Chapter 20

Twenty

LACY

O pening the window in my room, I looked out to see a smiling Olivia waving at me from the grass. The tall ladder she set up for me was leaning against the wall, and I could see her furry orange tail as she shuffled her feet in excitement. I locked my room just in case any of the men decided to come in.

I talked with Olivia a few days after Ryder stopped me from attending my singing gig. I was determined not to be trapped forever in my home, and Olivia was always there when I needed her.

Lifting the meshed net out of the window, I gently set it on my chair. Then I lifted my leg over the window sill and felt for the ladder with my toe while I held my heels in my hand. There wasn't a camera on this side of the house since I told the men I needed privacy in my room. But it came in handy since I needed an escape plan like this.

My legs shook with each step down the ladder.

When I reached the last step, I breathed a sigh of relief when my bare feet finally touched the grass. The straps of my heels were wrapped around my wrist, and I quickly put them on, stumbling on the grass and scared to death that the bodyguards would discover I was gone.

All my bravery was shot out the window now.

"Girl, how could they lock you up in there?" asked Olivia.

"He wouldn't say yes," I said. "I tried everything."

"Did you even try to seduce them? You're so bad at it," she said, laughing.

"No wonder I was a virgin until now," I muttered as I finished strapping my heels. We started walking toward her car after we opened the little door attached to the front gate.

"What do you mean until now ?" asked Olivia wide-eyed.

"I'll tell you once we get into the car," I whispered, looking around. I was scared the guards would hear me with their sensitive alpha hearing. I had no idea what would happen if they knew I left. The worst that could happen was that they would quit on me, and I was fine with that as long as I had my freedom. But I knew deep down I would miss the attention they each gave me in their different ways.

"Okay, you better tell me now," said Olivia once we were in her car and the doors were shut. I took in a long breath, unsure whether to tell her or not.

"I can't. It's so unprofessional what we did," I said.

She tapped her long, red-painted fingernails against the steering wheel. "You better tell me. Was it a group thing? Did you get knotted?"

"No, it wasn't like that," I said, laughing. "Fine, I had sex with the leader and…his right-hand alpha."

"Oh my god," she said in stunned silence, and I couldn't help smiling. "You're not a virgin anymore. How the hell does a knot feel? Does it hurt?"

Olivia was an omega like myself and wasn't mated to an alpha pack. The one thing we had in common was no contact with alphas' knots unless we were serious about them.

"It's scary at first," I said, trying to explain it right so she didn't get freaked out for her first time. "But you'll get used to it and crave it more."

"Wow," she said as she turned right on the street. "My pussy hurts just thinking about it."

"Yeah," I said. "But I don't want to be tied down to a pack yet. I'm at the height of my career."

"You need to listen to what your body needs, though," said Olivia.

"Nope," I said.

"You're going to get old and un-stretchable."

"I don't care," I said, and it was her turn to laugh. I started to feel guilty, like a teenager sneaking out of her parents' home. Then, I looked out the window as we neared the palace. "Damn, that haunted house looks fancy as hell."

"Wow, Manny put in some work," she said, admiring the grand house painted in black and grey. It looked like a dilapidated mansion. "I'm already fucking scared."

When Olivia and I approached the haunted house, we greeted Manny, who was eagerly waiting outside the house next to his mother, Princess Lyra, who was ushering in guests of the palace who wanted to check it out.

"So cool you guys are here," said Manny, hugging both of us. His long black hair was tied into a bun, and he wore a checkered blue shirt with black jeans. He didn't care much about his appearance and didn't present as an alpha yet. People suspected he might present to be a sigma like his fathers. I wasn't worried about that at all, I just wanted him to be happy, but society wouldn't simply accept him into the community if he was a sigma.

"We're here!" I said, hugging him back. My brother Gabe showed up out of nowhere with a bright smile. He loved hanging at the palace even though my mother hated to come here, a reminder of her past faults.

"How are you, Olivia?" asked Manny. While he and Olivia talked, I turned to my brother.

"How's Mom doing?" I asked him.

