Skylar
My heart stopped hearing what he said. The special rituals? I had heard that his and my family must obey whatever the shadow tomb wills. I didn't know about any rituals that need to be performed.
I looked at Alec, blinking. He didn't look at me. He kept his gaze fixed on the older man, "She came just yesterday. Give her time. She will do what is required, Elder." Alec growled.
The Elder stepped closer, narrowing his eyes at me. "And if she doesn't survive?"
Alec pulled me slightly behind him, his body shielding me, but his words weren't comforting.
"We will see, elder." Alec said coldly. "We must do whatever the shadow tomb wants."
Alec turned his head slightly, his eyes finally meeting mine. "Let's move forward."
I nodded. Once the elder was far behind, I looked up at him, "What ritual was he talking about?"
He sighed as if he expected the question. "Trust me, Skylar. You don't want to know."
"I need to know everything that comes to me before I sign the contract, don't you think?" I talked back. "I don't what, where and how I will—"
"Sex." His words were so blunt I felt my cheeks blaze with fire. "He was talking about sex rituals, assigned by the shadow tomb."
I didn't talk. I didn't dare to.
He led me into the ballroom. Bellina joined later. I was introduced to the Alphas who looked at me like raw meat and the elite ladies that judged me with their stern gazes that stung more than Alec's insults. I played the part though. I smiled. I nodded. I drunk the wine that tasted like ash.
When the clock struck midnight, Alec finally leaned in. "You've done enough," He murmured, his breath warm against my ear. "Aveline will take you from here. I have to finish things with the Council."
Before I could even respond, Aveline was there, holding my hand. "Finally! I thought I'd have to die of boredom."
Dmitri followed close behind her, loosening his tie. "Come on, Skylar. The old men are going to talk about politics and bloodlines for the next three hours. Let's go somewhere we can actually breathe."
Alec gave a curt nod to Dmitri, a silent command to keep me safe and then disappeared back into the sea of black suits.
I followed Aveline and Dmitri away from the suffocating ballroom, up a different set of stairs to a cozy, dimly lit lounge on the second floor. It was filled with plush velvet sofas and a low table covered in snacks and a deck of cards.
"No more protocols. No more elders." Aveline said, kicking off her heels and collapsing onto a sofa. "Sit. Dmitri is going to lose all his money to us, and it's going to be the highlight of my night."
I sat down, pulling the heavy red velvet of my dress.
Dmitri started dealing the cards, "Don't mind the elder, Sky." Dmitri said, shooting me a sympathetic look as he handed me my cards. "He is the eldest in our pack. He, you know, practices witchcraft and of course, he takes the Shadow Tomb stuff too seriously."
"It looked like so…" I whispered, looking at my cards. "The way the Elder looked at me..."
"That Elder is a pain in the ass." Aveline interrupted, throwing a chip into the center. "Just because he is eldest and practices witchcraft, Alec is patient with him."
It looked like so. But I didn't know he was the eldest. He must know so many things about the shadow tomb.
"Here." Dmitri tossed his card.
For the next two hours, Aveline and Dmitri were like a cat and a mouse. Aveline was the cat, constantly pouncing, poking, and trying to cheat.
"Is that an Ace in your sleeve, Dmitri?" She barked, lunging across the table to grab his arm.
"It's a wristband, you crazy woman!" Dmitri yelped, pulling back and nearly knocking over a bowl of grapes. "Maybe if you spent less time looking at my sleeves and more time looking at your pathetic hand, you'd actually win a round."
"Pathetic?" Aveline gasped, offended. She turned to me. "Skylar, did you hear him?"
Dmitri rolled his eyes, a grin tugging at his lips. "She's just mad because I caught her trying to peek at your cards three times. She's a menace, Skylar. A total menace."
"I am a tactician!" Aveline countered, sticking her tongue out at him.
In this small room, watching them bicker I felt a lot better and forgot about the deadline. I actually let out a genuine laugh when Aveline tried to hide a King under her thigh, only for Dmitri to pull it out.
"I like her," Dmitri noted, smiling at me as I won another round. "Maybe Alec picked her for her poker face."
Alec didn't pick me. Tomb did. We knew it very well. But I still smiled.
"By the way, I should go back. Alec will be looking for me," I said, standing up and smoothing the wrinkles in my velvet skirt.
"Already?" Aveline pouted, "Can you not stay?"
"Let her go, Ave," Dmitri said, offering me a small, knowing nod. "They are newly married. They need to spend time together."
Together. My ass. I had less than twenty-four hours now. I must save myself from this hellhole.
I didn't say any of that. I thanked them instead and stepped out into the hallway. Of course, I didn't walk toward the master suite. I didn't want to go back to that bed. I didn't want to lie next to that man.
If Alec was still stuck with the Council, this was my only chance.
I looked both ways before I moved quickly. I had noticed a narrow servant's staircase near the library earlier today. If I could get down to the ground floor and find the laundry exit, I might be able to reach the stables.
I didn't have a plan. I didn't have a map, but the desperation in my chest was screaming louder than my fear.
I reached the library and pushed through the side door, slipping into the servant's passage. It was cold here, too cold.
I hurried down the winding stairs, tripping once on the long hem of my dress. I reached the bottom and saw a flicker of light. A door.
The door led to a small, dimly lit stone hallway. It was a pantry or a storage room.
I didn't stop to think. I scrambled through the rows of heavy sacks and wooden crates until I saw another door. It was a plain iron one. I pulled it open, and this time, the wind hit me.
I was outside. Fuck.
The air was freezing, biting into my exposed shoulders, but I didn't care.
I was behind the manor, near the service docks where the wagons had been earlier. The forest was only about fifty yards away.
I pulled up the heavy red velvet of my dress as I ran. I didn't look back. I didn't want to see the tall, dark windows of the master suite.
When I reached the tree line, my lungs were burning. The forest was dense. The ground was covered in thick roots and slippery pine needles. I stumbled into the darkness.
"Just a little further," I whispered to myself, my breath coming out in white puffs. "Just get to the road."
I didn't know where the road led. I didn't know if I would survive the night in a forest filled with rogue wolves. But as I looked back and didn't see the manor, all I felt was hope.
I ran until my legs gave out and finally collapsd against an ancient oak tree. I stayed there for a moment, gasping for air, listening.
The forest was quiet. Too quiet.
Then I heard something snap.
I froze, my eyes wide as I looked around. A low, vibrating sound started. A growl.
Rogues. Just what I feared.
A pair of glowing eyes appeared in the brush, followed by another. Then another. Three rogues.
I backed away, my hand going to the silver necklace at my throat. I was an Omega. I couldn't fight them. I couldn't outrun them.
To them, I was just a meal.
I tried to scream, but the sound died in my throat as the largest one lunged. I threw my arms up to protect my face. Its teeth sank deep into my shoulder, the force of the impact throwing me to the forest floor.
Pain exploded through my body. I felt the my dress soak with something warm and sticky. My blood.
The other two closed in. One snapped at my leg, its teeth tearing through the fabric. I kicked out, sobbing, but I was nothing to them. I felt a heavy paw crush my chest, pinning me to the dirt. The lead wolf hovered over my throat.
This was it. I was going to die in the dirt, wearing a dress that cost more than my whole fortune.
The wolf opened its jaws, its black lips curling back to reveal yellowed fangs. I closed my eyes, waiting for the end. Blackness came.
I thought of my mother's face, of Aveline's laugh, and even of Alec's cold, forest-green eyes.
I'm free, I thought. He can't make me sign anything now.