River jumped out of the window. The rain was pounding relentlessly and there was no one patrolling out there. She had to quickly find her way to the tunnel that led to the rear of the mansion towards the north where a dilapidated road surrounded by dense woods, opened. Her road to freedom.
Opening the small, rusted iron gate of an abandoned garden, River splotched her way to a small cabin.
She walked around the perimeter and noticed a hatchet at the base of a wall.
She had to apply some force to open it, but it opened soon enough with a groan, the sound getting washed in the rain. She crawled through the *** and saw a vertical staircase. Without wasting time, she switched on her phone’s torchlight and started climbing down. She landed on soft ground at the bottom. She scanned the area. There was a tunnel to her left. Half an hour later, she felt like she was walking forever. Down here, it was so cold, dark and damp. The path was too narrow and she felt as if the walls were closing in on her. The air smelled of moss and damp earth. She shivered in her wet clothes, hoping that there were no critters down here as she moved ahead.
She had memorized the exact route after seeing it once on the map. Thankfully the tunnel didn’t have any diversions. She wondered if Brianna had already created a noise about her missing. Her worries went a notch higher. “Please God, let me run away. I promise not to come back,” she muttered a small prayer.
She came to a landing which then ascended into a steep stairwell. She climbed it and came across a wide opening with a tall ceiling. It seemed like a secret hall in which hundreds of people could collect safely at times of emergency. She looked ahead and found the door that would lead her to the dilapidated road.
As she trudged ahead, her shoes would fall over dry twigs or something which would burst with a sound of splatch.
The silence around her was unbearable. She wondered if this place had ghosts too. Just the thought paled her and she walked faster. She reached the end of the hall to a tall arched wooden door. Thanking every god in the world, she grabbed the handle and pulled it open. The moment she did that, a gust of chilly wind, smelling pine and mist, gusted by her. Her hoody came down, ruffling her hair. She took in a lungful of air, trembling and pulling her hoody up. The rains had stopped but the sky was gray and dark.
There were woods surrounding the mansion and according to the map, she had to go straight, looking for red arrows that led to the road. River started to sprint, scared that they may have already started looking out for her. As she ran, she heard the thick screech of an owl somewhere followed by a loud howl. “***!” She increased her pace, going in the direction of the red arrows which eventually led her to the broken-down road.
Yes. “Freedom!” she whooped. She caught the sides of her stomach because they were hurting and looked around her to see which side was north. Unsure about it, she dug the map out and saw the arrows that marked the path. She turned to her left.
River started walking fast on the road trying to take advantage of the daylight. According to the map, she had to walk at least a mile before she would get to the bus station which was in a small human village.
As she trudged, she heard soft footfalls of animals beside her. Scared that they may attack her, her walk broke into a sprint. Every now and then she would check the forest surrounding the road and she would meet with a pair of amber, yellow or green sparkles of eyes in a blur of movement. “Please God, don’t let rogues follow me.”
If the rogues got hold of her, she was doomed. She had heard scary stories of how rogues had ***and mauled other wolves. They stole money from them and sometimes raped young girls, leaving them for dead. The thoughts were enough to make her heartbeat go wilder than ever.
It was only a mile she had to cover and after that she was sure that the bus station was populated. The rogues barely showed amongst humans.
The footfalls of the wolves sounded nearer than before. Tears burned her eyes. Were they from her pack?
“I have to make it!” she said to herself. She dashed as fast as she could, but all at once, something jumped in front of her. She shrieked, closing her eyes as she came to a sudden stop and fell on her ***. When she opened her eyes, she saw an outline in the shadows of the men in front of her. Their breathing sounded more like snarls, as their shoulders rose and fell. Their pale green eyes narrowed on her.
She trembled with panic bubbling in her chest.
“Running away?” said one of them in a deep raspy voice.
They had long black claws that could pierce her in an instant, robbing her of life. Their fangs were long and dripping with blood. They were growling at her. They started nearing her and as they neared, they changed back to their human form. One crouched in front of her while the other walked behind her.
“Miss River?” said the one in front.
River swallowed a gasp of surprise as she focused on the Lycans. She had seen both of them at Alpha Maxim’s house, leaning against the black sedan in which Alpha Hunter had come.
She froze when comprehension weighed upon her, panic slowly overtaking her senses. “Please don’t hurt me,” she managed to croak. She was sure that they would beat her or hurt her because she escaped from their Alpha. “Miss River, we are here to take you back to Alpha Maxim’s house,” said the one in front of her in a soft voice.
“No!” she rasped. If they wouldn’t ***her, Alpha Maxim would.
The Lycan behind her gently pulled her satchel out. “Please let me carry it back,” he said.
“Please,” she squeaked. “Let me go! Don’t ***me. And who are you?”
“There is no need to be scared, Miss River,” said the one in front of her. “I am Elijah and this is Asher. We are here to escort you back. Alpha Hunter asked us to make sure that you are safe till he comes back. We had come to check upon you in your room and found your sister. She had offered herself in your place for Alpha Hunter saying that you had escaped, but that was impossible. Alpha Hunter wants you.”
River was frustrated as ***, but her primary emotion was that of surprise and fear. As Elijah and Asher escorted her back, she couldn’t help but feel helpless and desperate about her situation. How would Brianna react to her? She was sure that she must have called Hazel and Kirk and now they would beat her up like anything. Her worries escalated despite their assurances.
