Page 44 of Bullied By the Alpha Wolf

“Ow! Fucking hell.”

I was ready to throw the damn fork across the room when I stopped myself. I needed to keep trying things. Giving up would only serve to keep me trapped here for longer. Examining the remaining cuffed wrist more thoroughly, I turned my hand this way and that to see the various sides of the hinge at the back. That’s where the cuff itself opened and closed, and these things were rusty. There was a chance that the hinge might be the better place to focus my efforts since picking the lock was a no-go.

Tapping the fork against the little pin in the cuff, I noticed that the tine was just the same size as the little pin that held the two halves together. The pin was flattened at either end, so that it wouldn’t fall out, but if I could chip away those edges, I could use the fork tine to maybe push the pin out.

“Okay. Umm, chipping metal…”

I rambled to myself as I thought of various ways to get those little metal edges to bend or break. I tried several things, including using my fingers, which just left me bloody and sore.

“Dammit!” I called out, quickly clamping a hand over my mouth and watching the door to see if someone would come running.

After a few moments, I assumed it was safe, and I went back to work on the pin. If I stood up, I could push the edges against the wall. It took everything in me to get my legs underneath my ass and push up.

I was shaky and weak, but I leaned against the cold stone to keep standing. The little pin couldn’t just get smashed against the wall. That wouldn’t bend the edges in the direction I needed. So, I used the fork to create a flat edge, bracing it against the wall, and hooked that little flare on the pin over the fork tine.

Pushing with my wrist, I held the fork as steady as I could. It slipped several times before I was able to get some of the problematic metal on the pin to smush up.

About thirty minutes later, I’d unflattened the edge of the pin, and the little end would be able to slip back through the ring it was in with enough force. Standing was getting harder and harder, so I took the opportunity to sit, positioning the fork on the floor now so that I could tap the pin against it.

I missed so many times, but after another fifteen minutes or so, I’d tapped the pin enough times to push it between the rusty enclosure about halfway.

“Oh my God, this is taking forever.”

My stomach growled, and I eyed the food not too far away. I couldn’t risk it, but my entire body craved that brown-gray goop like it did oxygen and sleep.

Don’t. Don’t do it, Kit. You cannot trust Eli.

Shaking my head, I refocused, going back to my work on the pin until the blasted thing actually popped free.

“Holy shit!” I whisper-yelled. It had actually worked.

I shoved the halves of the cuff apart and set it down on the floor gently, sure to be quiet. Rubbing at my sore wrists, I just had the issue of the door to worry over. I grabbed the fork again, thinking about how the thing would be coming with me everywhere.

It was a damn lucky charm at this point, and I wasn’t going to let it go.

Reaching through the bars, I stuck the tine that was bent back now into the small, but larger than usual keyhole in the ancient padlock. It wasn’t modern by any means, and I was actually glad for that. If the lock had been your average twenty-first century affair, this wouldn’t have worked.

I jingled the thing around, pushing and twisting in an effort to catch the little piece that kept the lock secured. After another five minutes of struggling, I was greeted by one of the most beautiful sounds in creation.

Click.

The lock body swung down, and I scrambled to catch the thing before it crashed to the floor and alerted the entire compound that I was making a break for it. As it was, the cell door squeaked loudly as I pushed through, and I hurried forward without stopping. I couldn’t risk being seen out of my cell.

I’d never been down here, and it took several wrong turns before I found the stairs up to the main floor. My heart thudded against my ribs. Going up meant running into one of the pack or Eli himself would be much more likely, but I had little choice.

Shoring up my nerves, I huffed in several breaths before taking off at a dead sprint. I rushed up the stairs and paused only long enough to orient myself to where the front door would be from here. It’d be locked, so I knew I’d have to try the back entrance in the kitchen.

Again, that meant I might run into more wolves, but I had to risk it.

The smell of real food made my mouth water as I ran toward the kitchen. My steps were sloppy, and I was huffing for breath so much more than I should be. It had only been a day, but I felt like I’d been kept prisoner by Eli in that damned dungeon for months.

It had to be whatever he gave me.

Voices trailed out from that direction, getting louder as whoever they belonged to walked in my direction. I skidded to a halt, turning on my heel and banking hard to the lefthand hall. This short passage would cut back to the main entrance, where I could try the other side of the house.

The east wing.

I didn’t go there. I wasn’t allowed, but I had no other option, and I really didn’t give a fuck if Eli would be pissed at me.

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