7. MAYA

POV Maya:

Despite everything I had endured and all I was facing, my heart remained with her. She tried to protect someone, unaware that he was a monster and, honestly, oblivious to the consequences. After witnessing Larson's cruelty at the ball, I had no doubt it was true.

"He's coming after you. Even if he doesn't want you, he will find you. Men in power don't take rejection lightly."

"I know." Tears finally fell from his eyes, rolling down his cheeks. "But I have to try, and I needed to come and apologize before leaving. I don't deserve your forgiveness."

A dangerous idea sparked in my mind. "Serena, listen to me very carefully. You're not the only one who needs to run away. I'm trapped here, but I need to escape. Tonight. Maybe we can help each other." If I didn't leave before my father returned, he would sense something different about me and kill me.

I stood still, bracing myself for her to refuse or question my urgency. Either way, it was a trap. My father always liked to give me hope, only to snatch it away when I believed.

Instead, she straightened her back and nodded. "I'm in." It was nearly three in the morning when the door finally opened again. Six agonizing hours had passed since I last saw Serena, but the guard lay on the floor, asleep from a sleeping pill in his drink, just as we had planned. She held the key in her hand.

"Champ and the others are racing west. We will head east to the river and separate. Are you sure you don't want to come with me? My father has a separate place for me," she whispered.

"Did you tell him about me?" I asked, more brusquely than I intended.

She shook her head. "No, but you can trust him."

"I like your father, Serena. I want him to have plausible deniability, and that's why you can't come with me. I have a plan. I'll call your new phone in a few days to check in." I shook her hand. "When I'm safe, I'll come back to get you. We can start a new life."

I couldn't tell the truth. At least, not the whole truth. I didn't fully trust her. First, I needed to ensure my safety.

My suitcase was already packed. We turned, a painfully difficult task for me that consumed precious minutes, and we left my father's house, relatively unnoticed. After hearing the wolves howling to the west, we hurried east.

The escape was easy because no one dared to believe I could get this far. We entered the river and exchanged one last glance over our shoulders at each other. Maybe one day, Serena and I could be a family.

When we were safe.

When I arrived at the hotel where I had last seen Rhyson, the sun was beginning to rise. I didn't expect him to still be there, but I needed information about the Summerset clan, and the hotel was neutral ground. As soon as I got a map, I planned to continue on my way.

To my shock, Rhyson was standing in the parking lot. What was he doing here? The ball had been weeks ago, and this was not his place. Had he stayed because of me? Was he searching for me?

Hope blossomed in my chest. All I had to do was transform back and show him who I was.

Seven jeeps were lined up near him. He was talking to someone before getting into the passenger side of one of the middle cars.

I had missed my chance. They were leaving.

Seizing the opportunity, I slipped behind the jeeps for a look. One of them was filled with things that smelled like him, so he was probably leaving for good. Hoping everything was headed to the same place, I climbed into the trunk and lay down in silence. A few minutes later, the trunk closed, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

The engine roared to life, and the cars departed.

After several hours of travel, I dozed off. I hadn't slept in days and should have factored that into my plan. Dreams of my future calmed me. When Rhyson found me, I would explain why I had returned. He would be pleased. From then on, we would resolve everything, but I would be safe from my father's clutches.

Summerset. I would be Maya from Summerset. That sounds good.

I woke up because rough hands grabbed the back of my wolf's neck and yanked me out. I was thrown onto the sidewalk. Instantly, I rolled over to expose my belly and whimpered, partly from the pain and partly from submission.

My wolf rarely ventured out, and when she did, she was terrified of everything. I had so little control over her. Only thoughts of freedom had brought us here, but now that she was scared, she was likely to flee.

I was so close. I couldn't let her run away now. I couldn't let her take control.

"Wait," shouted a familiar voice. Rhyson appeared and looked at me. "Was she in the luggage? We drove five hours with a stowaway in the trunk, and you didn't even smell it? You're fucking fired."

Five hours? I expected it to be a pit stop. Five hours was still a lot closer to my father.

The man immediately lowered his head and walked away. Another man cleared his throat. "Don't go anywhere. You're not fired."

"Sorry? Who calls the shots around here, Duke?" Rhyson growled.

"You do, but I can smell her from here, and I'll tell you exactly why he didn't notice she was there. It smells just like that damn shirt you refuse to wash."

I complained. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I hadn't done all of this only to die from a misidentification.

Rhyson stared at me. "Transform," he ordered.

Immediately, I let my wolf regress until I was naked, on my hands and knees, in front of him. Sitting on my thighs, I tried to smile at him. "Surprise."

As he looked at me, time seemed to freeze. That's not how I wanted to see him again, naked and kneeling on the asphalt, but that's where we were. We were together.

And a cold mask was being placed on his face. "Surprise," he repeated sarcastically. "Too sticky."

Sticky? He wasn't exactly welcoming me with open arms. My arms wrapped around my body. "Sorry, Rhyson. I'm not trying to be clingy. I'm in some trouble and I was hoping you could help me."

"Rhyson," the man next to him shouted, and I jumped up, almost forgetting we had an audience. What had Rhyson called him? Duke. "Did you just call him Rhyson?"

Immediately, I lowered my gaze. In my excitement to talk to him, I had truly forgotten that I needed to be subservient. "Sorry."

I drooled. "Alpha Summerset. I didn't mean to offend him." My plan was derailed, and quickly.

The men around him were very quiet, and I dared to look at their expressions. His face was rigid, and his eyes were inscrutable as he stared at me. "It's King Rhyson," he said gloomily.

My heart sank into my belly. King Rhyson?

I had heard something about a new king, but I hadn't paid attention. I had much bigger concerns.

I should have paid attention. Things were falling into place now: his distaste for the ball, the way all the alphas immediately paid him attention, why he had questioned my calling him an alpha.

King Rhyson was very different from Alpha Rhyson, and from the disgust in his voice, I knew my heart was about to shatter into a million pieces.

"You knew I didn't know," I whispered.

"Is it?" he asked coldly. "Or do I think you're an excellent actress? Poor little bird, destroyed and hurt, who failed to become an alpha and started aiming for a king."

"No. That's not what happened..."

"Your father says you're a disappointment," he growled. "I can see why. If I had known you were a fucking whore, I would never have touched you even with a ten-foot stick. I don't know what kind of trouble you're in, nor do I care. Go away before you humiliate yourself further."