Page 7 of Beyond the Grasslands

“Well, I have a second-chance moon-blessed mate who is coming for me, so I don’t see it as a problem on my end. Did the gods bless you with another mate too?”

“You always think you’re better than everyone else!” Kyla screeched at me. “Well, I have news for you. I was the one who convinced Aiden that a harem would be the best thing for him. He listened to me because I’m important.”

“He listened to you because he was a selfish idiot who wanted to live out some fantasy. It had nothing to do with you beingimportant. And for the record, I’ve never thought that I was better than anyone in the pack until now. I’m definitely better than you, though. I was born with a gift you don’t possess, Kyla. I can channel the power an Alpha puts out. It is a gift born from my genetics. You were meant to mate a beta wolf. I was meant to mate higher ranks. You need to stop blaming me because you decided to ignore those facts. Your complete failure to climb to ranks you weren’t equipped to handle is a ‘you’problem.”

“She’s not wrong.”

I turned to see that a guard had snuck in behind the woman who had so easily convinced Aiden to toss not only me, but our pack, aside for his pleasure. Kyla startled and turned around to face the man. “Brennan,” she whispered and I knew immediately that he was the mate who rejected her for her participation in the harem.

“My family told me I should take some time to think about what it would mean to give up my moon-blessed mate. They had me convinced that I needed to hear you out, that you may have somehow been coerced into the harem. Thanks for clearing that up for me. You were the one to suggest the harem to our Alpha. I have that admission recorded, by the way. When the pack decides who was responsible for our downfall, you’ll be the one to pay the consequences.”

“I only said that to piss her off.” Kyla argued.

“That part is a lie.” I smirked as I spoke the truth. “I could smell the foul stench of it in the air. “The part about you being the one who thought of the harem was definitely the truth, though.”

“I hate you!” Kyla shrieked before she pulled out what looked like a gun and aimed it at me. I ducked behind the mattress that I still had on its side as a barricade and she shot the gun once before I heard the clatter from her being knocked down and the gun being kicked out of her reach.

I carefully leaned around and plucked a dart out of the mattress. “Careful with that,” Brennan called back to me as he tied up the woman who was supposed to be his mate. “I don’t know if that’s a tranquilizer or a death sentence for you.”

I dropped the dart to the ground and moved around it to get a better look at what was going on beyond my cell. “You think she would kill me?”

“I think she already proved she has no respect for the Luna of the pack and that she is unhinged. Let’s play it safe until I can have Doc Palmer examine the contents.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere. If you want the dart, you’ll have to come get it though.”

The guard eyed me warily and shook his head. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me, but you will.” He glanced up and made sure to check around the hallway. “There is a secret entrance over there,” I looked to where he pointed in the opposite direction everyone kept entering from. “It goes out into a tunnel that leads to the forest at the edge of the pack’s border. When you get there, you will run straight out as fast and as far as you can. When you’re able, you find a place to stop and call your other Alpha. He’ll likely be here by the time you make your escape, so pay attention to where you are when you manage to make that call.”

“Wait,” I suggested as I tried to wrap my head around what Brennan was saying. “You’re going to help me escape?”

He nodded. “I have no respect or loyalty left for my Alpha. You are a victim. As far as I can see, you have done nothing wrong, and I do respect the way you wouldn’t put up with what Alpha Aiden did. It takes a strong woman to set down boundaries and stick to them, especially with an Alpha.”

Brennan made himself busy by strapping a gag to his former potential mate’s mouth as he spoke. “Need you to be quiet, Kyla. You wanted to take the Luna’s place so badly, I’m going to makeyour dream come true.” He laughed and then smacked the side of her face twice. It would have been considered a playful gesture in any other circumstances, but considering the context, it was more like he added insult to injury.

Kyla thrashed around as Brennan opened the cell door. “Go on, Luna. Be free and live a beautiful life away from this poisonous pack.”

I didn’t hesitate. As I cleared the cell door, Brennan dragged Kyla into the cell and stowed her behind the mattress. Then he carefully picked up the dart and glared at it before he showed it to his mate. “I hope this was just a tranquilizer, for your sake.” Then he jabbed it into her thigh. I didn’t wait to see if it killed her. Instead, I turned and ran in the direction Brennan had suggested. A portion of the wall was cracked and when I pushed on that spot, a doorway opened that led into a dark hallway made completely of stone except for the dirt floor.

I ran, and when even my wolf’s vision failed me, I held my hands out to either side of me as far as I could before they touched the walls. I dragged my fingertips over them along the way, so I didn’t miss any potential offshoots of the tunnel. There were none. It became obvious when I neared the end, as some light managed to pull through around the edges of what appeared to be another hidden door. This one was built into the ground. The only way out was to climb a rickety ladder. As soon as I was far enough up the ladder to reach the door, I realized I’d have to let go to push the door with enough force for it to give way.

It took every bit of strength I possessed to get the door free. The damn thing must not have been used in a long while. Dirt and debris fell in around me as it finally lifted from the ground. The sun blinded me temporarily as I managed to pull myself free from the tunnel, but the stale underground scent of earth and decay drifted away as the fresh pine scent of the forest blewtoward me on the breeze. Despite it being a comforting scent of the home I grew up in, there was no way I could remain where I was. Eventually, someone else would venture down into the cells and discover that I had been freed.

The rush of adrenaline that helped to fuel my escape finally caught up with me, and a wave of dizziness washed over my body as I took my first steps toward freedom. It was good that it did, as it reminded me to close the door to the tunnel. Not only did I replace the door, but I glanced around, as I got my bearings back, and searched for something heavy to place on top so that it would be harder for someone else to follow me out the same way. It wasn’t that I thought it would deter someone by much, but any head start I could get was worth the couple minutes to make life more difficult on anyone who happened to pursue me.

Chapter 4

Avenged

THORIN

“Thorin Greywolf!”I heard called over what must have been a pack-wide loudspeaker system. “This is Avery Thornwin. I have taken over the pack from my brother, Aiden. I ask that you approach our lands, so that we can come to a peaceful accord.”

“Peace is not negotiable after my mate was abused and kidnapped from our mating ceremony.” My voice rang out loud and clear without the need of speakers to project it to everyone.

“I received a message earlier that she is being held under his pack house in the cells used for criminals,” Warren whispered to me. “We’re working on how to breach the building without causing harm to those who may be inside.”

“Is it below ground?” I asked.

That was when a few of our pack mates gasped loudly and pointed. I turned to see a wild woman stumble out of the foliage looking worse for wear. Upon further inspection, I realized it was my mate.

---