"Mom already misses you despite the vacation you took with us," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Aww," I said. "We need to go on another vacation soon. Did you see the inside of the haunted house yet?"

"I've seen it a million times already," he said. "You're going to get so scared."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you will. You can't handle scary."

"Alright, who's ready to go inside the haunted house with me?" announced Manny, interrupting our sibling argument, even though we were in our twenties. Our fights would sometimes get so bad we wouldn't talk to each other for days.

We all walked inside, with Manny leading the way in. I was the last one in the line, and I couldn't help but shuffle behind Olivia. She was already screaming when we were shrouded in complete darkness.

"I want to leave," she whined when we came upon a dimly lit piano with a skeleton lying on top of it. It was covered in cobwebs, and the haunted house gave off a creepy olden-days vibe.

"We can't leave already," I said. But I screamed when I saw a man wielding an axe in the corner. "Okay, never mind. It's scary as fuck."

I could hear the boys laughing at the front as Olivia, and I screamed like madwomen. Then, we suddenly reached a dark maze, and the dimming of the lights completely disoriented me. I heard Olivia screaming again, but this time it sounded muffled like she was way ahead of me.

Oh fuck. We were completely separated now.

How the hell did I lose her? Stay calm.

As I walked into the labyrinth of glass mirrors- it all lit up around me. There were dark patches between the mirrors, where the monsters would pop out of. I hugged myself as I passed by them, constantly screaming.

I had to get the fuck out of here. I couldn't scream for the others, or the costumed monsters would notice my fear and scare me even more. I hoped to sneak up on them so they wouldn't have time to scare me.

But when I passed by a particular shadow, I screamed when he grabbed me around the waist. I was breathing hard when he pulled me close and covered my mouth with a gloved hand.

Oh my god. This couldn't be happening right now.

The monsters weren't supposed to touch me, so I was confused. And I hoped it wasn't my worst fear coming to life.

"Hi, Pinkie," he growled in a low voice.

My fear had just turned into a real fright for my life.

It was him.

I froze. His other hand roamed over my belly as he breathed hard. I felt his dick pressing into my behind as I felt his arousal. His scent was like an alpha's, but it was familiar. I couldn't point it out.

"One day, I'm going to breed you," he said, rubbing my belly. "I'm coming for you soon, baby. It's almost time for your season."

When he suddenly released me, I dashed away from him. I started running for my life while crashing into mirrors. I screamed and yelled for help as I ran away helplessly. And as I ran, I looked back to see his shadow chasing me around.

Ryder

I felt terrible as I stared at my screen, replaying the footage.

Lacy was actually listening to my orders, and that somehow made me feel worse. I thought she would have thrown another tantrum until, eventually, I'd give in. I was a lot weaker to her charms now than she thought.

But I couldn't let her know that.

"I think we should just go with her there," said Lucas, sensing my uncertainty. I slammed my laptop closed once again.

"You might be right," I sighed. "I feel fucking weird about it. I'm going to check on her and see if she still wants to go."

"Finally, he comes to his senses," mumbled Adrian.

As I walked up the stairs, my pack followed behind me, eager to get another glimpse of the omega. I didn't have the heart to tell them she didn't want us as a pack. Only Ethan knew that, yet he still knotted the fuck out of her today. He was probably scared he wouldn't get another chance at omega pussy, and I didn't blame him. I was getting excited as I prepared to tell her we would go to her dreadful event together.

I gently knocked on her door twice. No answer.

"She's probably sleeping," said Ethan, disappointed.

"Hmm," I said, standing at her door. I felt a breeze hit me from below her door onto my ankles. "Her window's open."

"So?" said Cooper.

"Since I've been here, I've never seen her open the window," I muttered. I knocked harder on her door and didn't get a response. "Lacy! If you're in there, open the door or say something to me."

Nothing.

Shit. That wasn't a good sign.

I kicked the door, and it slammed open, bouncing off the wall in my rage. I scanned the room, and there was no sign of her anywhere.

"She's not in the bathroom," said Lucas darkly.

I ran to her window, seeing the ladder positioned perfectly under her window.

"Fuck!"