CHAPTER 21: ESCAPE

"Why would you do that?" I whispered, my voice cracking in pain.

He smirked infuriatingly. "I don’t really have to explain myself to you at all."

"Fine." My chest rose and fell with ragged breaths. "But that makes you no better than him. You’re just a monster."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Maeve," he said calmly, like my words slicked right over his skin. "I asked Valden to do it because I already knew you were different. Your mutation charts from back at the periphery showed as much. It’s how you became an Omega in the first place. I knew there was power inside you, strength that you kept hidden. And I wanted it out. That’s why I needed you to be in a situation where you were forced to fight. Now...," he folded his arms. "What I didn’t expect was for you to be completely unaware of your powers and get beaten up like that. Let’s just say, Valden let that happen. I never asked him to push you to the edge like that. I would have stopped it before it even reached that point."

"How convenient," I muttered, my gut twisting with disgust.

"It doesn’t matter what you think of me. We will be mated officially at the next mating ceremony," he said, dropping his voice. "Whether you want to or not."

If there ever was a time for all the power in me to burst free and make an appearance it was now. It was just as Valden said. Alpha Darek Korvash was dangerous. And he was going to force me to mate with him so that he could control me and do what he wanted with me.

But I wouldn’t sit around to find out.

That night, after the maids left, I sneaked into the servants’ room and rifled through the baskets on the wooden shelves until I got my hands on what I wanted – a pair of uniforms. Believing that this would leave me undetected would be stretching it too thin since everyone working here had already seen my face. But I had to make it work. The clothes were just for precaution. Everything else depended on my plan.

I dressed quickly and waited until midnight and strode out of my room, my feet barely making any noise on the smooth tiles. I’d been waiting to do this for some time so I had a rough idea when the night shift guards took over.

There was always a gap, two minutes at most when the guards left their post in front of the hallway of my bedroom and the new guards came in.

This was that moment. I sighed in relief as I slipped out and made my way over and saw the empty spots.

I tiptoed forward, the cold tiles beneath my bare feet cold and smooth, tracing the map that I’d made in my head so as not to get caught. All I needed to do now was to get past Darek’s study undetected, and then the guards positioned at the front door.

That wasn’t going to be as easy. Because Darek knew my scent. And he would know the moment I came anywhere near his vicinity.

I clutched the bottle in my hand tighter. I hid behind a wall and uncorked it until the sharp, pungent smell slithered down my throat and watered my eyes. I had nicked it off the shelves in the servant’s room. Something I had seen them use to scrub the floors and surfaces.

I uncorked it and poured the liquid over my borrowed shirt, the bitterness of the scent riding up my nose and masking all the other scents as it soaked into the fabric. This was probably enough to mask mine from Darek.

I was about to press forward, when I heard the voices.

Two Delta guards rounded the corner and marched right up to Darek’s study and took position in front of the door.

I retreated back behind the wall, pressing flat against it. I had no idea how I would get past them. There surely was no way.

"He’s been increasing security now. Such a downer, I was hoping to get a good night’s sleep today," one guard complained.

"It seems the girl is getting even more restless now. Alpha Korvash has been making all the preparations required for the future," the other guard said.

"What is so special about her anyway? I don’t see her crashing through walls or beating down Varcolacs any time with that body of hers. But...she is a sexy little thing," He chuckled.

"The Alpha better not hear you say that."

"Hey," the other guard said sniffing the air, his eyebrows scrunching. "What is that smell?"

Shit. What did I do?

"It smells like chemicals?"

"We should check it out, I think it’s coming from that way," the voice rang out in the direction of the wall behind me.

I didn’t think. I threw the half-empty bottle in my hand as far as I could, and it flew in the opposite direction of the front door, and shattered against a wall, making a loud enough noise. The glass bottle had exploded now and was plunging the entire room into the acrid smell.

"Over there!"

Several voices rang out as a bunch of heavy boots stomped over, making their way towards the source of the sound. I looked out from behind the wall.

The hallway was empty.

I jumped at the chance and bolted all the way to the front door which was surprisingly left unguarded. My guess was that they too, had heard the sound and had gone to investigate.

I shoved open the slightly ajar door, excitement coursing through my veins at my luck, and made my way out. Out through the rest of the halls, my bare feet against the cold marble floors until they felt the grit of the earth.

Until the cool night air blew against my face, until the night opened endlessly before me.

I was finally outside. I had escaped. I was going to get away from Darek, as far away as possible.

I shifted into my wolf, my clothes shredding during the process, my paws hitting the ground with force. And broke out into a run.