Chapter 06: Captured

MORANA

My last chance.

I thought it was worth risking everything for the chance to be free.

I nodded, making my decision and moving forward.

"Stay alert, don't let anyone see you," he instructed with a firm look, before exiting the door.

I followed him, closing the door behind me and feeling adrenaline take over as I moved down the hallway. My heart was racing, pounding in my ears.

Volk suddenly stopped, leaning against the wall as we were about to turn into the next corridor.

Turning his face towards me, he looked at me with his amber eyes full of tension. I could almost hear his heart beating, as loud as mine.

Suddenly, he lifted one arm, reaching behind my neck, then he pulled the hood of my coat over my head. Then he turned and continued down the next corridor.

I did the same, all my senses on high alert. But there was only silence, a deafening silence that enveloped each new corridor we passed through, making our steps echo, too loud, increasing the tension.

The castle was enormous, and I no longer had any idea where we were after passing through so many corridors and staircases. But Volk didn’t seem lost at all; he moved stealthily and with determination.

We descended more staircases, which made me suspect we were in some lower part of the castle. Then, Volk finally stopped in front of a door.

We entered what must have been some kind of storeroom. After closing the door, he approached a large wooden cabinet in one corner.

Without difficulty, he moved it aside, revealing a passage. Giving me one last look, he went through it.

Following him, I stopped as soon as I passed through the door, facing a staircase that extended downwards. Volk had already disappeared from sight, swallowed by the darkness below.

Hesitantly, I moved forward, leaning against the cold, damp stone wall. I focused on the steps below, my vision adapting to the darkness. The damp, earthy smell grew stronger as I advanced.

Volk was waiting for me when I reached the last step, looking at a long tunnel ahead. Activating a switch, he turned on lights spread along the tunnel walls, illuminating as far as I could see.

"At the end of this tunnel, you'll find two entrances, take the one on the left, and you'll reach the forest. Don't stop until you are as far away as possible, understand?" he instructed.

I nodded.

"Now go."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, curious.

"We don't have time for that, you have to go."

He was right. I looked into his eyes one last time, imagining I would never see them again.

"Thank you," I said, before advancing down the tunnel.

I took a few steps but suddenly stopped when a flashback hit me, from somewhere deep in my memory.

I could hear laughter and there was a little girl. She was running and playing through the corridors with a... boy? A little boy with white hair.

Volk.

How? How could I remember this?

My father. He had brought me here before. But the place in my memory was nothing like this. It was so full of life.

I was very young, but some memories were returning. I could see my father and Volk’s father, happy. They seemed like good friends.

Volk's father was good and honorable, just like my father. The stories I heard about him confirmed this. But it seems his brother was the exact opposite, and his son was turning into something similar to his uncle.

For some reason, that hurt a little.

Turning back around, I faced him, feeling a mix of pity and disappointment.

"Your father would be disappointed," I said, before turning my back and walking away.

---

After reaching the forest at the end of the tunnel, as Volk had directed, I kept moving forward, penetrating deeper into the dense forest throughout the night.

I did not allow myself to stop for more than a few minutes to catch my breath, not until the sun rose and the idea of Viltarin possibly pursuing me seemed less frightening.

The morning also went by, and I was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty when I finally spotted something in the dense forest.

It seemed to be some kind of smoke between the tall trees, probably coming from what must be a chimney. I headed in its direction until I finally saw a house.

How could someone live in this place? It was away from everything, lost in the middle of the forest, and not easy to find. Maybe that was the intention of whoever lived in that house.

This explained why it had taken me so long to find it. Despite our species' keen sense of smell, it was nearly impossible to detect any scent among so many natural odors.

I stopped at a safe distance, hiding behind a tree. The house was larger than a typical forest cabin, appearing to be made of wood and likely had three floors, judging by the number of windows I could see. The lights were on, despite it still being daytime.

I needed to decide what my next step would be. Knocking on the door didn't seem like a good idea, for many reasons.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a whistle and saw three men leave the house. I couldn't see them very well, but they seemed huge even from a distance. They were definitely of my species.

There was no woman among them. That seemed bad. Being alone with a bunch of males in the middle of the forest didn't seem like a good idea at all.

I didn't want to be cowardly, but the situation was completely unpredictable. They could simply kill me, or worse.

I had no name to use in my defense if they threatened me, and that was usually the only way to keep a male away. Using the name of an Alpha, or being marked by a mate. But I had none of that; my father was dead.

I was already convinced it wasn't a good idea and was about to leave when a strong smell hit my nose. I turned instantly, and my body froze.

A huge male was standing right in front of me. He must have been almost two meters tall, and his body was large in every sense, his shoulders, and chest extremely wide, and his biceps muscular.

I tried to stay calm, ignoring my first instinct which told me to run. But I knew running would only incite him to chase me like prey, and fighting a male was always the last option.

"Well, look what we have here... hello, little one!" he said with a deep, velvety voice.

I swallowed hard, remaining motionless. My eyes moved from his plump lips up to his blue eyes.

His dark, wavy hair was loose and fell over his shoulders, making him look wild. His features were so masculine, and he maintained a well-trimmed beard that outlined his square jaw.

I would probably consider him attractive if I weren't fearing for my life. I tried to control the fear, feeling the adrenaline spread through my body. I didn't want to provoke him, and knew that any scent from my emotions would do just that.

"I was just leaving."

That was all I could say.

"So soon? But you just got here," he said in a teasing tone, narrowing his eyes.

"I think I got lost," I lied.

"And I think you're a terrible liar."

Damn. Things were not going well. For a moment, I tried to analyze my escape options.

"No. You don’t want to do that," he said, noticing that I was looking around.

"Just let me go."

"Alright. You can go."

His words surprised me. Relief hit me, and I didn't hesitate. But just as I passed him, I felt muscular arms grab my waist.

I contained a scream, trying to remember that resisting would only excite him.

"But only after you meet my friends," he whispered in my ear with his deep voice.