Chapter 21
Chapter 21
ADELINE
My fingers traced the mark that pulsed almost like it was a living thing, as I stared at myself in the mirror of the hotel room Nicole had checked me into.
I couldn’t go back to my father. Nicholas would find me there, force me to return with him, or worse–Rose would tell everyone about the cracks in Nicholas and my marriage, and that would only provoke him further, making whatever punishment he had in store for me that much worse.
And her house was ruled by Luther, which left me with only this hotel and an uncertain destination.
It felt like an eternity before I finally closed my eyes and stepped out of the bathroom, returning to the room where Nicole was pacing, speaking to someone on the phone.
I stood by the door, waiting for her to finish, until she said, “I appreciate this, I’ll be waiting for your call.”
“Good news or bad news?” I asked, stepping toward her.
She sighed and collapsed onto the bed. “Both. My friend says he can get you on a plane by tomorrow night, get you out of the country so you can lay low while we figure out how to get you out of that contract. I still don’t get why you won’t just let me tell my father.”
I shook my head. “I’m trying to run now, but Nicholas is too powerful. He’ll find me eventually. Hopefully by then, I’ll have figured something out, but there’ll be a price to pay. If I tell your father, he’ll increase the cost of that price. I can’t risk it.”
Nicole let out a deep sigh as I took a seat beside her. “So what’s the bad news?”
“He knows you’re gone, and like you said, he’s powerful. He’s already looking.” She reached out and placed her hand over mine,….ich I hadn’t even realized was trembling. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here. This is the hotel I come to when I don’t want to be found. We just need to keep you out of his
reach.”
I nodded, and she smiled, standing up. “Get some rest. I’ll be back in the morning.”
She moved toward the door, but before she could leave, I spoke. “I know you don’t know me that well–or maybe at all–but thank you. For being here.”
She turned back, that mischievous glint returning to her eyes as a small smile tugged at her lips. “I should be thanking you. Things were getting a little
too dull around here.”
The door clicked shut behind her, and I flopped back onto the bed. My hand instinctively went to the mark again, the jagged outline that had been forced
onto my skin.
Of all the things he could’ve done to me, he had no right to mark me like this. My eyes closed, and my thoughts shifted to Devon. As much as he’d betrayed me and broken my heart, he had once been the one person I’d shared happiness with.
Why did he have to betray me? Why did he push me into starting this life? Now he was gone, and I was stuck in a situation that felt impossible to escape
from.
With a sigh, I pushed myself out of bed and walked toward the front desk to ask if there was any food available, since Nicole had said that as long as ! stayed inside this hotel–owned by an old Polish woman named Dorota who understood the need for discretion–I would be safe.
I had barely taken a few steps down the hallway when I heard Dorota’s voice behind me, thick with an accent. “You need something?”
My head snapped in her direction. “Dorota! You almost scared me.”
She smiled. “People say I sneak up on them. They don’t hear my footsteps because I am too small.”
I laughed and walked toward her. “I think you’re the perfect height. And yes, I do need something. I’m kind of hungry, and if you don’t mind
“Of course pot,” she interrupted. “Come, come. I’ll take you to the kitchen. Find you something to eat. Miss Nicole says to take good care of you.”
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Chapter 21
A genuine smile touched my lips as I followed her down the hallway. I slowed my steps to fall in stride with her. “It’s a beautiful hotel you have here.”
“Yes, yes,” she nodded. “It’s good for people like me who don’t want to be bothered in the country.”
I understood exactly what she meant. Not wanting to be found–or, in her case, found and deported. We continued walking in a comfortable silence, until we reached a door. She opened it, but instead of leading to the kitchen, it opened outside.
I looked down at her. “Uh, Dorota, Nicole said it would be safest if I stayed inside.”
She waved me off. “We won’t leave. I just need to grab some things quickly, then we’ll go to the kitchen.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll just wait for you here.”
“Come, you help me,” she urged.
Then she stepped outside. My wolf growled low in my mind, and I couldn’t explain it, but something suddenly felt off. Still, I followed her outside, and almost immediately, the feeling intensified.
My head snapped toward her. Dorota’s eyes were filled with sadness as she spoke. “I’m sorry, but they found out you’re here, and they threatened ine. I had no choice.”
Before I could respond, men emerged from the shadows, surrounding me in an instant. My wolf growled, and I glanced at Dorota one last time before I let my instincts take over. Without thinking, I bolted, and the chase began.
I didn’t stop even as arrows sliced through the air from every direction. My paws slammed into a thorn, and I let out a growl of pain, but I kept running. Blood flowed, thick and choking the air, as arrows continued to rain down.
I didn’t know who these men were, but I wasn’t sticking around to find out. My only focus was escaping, even though deep down I knew I wouldn’t make it. Then the first arrow struck.
The pain was unbearable, worse than the thorn, and it just kept coming. Each arrow seemed worse than the last until my body gave out, forcing me back into my human form.
Still, I tried to move, to escape, but then the men appeared again, their numbers tripled. They still held their bows, and a man emerged in the middle of
them.
He didn’t bother to hide the cruel smirk on his face as he slowly approached.
“Looks like you shouldn’t have left the tower, princess,” he said, his voice smooth but dripping with malice.
I swallowed hard, every instinct screaming to run, but I couldn’t.
“Why… why are you doing this? Who are you people?” I gasped out.
The cruel smile grew wider. “Those questions are better answered by the Lycan king.” Then he raised his hand and gave the order. “Fire.”
Thoughts raced through my head as the arrows flew toward me. Most importantly, how I’d been wrong, and how this was Nicholas’s doing. My heart pounded in my chest. I wasn’t sure which terrified me more: the fact that if I survived, I would be back with him, or the idea that these men might be taking me to someone unknown.
The arrows sank into my skin, and I screamed in agony–an animalistic cry that I didn’t know was possible. My vision blurred as blood poured from the wounds. The last thought before blackness took me was:
If he could do this, then if I survived, what would await me? Either way, Nicholas had damned me to hell.
And truly… there was no
