Chapter 17: Escape

I woke up, still lying on the floor of Lazarus’s office. Yet, it was now empty, and I was alone. I felt so weak, and I tried to channel my wolf, but she wasn’t there; I couldn’t feel her or hear her. So, I guess I have to do this on my own; I have to get out of here.

I shakily got up off the floor, bracing myself against the wall for support. I reached for the door, and it was unlocked. My brows scrunched together in confusion, unsure of what to think about this. Could this be a trap? Or were they not expecting me to wake up so soon.

I slowly and as quietly as possible walked down the hallway. Unfortunately, my one eye was swollen, making it hard for me to see correctly, and it didn’t help that I had no idea where the fuck I was going.

I continued down the hall but stopped dead in my tracks; when I heard voices. They were getting louder and were closing in on me. There was a door just to my left, and I quickly bolted into the room.

However, I would soon wish that I hadn’t.

I stood in the darkroom, listening to the voices pass by me. I inhaled deeply and felt around for a light; I flipped the switch on and gasped as I took in the room. The room was overloaded with photos of me, Cain, my family, Cain’s pack and his territory.

Holy shit! They have been watching and observing us for who knows how long. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a window hidden behind some boxes. I moved the boxes and tried to open the window, but it was firmly bolted in place, shit!

I looked around for something to break it with and found a heavy paperweight. I threw it through the window, shattering it into pieces. Not wasting another moment, I jumped up and crawled through the window, but my dress got caught on a glass shard. I tugged and pulled, but the glass began to dig into my side, cutting through my flesh like butter.

I sucked in a shuddering breath and yanked myself out of the window, causing me to scream as the pain tore through me. I collapsed to the ground holding my side before looking down and noticing that my dress was shredded. A large gash peeked through the torn material, and I was heavily bleeding, fuck! This isn’t what I needed; now, they will be able to track me easier.

I unsteadily got up from the ground and looked around me, seeing that the forest surrounded me. So, I headed straight into the dark woods, knowing I needed to get as far away from here as I could.

I limped my way through the Forrest, moving as fast as I could, but the pain was becoming too much. I had lost too much blood, and my strength was rapidly depleting. Finally, I stopped by a large tree and leaned against it after gaining some distance. Sliding down the rough bark, I plopped onto the ground.

I looked over my body, taking notice that I was covered in dirt, blood, bruises and cuts. My side was becoming infected, the cut was deep, and the bleeding hadn’t subsided yet; this wasn’t going to end well for me. As I sat there, I heard branches snapping behind me, that’s most likely them, coming for me. I am going to die today, was all I could think of now.

I slowly stood from the ground, my legs shaky and my body weak. I didn’t see anyone, but whatever was out there was getting closer. I started walking backwards, staring off into the trees, waiting for them to leap and attack me.

I stumbled and tripped over a log, falling on my ass. I looked down at my feet, and that’s when I noticed I hadn’t tripped on a log, but instead, someone's foot. I looked up, only to see Lazarus hovering over me.

“Thought you could run from me, huh?” Lazarus snarled at me.

I shrugged. “I figured I would give it a shot.” I weakly smiled.

He narrowed his eyes. “All you’ve done is piss me off.”

I chuckled. “What can I say? It’s a trait of mine.” I smirked.

Lazarus leaped on top of me, pinning my arms to the ground on either side of my head.

He sniffed my neck. “Maybe I’ll use you for more than a blood bag; I haven’t had a good fuck in decades.”

“I’d rather fuck a tree,” I said through gritted teeth as a low growl erupted from my chest.

He hissed, “I guess I’m just going to have to teach you a lesson about what happens to mouthy little bitches.”

Lazarus barred his teeth and came down on my shoulder, burying his fangs deep into my skin and drawing blood. I screamed from the pain as his bite caused my skin to burn like someone had poured acid on me.

I was already feeling weak, and now I was beginning to feel even more vulnerable. My vision was blurry, and just as I was about to pass out, Lazarus was ripped from me and thrown like a rag doll.

I could barely open my eyes as they felt heavy. However, what little I could see was of a large, black wolf. Was it Cain?

The wolf lunged for Lazarus, swiping him with his claws; the sounds coming from the wolf were guttural and inhuman. As I lay there, watching bits and pieces of the fight before me, I started to feel strange. I felt at peace and happy; that’s when a small, but bright blue light, surrounded me, encasing me in its beauty.

Cain’s POV:

Lazarus finally retreated, knowing he was no match for my beast on his own. I searched the ground and saw Freja lying there lifeless, fuck! Am I too late?

I shifted back and rushed to her side. I called her name and shook her, but she didn’t respond. Then, putting my ear to her chest, I could hear a very faint heartbeat; she was still alive, but barely. I scooped her into my arms and started to run as fast as I could, knowing death was on her door.

I held her close to me. “Don’t die on me, please.” I pleaded with her. I don’t think I could survive losing her.

I mind linked with Rose, that I was on my way and to be prepared. I then linked with the others, letting them know I had found her and we were headed to the infirmary.

