5. Maya

5

Maya

Three weeks later

The doors and windows were barred and locked, and there was a guard outside my door. It had been an amateur move, trying to run when my father was out of town and thinking I was safe. Champ enjoyed hitting me maybe even more than my father did, and he'd been foaming at the mouth to get his hands on me ever since the night of the ball. I should have known that he'd be keeping an eye on me.

I should have stayed with Rhyson. There was a connection between us. Not a mate bond, but most wolves didn't find their mates. Even if Rhyson didn't want to marry me, he might have at least found me a place in his pack. I'd considered telling him the truth, but when I'd looked out my window, there was Champ, ready to storm the hotel.

I'd just showered away the scent of Rhyson, so the last thing I wanted was him storming in and starting a war. So my meek little self had gone out to him, bare-ass naked and ready for my consequences.

My father had taken the pleasure of beating me and locking me in my prison, and Champ had just been waiting for his turn.

I'd given it to him last night.

My bruises had bruises, but I ignored them. I was a prisoner until my father decided what to do with me next. Champ wanted me for his wife, but my father would make absolutely certain that he couldn't use me before he threw me away to his second. As uncertain as the alternative was, being with Champ seemed like rock bottom.

Of course, that was until a little bit of freedom proved my wolf right. If I didn't leave this locked room tonight, my father would come home, and my life would get so much fucking worse.

Closing my eyes, I folded my arms around my body and allowed myself the pleasure of the memories. His touch. His kisses. I'd never felt anything close to the way I felt when I was around him. Just the thought of him made me shatter.

Rhyson of Summerset would protect me. I just had to get to him.

And I didn't have a plan.

The sun was setting. If I didn't leave tonight, chances were damn good that I wasn't leaving at all.

The lock on the door turned, and I immediately moved closer and stepped into the corner. It was never a good idea to run to the farthest corner. Then, you were trapped. Staying close to the door, at least I had room to maneuver. Not that I could put up much of a fight, but it had saved my life a time or two when my father was really angry.

He wasn't the one who walked into the room. He was gone. It wasn't Champ either.

It was Serena. I stiffened.

The door closed, and we stared at each other. We'd never been close. I'd never even known we were cousins until she shouted it into my face one day outside when we were kids. I didn't even know what that meant. Her father had dragged her away, angry. Not angry at her. The few times I saw them together, he was always kind to her and I was jealous.

No, he'd been furious at my father.

Her eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and they teared up all over again as she looked at me. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I just…I had to tell you that in case…I just needed you to know that I didn't want to hurt you."

Didn't want to hurt me? I'd be dead soon, and she was part of the reason.

"I don't understand," I said stonily. "You're sorry for taking away my only chance of leaving this prison?"

"Believe me, it would not have been an upgrade." Glancing over her shoulder, she took a step toward me and stopped when I took a step back. "You're scared of me."

"I'm wary of anyone locked in this room with me." I shook my head. "It doesn't matter. It's over and done with. You can go back to your Prince Charming."

She snorted. "That's what I thought he was. The first time I saw him, I was twelve. I knew for certain that he would be mine. I was so delusional, I actually thought we had a mating bond. I was crushed when I realized that he would be yours, but I didn't spread those rumors because I was jealous. I did it to save him."

"Save him from what?"

Sucking in her lower lip, she glanced back at the door and took a step closer to me. "Maya," she whispered. "Your father wanted you to kill Alpha Larson."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I overheard your father and Champ talking about it. They'd planned on giving you an herbal potion to slip into his drink during your wedding night, making you think it would make sex easier with him, but it was a poison. I told Larson about it, and it made him…excited. That should have been a red flag, but I was worried he wasn't taking the threat seriously, so I told him and everyone who would listen that you were a slut. I knew he wouldn't touch you then. When you ran that night, I thought you were running for your freedom. Why did you come back?"

Her story sounded absurd, but I knew my father. He was worshiped by his pack as the alpha who could do no wrong, the golden wolf with the handsome grin. He was well-liked by everyone. Only a few knew of the darkness inside of him, and I knew of his obsession to take over Chalmer Basin. That was why I was to be married to Larson.

I thought he meant to bond through marriage, not through death. It was something my father would have done.

"Champ found me. You got what you wanted, Serena. Why did you feel the need to return?"

"Larson is an animal," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I came back to visit with my father, but also to get some supplies. To run. I can't marry him. He'll kill me one day. I just know it."

Despite everything that I had been through, everything that I was facing, my heart went out to her. She'd tried to protect someone. She hadn't realized he was a monster, and she honestly didn't know of the consequences. After seeing Larson's cruelty at the ball, I didn't doubt that was true.

"He'll follow you. Even if he doesn't want you, he'll find you. Men in power don't like it when they've been rejected."

"I know." The tears finally fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. "But I have to try, and I had to come to apologize before I left. I don't deserve your forgiveness."

An idea popped into my head, a dangerous one. "Serena, listen to me very carefully. You're not the only one who needs to run. I'm trapped in this room, but I need to escape. Tonight. Maybe we can help each other."

If I didn't leave before my father returned, he would smell the change on me, and he would kill me.

I held my breath, waiting for her to refuse or even question my urgency. For all I knew, this was a trap. My father often liked to dangle hope in my face only to yank it away when I fell for it every time.

