CHAPTER 2 We Can't Escape Him

"Wait, Kasia. You don't understand," Lana said, but Kasia didn't hear her.

Kasia's heart was racing as a high level of adrenaline was rushing through her veins. Her senses were heightened. She could hear a mouse rustling in the grass right outside the dungeon.

'Focus,' Kasia told herself. This was not her first time taking one of these pills, but each time she felt as if the effects were stronger and stronger.

"Kasia," Lana said, grabbing Kasia's arm. Kasia whipped around to face Lana, but Lana jumped back after seeing her eyes. "Your eyes—you're losing yourself."

"I can worry about that later. I'm getting you out of here," Kasia growled, turning her attention back to the entrance of the cell. She could hear and smell them coming. As soon as Kasia saw a figure around the corner entering the cell, she lunged forward with inhuman speed.

'My King, we are having trouble in the dungeon,' one of the warriors connected with Ethan. His voice was frantic, which concerned Ethan. How could his warriors have trouble with one small human woman?

Ethan's massive form loomed in the dungeon, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed the scene. His warriors lay scattered across the floor, incapacitated, and a bitter taste of disappointment filled his mouth. It was clear that the inexperienced Lycans had been bested. What he didn't understand was why they weren't killed.

'Perhaps she is not a hunter, after all,' Ethan thought as he approached one of the recovering warriors. He demanded an explanation. "What happened here?"

The Lycan, still groggy from the encounter, stammered out, "My King, it was a human woman. She entered the dungeon, and she overpowered us. She fought as if she were Lycan herself. We are sorry. We couldn't stop her. She took Lana with her."

Ethan's jaw tightened at the mention of Lana. He had anticipated that someone would have come looking for Lana after her health monitor was reactivated, but he did not expect a relative to come for her. Lana always said that she was expendable; no one would come for her as she was lower in rank.

It seemed that she didn't think highly enough of herself, as her sister came for her. The monitor was only on for 48 hours; he had not expected her to act so swiftly or effectively. The situation had escalated far more than he had imagined, and now it was his responsibility to resolve it.

"I see," he responded, his tone filled with displeasure. "You will make sure the others get to the infirmary. Then, you will take the health monitor far away from our territory and discard it."

"What about the huntress, my king?" the warrior asked.

"I will deal with her on my own," Ethan answered. With that, he shifted into his formidable Lycan form, his senses sharpening as he prepared to track Kasia and Lana. His nostrils flared, detecting the lingering scent of Lana, but there was something wrong. The trail of the other woman, Kasia, was curiously absent, as if she had masked her scent intentionally.

Ethan's lips curled in a silent growl as he considered the implications. Kasia was no ordinary human; she was indeed part of the hunters, as a regular human would not be able to get ahold of such an item. How she was able to sneak onto his territory undetected as far as she did was no ordinary feat. He couldn't let her leave. It would be dangerous for his pack, and he would bring them both back, dead or alive.

Kasia gripped the steering wheel with white-knuckled intensity. Her gaze darted between the road and her rearview mirror, her chest heaving with anxiety. The effects of the drug are slowly wearing off now, and her body aches.

"Kasia, you shouldn't be taking those drugs," Lana stated. "They were prototypes three years ago, and it seems that they are now."

"Is that the only thing you can think about after not seeing me for three years?" Kasia snapped and then took a deep breath. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to yell. You know how the pill affects me."

Lana, however, was growing increasingly concerned by Kasia's erratic driving. Her voice trembled as she pleaded, "Kasia, you need to slow down. It is still in your system, and you have to be more careful. Kasia couldn't afford to slow down or look back; they had to put as much distance as possible between them and the Alpha King's territory.

"Fine, I'll…"

Kasia stopped in midsentence when she saw what was in her rearview mirror. There was a massive force following behind them, gaining on them. Her eyes widened at the massive Lycan following her like an angry, dark cloud.

"I can't slow down, Lana. Do you not see what is behind us?" Kasia continued.

"He is not going to harm us," Lana explained.

"What are you talking about? They had you in a dungeon," Kasia exclaimed. "That... that man back there is the Alpha King of the Lycans. He is going to rip us apart if he catches us."

"No, you have it all wrong, Kasia. Just listen to me," Lana stated.

Before Kasia could respond, in the rearview mirror, the massive black Lycan grew larger, closing the distance between them. The overwhelming presence of the Alpha King was unmistakable. Kasia's heart raced as she realized the futility of trying to outrun him.

"We can't escape him," Kasia said, "but we can force him to leave us alone." She swerved the car to the left, slamming into the Alpha King. He snarled in response, slamming back into the car, causing it to almost flip over.

"Kasia, stop!!" Lana screamed. "You're going to get us killed."

"Put your seatbelt on," Kasia said, and Lana quickly did so.

The car tires screeched as Kasia swerved to collide head-on with the colossal Alpha King. The impact was catastrophic, causing Kasia's car to lift off the ground, spiraling through the air before finally crashing down and repeatedly flipping over itself.