Freja POV:

The smell of flowers, bark and grass, flooded my nose. The birds were singing beautifully, and the sun was shining brightly. I opened my eyes, and I was lying beneath an old willow tree. Its leaves swayed in the wind and brushed against my skin; I felt so at peace.

Wait! Am I dead? I quickly sat up and looked around, not recognizing any of my surroundings. I tried to remember how I got here, but the last thing I remembered was Lazarus fighting with a large black wolf.

Shit, maybe I am dead? I stood to my feet and walked closer to the tree; it was so beautiful and magnificent that I couldn’t help but admire it.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from behind the tree, a familiar person, Mikael? But, wait, he’s dead, so that means……I am too.

My chest began to heave. “Mikael.” Tears welled in my eyes as I rushed to him and hugged him tightly.

He pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me. “My dear little Freja.” He pulled back and smiled at me.

I looked him in the eyes. “Am I dead?” That was the first question I asked, not wanting to beat around the bush.

Mikael shook his head. “Not quite; you’re in the in-between.” He gestured around us.

I raised an eyebrow, confusion rising within me. “Oh, so does that mean I’m almost dead?”

He chuckled lightly. “No, my dear. It’s not your time. You are here because I have a message for you.”

His facial expression became grave.

My brows furrowed. “What?”

Mikael held my hands in his. “There is a great danger in yours and Cain’s future. You need to accept him as your mate in order to fight the impending battle. If you don’t fight as one, you both will die.” His tone was one he had never used speaking with me before, a tone that made my blood run cold.

A million thoughts were going through my head now. “What battle? What danger?” I needed to know more, to understand what we were up against.

He looked off into the distance, and his eyes widened. “You have to go now.”

I shook my head rapidly. “No! Please. I have more questions.” I bellowed out, but he was gone before I could protest any further.

Everything became black, and the sound of beeping flooded my ears. Once again, it hurt to open my eyes, and my body felt like it had been rung out to dry.

I slowly opened my eyes and realized I was back in the hospital, on Cain’s territory. Cain was sleeping in a chair in the far corner of the room. I tried to sit up, but it caused a great deal of pain to do so, and I let out a groan of discomfort.

Cain, hearing this, quickly shot up from his chair and came to my side. Although he bent down, giving me a better view of his face, he looked distraught and exhausted.

As I looked at him, the resentment and anger I previously felt weren’t as strong anymore. At that moment, I felt relieved to have him by my side and that I was still alive because of him.

His features softened as he stared into my eyes. “Are you ok? Do you need anything?” He asked in a soft tone.

“Yea, I’m glad to be alive as well. I honestly thought for a moment that I was a goner.” I chuckled. “And no, I’m ok, just uncomfortable.”

“Do you want to sit up?”

I nodded. “Yes, please.”

Cain slipped his hand behind my back and helped prop me up, which eased the pain. Suddenly, I felt whole and heard a moan of pleasure rumble from within my mind.

My eyes lit up. “My wolf! She’s back.” I felt so relieved, knowing she was still with me and not completely gone.

Cain picked up the collar that had been around my neck, causing my wolf to growl and snarl.

“This was the cause of her disappearance. It blocks out any supernatural abilities, and if worn too long, it kills those abilities.” He dropped the collar onto the bed, and the memories of my ordeal all came flooding back.

“I know you just woke up, but will you tell me what happened? What was their reason for taking you?”

Cain’s face was covered in stubble; he had bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Because of my father and you. I met two men, Demetrius, who you already met, and Lazarus, their leader. They told me that my father had betrayed Lazarus not so long ago, causing war, and you had killed their sister during that war. So, they took me as revenge. They planned to kill me in front of you, then kill you. But they never told me their plan for my father, though, which was odd, especially seeing as, from what I understood, he had started all of this.” My brows furrowed as I thought of everything, trying to remember if I had missed something.

Cain's eyes went pitch black, and his upper lip pulled up into a snarl “Lazarus, are you sure?” He questioned.

I pursed my lips. “Yup, I’m pretty sure, and I can tell you, he doesn’t like me so much.” I snorted. “I didn’t make things easy for him.”

Cain smiled and kissed my forehead. “That’s my girl.”

As he said that, my heart skipped a beat, and my wolf purred with happiness upon knowing that Cain was pleased with us. But then, the night of the party and the events that led to my kidnapping flooded my thoughts. I pushed that aside for a moment, as I had an important question.

I looked into his eyes. “Was that you that found me? And did you kill him?” I hoped he had, but also hoped that Lazarus was still alive, as I would like to kill him myself.

Cain’s features hardened. “Yes, I was the one who found you.” He looked away for a beat and sighed heavily. “And no, he got away, but I’m sure he will be back and this time, with reinforcements.”

I thought back to the room I had found. “Yea, I imagine so. He is pretty focused on getting his revenge.”

Silence passed between us for a few moments. Neither of us said a word. I wanted to ask him about Eve, but this wasn’t the right place.

I pursed my lips. “Can you get the doctor, please? I want to get out of here.”

He nodded. “Yea, of course. I’ll be right back.” He stared at me for a moment, as if he was afraid that I would disappear, then left the room.