Avyaane's POV
The library felt small with Logan behind me.
I could feel the heat of his body too close, too much and the weight of his gaze as it clung to me.
"You're tense, little wolf." He had a gentle but teasing tone but with a bit of an edge. A challenge.
I took deep breaths, not wanting to give him the reaction he wanted. "And you're annoying."
He laughed, pulling back enough for me to have a breath. Barely.
My grip clenched hard around the volume I was holding, an ancient, leather-bound tome on the laws and hierarchies of werewolf packs. So I had been searching for something useful, and the last minute loophole that would somehow get me out of this nightmare.
Logan leaned over, checking the shelves beside me. "Do you look for a specific thing?
I hesitated for a brief moment then managed a smirk. "Just refreshing on pack law. You know, in case I ever want to file a complaint for wrongful imprisonment."
His shiny amber-brown eyes danced with merriment. "You're free to go anytime."
I narrowed my eyes. "Really?"
Logan smiled. "Of course." He leaned slightly closer. "But you won't get far."
I clenched my jaw. Bastard.
They knew that I would never stop trying.
But that did not mean that planning would cease.
I looked at the shelves, searching for something useful. Logan didn't move. He was waiting for something.
Fine. Let him wait.
After a beat of silence, he exhaled. "You are different than what I remember."
I froze for half a second and then, gingerly, put a book back on the shelf. "And how do you remember me?"
His smirk faded slightly. "Softer."
I swallowed hard.
That word felt like a slap.
Because it reminded me of a time I was softer. When I had so foolishly believed that Chad once gave a good goddamn about me.
Before all of this in the state had crumbled.
I turned slowly to face him, catching his eye. "That girl is dead."
He studied me for a moment, something inscrutable in his eyes. Then he smiled. "Good."
The tone in which he said it sent ice through my spine.
As if he'd been waiting for me to lose my mind.
As if to see how far I could advance.
I hated him.
I hated all of them.
And I would prove them wrong.
Chad's POV
You were searching for me, and I thought maybe I would spot you smoking in the hallway outside the library, and lo and behold, I did, as Logan leaned against the wall like he had an eternity.
"She's getting smarter," he said, flipping his dark hair back.
I frowned. "What did she find?"
He smirked. "Nothing yet. But she's looking."
I exhaled slowly. Of course she was.
Avyaane was not one to mint for fate. She was watching, waiting, gathering intel.
"She's got something up her sleeve," I muttered.
Logan shrugged. "Of course she is. That's what makes her fun."
I ignored his amusement. This wasn't fun.
It was a problem.
"She has hope that she can win still."
Logan arched his brow. "And can't she?"
I shot him a sharp look. "No."
She couldn't.
Not that I was going to allow her to do that.
Avyaane's POV
The next morning, I was startled awake by my door opening.
I sat upright, muscles taut, half my mind still foggy with sleep.
Chad stood in the doorway, looking at me.
I glared. "Ever heard of knocking?"
He went into the house, past me.] "Get dressed."
I frowned. "For what?"
"You're coming with me."
I hesitated. This was different.
Chad didn't invite me places. He commanded, controlled.
"What if I say no?" I challenged myself.
He met my eyes, his voice firm even firm. "Then I'll make you."
I exhaled sharply. Of course.
I rolled out of bed, rifling through the wardrobe for one of the dresses. It was a different kind of soft, a fragile thing, designed to make me look as if I were tamed.
But I wasn't.
And I never would be.
The Forest
I was not ready for Chad to take me outside.
Not just to the training grounds or the castle courtyard to go out beyond the walls.
Into the forest.
And something jumped in my heart immediately when the scent of trees and wet earth filled my lungs.
This was my chance.
As long as I could get far enough
"I know what you're thinking," Chad said.
I had tilted my head to the side then, surprised as he stepped up beside me, cupping his eyes straight ahead.
"And?" I wanted to know, making my voice stay even.
He smirked. "Run."
I blinked. "What?"
His smirk widened. "Run."
I narrowed my eyes. "You want me to?"
"I want you to try."
My pulse pounded.
This was a trick. It had to be.
But what if it wasn't?
What if this was my one shot?
Chad must have read my indecision because he tilted his head. "You are wasting time, little wolf.
My breath shook.
Then I ran.
The Chase
It was the second my feet hit the black pine-carpeted forest floor that I didn't look back.
I soldiered on, ducking and weaving between trees, breath emerging in jagged bursts spurred by adrenaline. The wind blasted my face, the earthy air expanded my lungs.
Faster. Faster.
I could do this.
I had to do this.
But then a growl.
Close.
Too close.
I didn't have a second to respond before a giant black wolf slammed into me and wrestled me to the ground.
The wolf bore me down, air knocked out of my lungs as I hit the ground.
My pulse roared in my ears.
Chad.
I pushed and pushed, against his hulking body, but he had his massive paws pinned down on it.
And then he changed right before my eyes.
Bones cracked. Muscles stretched.
And suddenly Chad was human again, his body eclipsing the light above me, hands pressed on either side of my head.
I gasped, my heart hammering.
He wasn't even panting.
I had failed.
Again.
His blue eyes burned into my own.
"You really thought I was going to let you off so easy?" he murmured.
Rage burned through me.
I shoved at his chest. "Get off me."
He didn't move.
"You ran," he said simply. "And now you gotta pay the price."
My breath hitched. "And what are those?"
Chad smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
I stiffened my jaw, and tried not to be afraid.
He leaned further in, his breath warm on my skin.
"We own you, Avyaane," he whispered. "And the sooner you realize that, the better off you're going to be."
I gritted my teeth. "Never."
His lips twitched.
"We'll see."
Then, finally, he let me go.
But as I lay there, taking shallow breaths, staring up at the stars, I understood something.
He was right about one thing.
I had played into his hands.
And I needed a new plan.
Before it was too late.