

I lay there without making an attempt to stand up, I was tired and I didn’t mind if I died now, just when I thought about that, I quickly held my stomach, knowing that if I died my child was going to die too and I don’t want that. I couldn't help but look back, my eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of pursuit. But there was none. I was alone, completely and utterly alone.

My mind raced with thoughts of King Leo, his piercing eyes and chiseled features haunting me. I couldn't let him find me, couldn't let him know about the secret I carried within me. My hand instinctively went to my stomach, cradling the tiny life growing inside.

"No, no, no," I whispered to myself, my voice barely audible. "He can't know. He'll take my baby away from me, give it to that...that mistress of his."

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I thought of the king’s mistress, I know I couldn't compete with her, didn't want to, I don’t care. All I wanted was to be free, to be away from his grasp.

How could my mother sell me to him? A mother who was supposed to protect their children but mine would do anything to make me stay away from her, it was obvious she never cared about me, I meant nothing to her, and each time those thoughts break me, when I see people who are loved by their parents all I could do is think about where I could have gone wrong. 

So I forced myself up, knowing this was only the beginning, I needed to run away as fast as I could, away from them, away from the life I had lived so far, I was too weak to shift to my wolf form and run away from here.

But my body had other plans. My vision began to blur, my head spinning with a dizzying intensity. I felt myself being pulled down, down into a dark abyss of unconsciousness.

"No," I whispered, my voice fading away. "No, please...don't let him find me..."

And with that, everything went black.

*

I slowly opened my eyes, groggily taking in my surroundings. I was being dragged, my body bumping against the rough ground. Panic set in as I realized I had no idea how I got there. The last thing I remembered was collapsing in the wilderness, alone and scared. I tried to lift my head, but a sharp pain shot through my temples, making me wince.

“Hmm” I groaned and clutched my head but I was still behind dragged. 

I tried to make sense of what was happening. I was being dragged by someone or something. I couldn't see their faces, but their hands were rough and unforgiving. I tried to struggle, but my body felt heavy and unresponsive.

“Let us go! This is wrong!”

I tried to scream, but my voice was hoarse and barely audible. I cleared my throat and tried again, but my cry for help was muffled by some unknown force. It was as if someone had placed a hand over my mouth, silencing me.

“How could you do this to us? We did nothing! We were all happy in our pack and then you dragged us with you! You destroyed our homes, killed our people, and forced us out of our homes!”

As I struggled to free myself, I noticed that the ones dragging me were also dragging other people with them and they were definitely slaves, their eyes vacant and their movements mechanical. 

“Why are you doing this!”

“Let us go!”

The voices of the captured slaves kept on ringing in my head, they were all talking at once and I was hardly making out what they were saying, it only added to my headache and I hissed quietly.

“Let us bury our dead ones!”

“The goddess will forgive you for this”

“This is inhumane! This is torture!”

“You are tormenting us!”

“Don’t force us into slavery!”

“No one should speak! Anyone who speaks will be killed, no more noise, and then we will arrive in our territory with less drama”

“Please no! Save me! Don’t drag us into slavery!”

“You have already massacred our pack! What more do you want?! Why can’t you let us go, you killed our alpha! Release us this moment!” a woman screamed at the top of her voice, it was obvious she didn’t care if she died. 

I wasn’t the one but my heart started beating fast as I saw one of the guards move closer to her, his eyes were burning in rage and he raised his hand, colluding it with her face. The slap was so hard that every one of us gasped, the woman fell to the ground and I started panicking as he coughed out blood.

“You are lucky our alpha had instructed us not to kill anyone, I would have killed you here and made you an example to others. I don’t have much patience and don’t make me lose my patience, your pack has been overpowered by mine and so you are now under my alpha and it is left for him to do whatever he deems fit!” he roared at them and they all whimpered 

I noticed the fear glaring in their eyes and I am sure mine mirrored theirs, right at that moment I realized with a jolt of fear that I must have been mistaken for a member of another pack, one that had been attacked. The thought sent a chill down my spine.

This wasn’t how I planned my escape to be, I had thought if I left, I would finally have the happiness and freedom that I deserved but now I was being dragged with these unknown people to become a slave in this pack. Tension overcame me and I started shaking my head, the thought of the hardship I was about to face was enough to make me gain my strength immediately. 

"No, no, no!" I screamed, my voice finally finding its strength. "I'm not one of them! I was walking alone, I collapsed! Please, you have to believe me! You have got the wrong person, let me go please”

I kept on struggling but my words fell on deaf ears. The guards continued to drag me, their grip unyielding. I struggled and kicked, but they were too strong. I felt like a rag doll, helpless and powerless.

"Stop! Please, stop!" I begged, my voice hoarse from screaming. "You're hurting me!" 

But they didn't stop. They kept dragging me, their pace steady and relentless. I felt like I was being pulled apart, my body stretched to its limits.

“Let me go!”I screamed and moved swiftly biting the hand of the guard closer to me, he jolted out of shock and they let me go immediately, I started crawling back and their eyes burned with anger. 

“I have warned everyone just now but it seems you are so eager to die and I won’t mind fulfilling your wishes for you! How dare you bite a guard’s hand” The guard who slapped the lady roared and it seemed he was in charge.

I regretted my actions immediately as he moved closer to me with anger, his steps were well calculated and when he was close enough to me, he grabbed my hair and pulled me forward, A scream tore from my mouth, I couldn’t help it and held his hand, trying to pull his hand from hair. 

He was stronger than me and my scalp was burning, I knew I was going to lose a lot of hair at this point, tears fell from my eyes rapidly and I wondered why was I so unlucky, I was hardly lucky in terms of anything, my life was already pitiful e laugh and I wondered how long this was going to continue. 

Just when I thought I was going to lose my mind, a loud roar echoed through the air, making everyone freeze. The guard stopped pulling my hair, their heads snapping up in unison and they all bowed immediately. I looked up, my eyes locking on a tall, imposing figure.

He was massive, his body towering over the guards. His eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing as he took in the scene before him. I felt a shiver run down my spine as he approached me, his movements slow and deliberate.

"What's going on here?" he boomed, his voice like thunder and just like a force that beckoned, I lowered my head immediately.