Page 57 of Sold Wolf Slave

“All right,” I said. “Let’s get going.”

Chapter 21 - Kendra

I sat in the same cell I had been in when this whole thing began. I had forgotten quite how dreary the place was, and just how much I hated it.

I didn’t know what they had in store for me, but I didn’t intend on finding out. I may have gone with Ronan quietly, but that didn’t mean I was planning on staying here. I had been biding my time for once instead of acting out impulsively. When it was finally the right time, I could enact my plan.

I pushed myself to my feet and walked over to the door. Staring at the lock, I bit my lip, thinking about what I had told Will just the other day, how none of the slaves thought outside the box because we just assumed it was hopeless. Myself included. Which meant the slavers sometimes took shortcuts.

The door was magic-proof. I already knew that. But that didn’t mean it was immune to fire.

Taking a deep breath, I held out a finger and began muttering an incantation. A bright, hot, concentrated flame erupted from my finger. I crouched and began to draw it around the lock, cutting through the metal. After a long minute when I didn’t breathe, I finished cutting through the metal. I pushed at the door, and it swung open, the lock no longer attached to the rest of the door.

Giving a breathless, relieved laugh, I stepped out, looking first one way and then the other. I crept down the hall, moving toward the door, practically tasting freedom.

Just as I was about to get away, something grabbed a fistful of my hair and jerked me backward. I cried out in pain as I staggered backward against firm muscle. Peering up, I saw Ronan’s furious expression staring down at me.

“You have some sort of death wish?” he snarled. “Or are you just an idiot?”

My eyes widened as I stared up at him, breath catching in my throat as dread crept over me. With a snarl, he began dragging me back down the hall toward my cell. I cried out, struggling, trying to push him away from me. When that didn’t work, I muttered another incantation. My long hair cut itself, snipping just below where Ronan had grabbed it.

The instant I had wrenched myself free of his grip, my scalp burning, I muttered another incantation. A cool breeze washed across me, and I felt his grip loosen in surprise before my elbow slammed into his stomach.

Ronan let out anoof, and his grip loosened enough for me to get out of his grasp. I dipped away as Ronan roared in fury, hands snatching air as he tried to grab me again.

“Where the hell did you go, you little bitch?” he demanded, spinning around, his head swiveling as he tried to catch a glimpse of me. His nostrils flared, and he rounded until he faced me. With a low growl, he swiped his arm out, his fingers inches from my arm as it whooshed by.

I sucked in a breath, barely breathing as my heart pounded. I couldn’t leave. The instant the door opened, he would know where I was. I could try to lure him into a cell, but the instant he thought I was inside, he would just close the door and lock it. Which meant I needed to come up with some other way of getting around here.

Dipping away, I tried to remain silent. He could still smell me, but that would only do him so much. If I could just—

My foot nudged a pebble. Ronan snarled, spinning toward the sound and charging like a bull. He missed me byinches, the air whooshing past me. He turned on his heels and searched wildly.

Curious, barely able to speak, I crouched, picking up another rock and throwing it down the hall. He spun and ran again, so furious that he could barely control his speed.

As I crept around, keeping myself close to the wall, I kept an eye on him as my plan began to form. Ronan continued searching for me, eyes burning with anger as they darted wildly. He kept himself between me and the exit, knowing that, even if he couldn’t see me, he would be able to keep me from getting out.

Knowing I was taking a gamble, and also knowing that I didn’t have much else I could do, I picked up another rock and threw it. Ronan turned and bolted, heading toward the sound. The instant I knew he couldn’t stop, I uttered a spell, and a patch of floor turned into pure ice. Ronan ran across it. The instant his foot touched the smooth, cold surface, it slipped out from underneath him, and he kept going. He stumbled forward, continuing to move at breakneck pace. Before he could stop himself, his head slammed into the wall. He twitched, then stilled.

Panting, adrenaline pumping through me as I stared down at the body. I turned visible again. My hands trembled as disbelief swam through my head. Ronan had been this massive, larger-than-life figure. Now, he was nothing more than a cooling body.

I shook my head to clear it. I only had a short amount of time; I couldn’t stand around gawking like an idiot. I needed to get out of here. I needed his keys.

Rummaging through Ronan’s pockets, I found the keys to the cells. Glancing around, I bit my lip, hesitating for only a briefmoment. I couldn’t leave all these girls in cages. They needed to be let out. Only a small number of the women were being held here, but it wasn’t like I could just walk away.

I knew it put me at risk, but I couldn’t help it. I ran to the first door, stuffed the key inside, and twisted. The door swung open. The girl on the other side stared at me, bewildered.

I kept moving down the row of cells, muttering softly to each one as they all piled out. They clustered together, waiting for me to finish unlocking the cells instead of running.

Just as I was unlocking the last cell, a rattling sound came from beyond the closed door leading to the rest of the cells. All the girls froze, myself included. A soft gasp and a sob came from one of them.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and sent another invisibility spell over us. It wouldn’t do anything to hide Ronan’s dead body or the dozens of opened cages, but I didn’t have the time to come up with anything more elaborate at the moment. I would just have to make do.

We waited as the rattling sound continued. I sucked in a breath, heart pounding, waiting to see what would come through those doors and preparing for the worst.

It wasn’t until the door cracked open and a familiar, comforting scent, one of oak and vanilla, wafted toward me that I realized who it really was. A moment later, the door flew open, and Will, Chris, and Nolan all barged in.

They blinked for a moment, looking at what they perceived as an empty room, save for a dead body, with dozens of open cell doors. Will went pale, then his fists clenched. I could sense the rage and panic radiating off him.

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