Instead, she straightened her back and nodded. "I'm in."

It was almost three in the morning before the door finally opened again. It had been six agonizing hours since I'd seen Serena, but the guard was slumped over on the ground, asleep from a sleeping draught in his drink just like we'd planned. She held the key in her hand.

"Champ and the other are on a run in the west. We're going to head east to the river and split up. Are you sure you won't come with me? My father has a place for me," she whispered.

"Did you tell him about me?" I asked, more sharply 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, which is also why you can't come with me. I've got a plan. I'll call your new phone in several days to check in." I squeezed her hand. "When I'm safe, I'll come for you. We can start a new life."

I couldn't tell her the truth. Not the whole truth, anyway. I didn't fully trust her. I needed to know that I was safe first.

My bag was already packed. We shifted, a horribly difficult activity for me that took too many precious minutes, and slipped out of my father's keep relatively unnoticed. After hearing the wolves howling in the west, we ran east.

The escape was easy because no one dared to think I could ever make it this far. We waded into the river and then split up with a final glance over our shoulders at each other. Maybe one day, Serena and I could be family.

Once we were safe.

By the time I reached the hotel where I'd last seen Rhyson, the sun was starting to rise. I had no expectations that he would still be there, but I needed information about the Summerset clan, and the hotel was neutral territory. Once I could get a map, I planned to be on my way.

To my shock, Rhyson was standing in the parking lot. What was he doing here? The ball was weeks ago, and he wasn't local. Had he stayed for me? Was he looking for me?

Hope bloomed in my chest. All I had to do was shift and show him who I was.

Seven Jeeps were lined up near him. He spoke to someone and then slipped into the passenger side of one of the middle cars.

I'd lost my chance. They were leaving.

Taking a chance, I slipped behind the Jeeps and sniffed around. One of them was packed with things that smelled of him, so he probably wasn't returning. Hoping that they were going to the same place, I snuck into the trunk and lay down quietly. A few minutes later, the trunk closed, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

The motor rumbled and the cars pulled out.

After traveling for several hours, I dozed off. I hadn't slept in days, and I should have accounted for that in the plan. Dreams of my future soothed me. When Rhyson found me, I'd tell him why I'd returned. He'd be pleased. We'd figure it out from there, but I would be safe from my father's clutches.

Summerset. I would be Maya of Summerset. That had a nice ring to it.

I woke up because rough hands grabbed the scruff of my wolf and hauled me out. I was thrown on the pavement. Immediately rolling over to expose my belly, I whimpered, partly from pain, and partly in submission.

My wolf rarely came out, and when she did, she was terrified of everything. I had so little control over her. Only the thoughts of freedom had gotten us this far, but now that she was scared, she was likely to bolt.

I was too close. I couldn't let her run now. I couldn't let her take over.

"Wait," a familiar voice barked out. Rhyson walked into view and stared down at me. "She was in the luggage? We drove five hours with a stowaway in the trunk, and you didn't even smell her? You're fucking fired."

Five hours? I hoped this was a pit stop. Five hours was still too close to my father.

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

"Excuse me? Who gives the orders around here, Duke?" Rhyson growled.

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

I whined. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I hadn't done all of this just to die because of mistaken identity.

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

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

As he stared at me, time seemed to stop. This was not how I wanted to see him again, naked and kneeling on the asphalt, but we were here. We were together.

And a cold mask was slipping over his face.

"Surprise," he echoed with sarcasm. "This is taking clingy a little too far."

Clingy? He wasn't exactly welcoming me with open arms. My arms went around my body. "I'm 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 barked, and I jumped, almost forgetting that 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 speak to him, I'd actually forgotten that I needed to be subservient. "Sorry." I swallowed hard. "Alpha Summerset. I didn't mean to offend you." My plan was quickly going off the rails.

The men around him went very quiet, and I risked peeking up at him. His face was hard and his eyes were inscrutable as he stared down at me. "It's King Rhyson," he said darkly.

My heart dove into my stomach. King Rhyson?

I'd heard something about a new king but hadn't paid any attention to it. I had far bigger concerns.

I should have paid attention. Things were falling into place now: his distaste for the ball, the way every alpha had immediately listened to him, why he'd questioned me calling him alpha.

King Rhyson was vastly different from Alpha Rhyson, and from the distaste in his voice, I knew my heart was about to be shattered into a million pieces.

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

"Do I?" he asked coldly. "Or do I think that you're an excellent actress. Poor destroyed little injured bird who couldn't bag herself an alpha and set her sights higher on a king."

"No. That is not what happened…"

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

The cold rose up inside me. It was the kind of raw response that I used often. One that helped numb the pain, but even as I tried to coat myself in it, it didn't stop his words from breaking me. The pain in my chest was an unusual feeling, and it quickly spread. A lump welled up in my throat and tears sprang to my eyes.

No. No, I couldn't show weakness. I couldn't let him know.

Closing my eyes, I called out to my wolf. Feeling my pain, she resisted, but I needed a quick escape. I needed to hide before any of them saw me for what I truly was.

Weak and desperate.

The wolf took over, and I slipped away into the nearest line of trees, running as fast as I could to put as much distance between myself and my only hope as I could.

"Shit," someone said from behind me. "She can't go in there. The rogues will tear her apart."

I had no idea what that meant, but I didn't care. I just ran faster.