Page 14 of Alpha's Claim

I shut the door, and move along. Paloma’s scent still hovers on the air, a siren call to me and my bear. I force myself to pace slowly, keeping an eye out for guards.

Her sweet floral scent grows stronger, and I know I’m close. Then I hear her voice.

“No,” she’s telling someone. “I want to stay in my room.”

I’ve reached the last corner. The hall ends twenty feet from where I stand. Paloma and a group of guards are arguing in front of a huge, round doorway.

These guys aren’t in suits like the bodyguards, but black military-like uniforms. Thom has a private army guarding his precious Paloma. Several of them are packing some serious heat.

“I’ll help you.” The biggest guard goes to take her arm.My eyes flare bright, and I have to fight to keep my bear from erupting.

“I can handle it,” Paloma snaps, and the man drops his hand. The movement saves his life. I’d have killed him if he touched her. “I can walk. Just leave me alone.”

“Go then.” The head guard–the one who tried force-feeding her last night–steps aside and Paloma disappears. The huge door swings shut behind her. It’s round, like the door to a bank vault. There’s a jarring snap when all the locks engage.

Looks like they locked Paloma in tight for the night.

The head guard orders his men to fan out. Some of them head out for patrol, but most of them stay with their backs to the door.

I could run and take most of them out in a surprise attack, but then I’d waste time breaking into that vault door. Plus, I’d alert the entire manse and there are at least thirty-five other guards roaming this property.

I need another way in.

I stroll back the way I came, and out into the garden again. Paloma’s room is at the far end of the west wing, in a literal stone tower. She’s locked away like a princess.

Guards patrol the perimeter, but they’re facing outward, as if expecting an attack from the road.

There’s plenty of footholds in the stone, and a bunch of ivy I can grip if I need. Werebears are great at climbing.

I wait until clouds drift over the moon and begin my ascent.

Paloma

Moonlight streams into my room. The window creaksand strands of ivy dance in the wind. I stand and look out at the night sky. I’d give anything to be able to open the window to the ocean breeze. I smack my hand against the shatter-proof glass in frustration, then plop on my bed, facing the night sky.

I’ve changed into a pink sleep set, so I can relax. My book’s on the nightstand, but I’m too on edge to settle in and finish it.

At least I’m alone. I used to hate being locked in my room, but now it’s a welcome reprieve. It’s my final night of freedom.

I rub my right arm. My biceps is sore from tonight’s injection. I’m woozy from my medicine.

A few years ago, after a normal check up and flu shot, I got so dizzy I had to lie down. Thom has hired doctors from every corner of the earth. They still don’t know what’s wrong, but narrowed it down to some sort of auto-immune disease. Thom restricts my internet access, so I can’t do any research on my own, but the cocktail of meds they inject me with every few days keeps the symptoms at bay.

On my most successful escape attempt, I got off the property, only to collapse within twenty-four hours. Extreme weakness is a side effect of the disease. I’ll need regular injections for the rest of my life to stay mobile. If I don’t get them, the weakness will spread until my organs shut down.

I’m grateful that the disease responds to treatment. But now Thom has several ways to keep me tethered to this life: my sister and the medicine that keeps me alive.

And he intends to breed me. He’ll make my children chattel, just like he did me. I’ll never stop fighting, but I have no idea what to do. Hope is a faint light, disappearing over the horizon.

My head is fuzzy from the medicine, but the churning in my stomach is about the auction.

The window creaks again. The frame shudders and then the shatter-proof glass does the impossible. It cracks, bows inward, and explodes into a million glinting shards.

I’m frozen, unable to react. My thoughts move slowly like I’m underwater, and I can only watch as a dark shape fills the empty space. The intruder pauses a moment before jumping lightly to the floor and standing up straight. The low light gilds his wild blond hair.

“Hello, Rapunzel.”

Chapter Four

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