Chapter 6

Elorai.

I'm unable to sleep that night. I keep tossing and turning, Adaline's words replaying in my head like a broken tune. The alphas haven't come to see me, much less dissuage my fears, which only tells me that what Adaline warned about is something they will eventually do.

I don't want to wait to find that out.

I slide off the bed, pacing around the room to see if I can find something I can use as a rope to get me down.

I want to escape from here. I don't know if I'll succeed, but I'd rather fail than not try at all.

My gaze falls on the bedsheets, and I pull them off the bed and begin ripping them, forming long strings.

When I tie the ends and suspend them from the window, they reach the ground. A breath of relief escapes my lips.

This can work.

I bring it back up to secure the knots and finally tie one end of the makeshift rope to a secure structure I know won't move, then throw the other end outside the window, testing it out again.

Satisfied and partly certain it can carry my weight, I start climbing down the window and using the makeshift rope to guide me down.

The entire endeavor is nerve-wracking, and I keep having the terrifying thought that I'm going to slip and fall, but thankfully it doesn't happen.

I make it to the ground and sigh as my legs make contact with the soft earth.

Looking around me, I check if anyone has seen me yet, and when I confirm no one has, I bolt into the gardens, trying to make it to the gate and, hopefully, escape.

My heart is racing, my blood is roaring, but I don't dare look back. This is my first taste of freedom.

I didn't even know I was caged until those monsters showed up and claimed me.

The cool air whizzes past my ears, and I realize I want more of this.

This freedom.

I make it halfway out of the compound when a hand yanks me back, another clasping over my mouth, muffling my screams.

"Now, where do you think you're going?" a voice growls against my ear, and my eyes widen, terror slicing through my gut.

It's Knox.

My voice is muffled against his hand, and he resumes carrying me away, back into the house.

No! I don't want to go back in there!

He doesn't take me into my room like I expect him to. Instead, he slams me against the wall in the hallway, his body pressed against mine.

I feel the heat radiating off his body, and it makes me shiver. This man is menacing.

I finally manage to pry his hand off my mouth. "Let go of me!" I scream, thrashing my legs. He renders those immobile as well.

"I believe I asked you a question first," he growls, his breath hot against my face. "Where do you think you're going?" he growls, punctuating the words.

Why does he want me to spell it out for him? Of course I'm trying to escape!

“Let me go!” I yell again, struggling to get free. He lets out a derisive chuckle, pressing himself harder against me.

“You were running away, weren’t you?” he snarls, his face moving to the side of my face, his warm breath tickling my earlobe. “Weren’t you told that was a bad idea?”

My heart starts to pound at the threat in his words, but I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me so terrified.

Knox brings his face closer to the crook of my neck and proceeds to sniff me, breathing me in.

“Lucas wasn’t lying…” he growls, his voice thick with hunger. “You are leaking pheromones…” He pulls back to glare at me, need blatant in his eyes. “And they smell divine.”

I stare at him, appalled by his actions, but he resumes breathing again, his tongue darting out to lick the sensitive spot below my neck.

I gasp, a shiver running down my spine.

A low rumble starts in Knox’s chest as he resumes stroking that area with his tongue, sensations spreading through my body from that point.

What the hell is he doing? I don’t understand any of this.

“Knox! Let me go, please!” I cry out, still struggling, but he doesn’t relent. If anything, his exploration has gotten wilder, as he’s now peppering kisses all over the exposed skin on my neck.

It feels like this morning all over again, except this time, this male has no intention of stopping what he’s doing.

Panic begins to bubble within me, and I want to get him off before he does anything drastic.

“Help me!” I cry out, pulling at his hair in an attempt to dislodge him. “Help me, please!”

Knox goes on to grab my waist, his hips grinding against mine as his tongue continues with its wicked lashes across my neck, nipping the skin as he ventures elsewhere.

For fuck’s sake, what is he doing?!

I hear heavy footfalls coming closer, and before long, Ronan and Lucas show up, pulling Knox away from me. He struggles, but they easily overpower him and pull him back. I crumple to the ground, completely shaken.

For a tiny, fleeting moment, I’m glad they came to help me.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Ronan growls as he hits Knox on the shoulder. “You said you were going on a run!”

“She tried to run away!” Knox snarls back, and they snap their heated gazes at me. I cower, looking away.

“You… did what?” Ronan mutters, but he might as well have screamed it, because I tremble.

“I…” I start to speak to defend myself but quickly give up.

His hand reaches for my neck, and he pulls me up with it, his grip not strong enough to crush my windpipe, but enough to make me gasp for breath.

“I told you, no funny tricks! Why didn’t you listen?!”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” I croak out, now attempting to get his hand off.

Lucas just stares at the scene unfolding in front of him.

He lets me go, then proceeds to drag me into my room by my arm, the remaining two following behind them.

“Stop it! I’m sorry… Let me go, please,” I force out through ragged breaths, my terror at an all-time high now.

I’m hauled back into my room, and Ronan immediately spots the makeshift rope I used in escaping. He lets me go to give a mirthless laugh.

“Seriously,” he says, glancing back at me with venom in his eyes. I shrink back further.

“We’ve been too lenient with you. Time to show you what happens when you disobey orders.”

He growls, lifting me up from the ground and throwing me over his shoulders.

Horror settles in my gut. Where is he taking me?!

“Ronan! Stop, please! I’m sorry!” I cry out, thrashing against him, but he just keeps marching ahead, his grip on me unyielding, stopping me from wiggling free.

He takes me to another room, devoid of all decorations, with barred windows, dropping me roughly on the ground.

Even the air feels stale and musty, an indication that no one has been here for years. “Here is your new room. You’ll stay here until you learn proper manners and obedience!”

I whimper, tears burning my eyes.

With a scoff, he turns around and locks the door after me, keeping me in the dark.

“Ronan, please!” I cry out, rushing toward the door and banging against it. “Let me out!”

I hear nothing. No footsteps. No voices.

I keep banging until I have no strength left in my hands and slump to the floor, my chest tightening with every second that passes.

My gaze becomes blurry.

A sob hangs in my throat.

I bury my face in my hands and let it out.

Soft, agony-filled sobs.

.

.

.

Knox.

“Fuck, her scent won’t come off me…” I groan as I wash my face and lips for the umpteenth time, trying to get rid of the taste of her skin on them.

Lucas stares at me and scoffs, rolling his eyes. Ronan has refused to return since he locked Elorai in the room she can’t escape.

I breathe again, and there’s her scent, lingering in the air. A frustrated groan spills from my lips.

“It’s like a damn aphrodisiac. It just won’t leave!”

“All the more reason you should have stayed away. Why were you sniffing her like that, huh? Didn’t you hear what I said about her leaking pheromones?”

“I just wanted to confirm it, damn it. I didn’t feel it the first time we met her.”

Lucas groans, an exasperated sigh spilling from his lips as he leans back in his chair. “Maybe we did. We were just too on edge to notice,” he mumbles.

I rub my nose again, still trying to get rid of it. I’m already hard as hell, and I know going to sleep with a boner as hard as what I’m carrying will only result in painful blue balls and an even worse headache.

“God damn it… I’ll need a whore or ten to get rid of all these effects.”

“Well, good luck with that. You better get started.”

“Fucker,” I groan, narrowing my eyes at him. “Acting like you’re better than us.”

He shrugs, a corner of his lips tugging up. “Well, I’m not as stupid as you.”

I want to retort but decide against it. I need to sort out this damned arousal rushing through my veins.

With a huff, I turn around and walk away.