Chapter 5 Failed Escape

A week had passed since Nova arrived, or rather, was imprisoned, in the Ashfall Pack. She was moved from the hospital while she was unconscious to a small basement room somewhere. It was dusty, had a bed and a desk. That was all.

Nova still couldn't believe how one wrong turn had destroyed her life.

"If only I had paid attention to that damn GPS," she muttered for the umpteenth time. Cursing herself was all she could do now. There was no one else here to blame.

The last time she saw Cassian was yesterday, when he had brought her dinner to the room. It was a sad plate of unseasoned mashed potatoes, exactly like every other day. She had hurled it back at him without hesitation. He didn't even flinch, used to her tantrums by now.

Nova's stomach growled at the memory.

"Maybe I shouldn't have wasted that food," she whispered, glancing at the splattered mash mixed with fragments of the plate.

She sighed and made another scratch on the wall, counting the days she'd been trapped. Today was day eight.

Cassian had informed her that only after the Alpha returned would her fate be decided. The Alpha was the leader of the pack; she remembered that much from the stories Jenna read. 

On one of the visits, Leo we o had promised the Alpha would gut her alive, while Cassian had waved it off as a joke. Nova didn't think it was a joke. What a shame. Poor Jenna, blissfully unaware, must think she was enjoying herself. What would happen if she never returned from this trip?

Nova scoffed. "Who am I kidding? They'd probably frame my death before anyone knew I was gone. Assholes."

A sharp sound drew her attention. The door opened, and boots descended down the stairs. She straightened on the edge of the bed as Cassian stepped into view, keys jingling at his side.

"Good morning, Miss Lane," he greeted, his small smile irritating her. For some odd reason, he always seemed to be in a good mood.

"Go to hell," she spat. He wasn't carrying any mashed potatoes for her today. "No breakfast?"

"Why bother? You don't appreciate them," he approached her and grabbed her arm. "Come on. Someone special is coming. I have to make you look presentable."

Nova's brow shut up. The Alpha. He had finally come.

She remained silent as he led her up the stairs and into an old house. The place looked abandoned, like someone had ransacked it. She wondered how long it would take her to escape his grip and bolt through the door.

"You're silent. That's a first," Cassian muttered. "If you're thinking of escaping, don't bother. You won't get far."

She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't thinking of it."

"Good." He said as he stopped in the living room. "Don't move." He told her before moving to one of the nearby cabinets to rummage through it.

Her eyes flicked from the doorway to his hunched back.

This was it. This was her chance. She wasn't going to die in the hands of some blood thirsty Alpha. She refused. She would escape or die trying.

Without thinking, she bolted.

Cassian's sharp voice called after her, but she didn't dare look back. Her eyes stayed fixed on the road ahead, where a car was slowly pulling up in front of the house.

If she could hijack that car, she might finally escape. She willed her legs to move faster as the sleek black vehicle slid to a stop.

The driver-side door opened, and a man began to step out. A werewolf, no doubt. So many plans raced through her head at that moment. Perhaps if she used the element of surprise, she could overpower the man and run.

Her plan was reckless, but desperation sharpened her courage. She clenched her fist and swung it with all the force she could muster toward the man's face, hoping to catch him off guard.

It didn't land.

Time seemed to freeze as he caught the punch effortlessly. His plan wrapped around her fist in an iron grip. She couldn't move.

"You must think very highly of yourself, human," he said, his voice cool and sharp. There was a presence about him, a weight, that made her chest tighten and her knees weak. She wanted to shrink, to disappear.

A strange pulse ran through her, from the spot where he held her, spreading like electricity through her limbs. It made her shiver in a way that was equal parts terrifying and... strangely intoxicating. She had never felt anything like it.

Her gaze shot upward to meet his face, and her breath caught.

Dark hair fell loosely over his forehead. His features were impossibly sharp yet composed. A straight nose, a chiseled jaw, and lips pressed into a thin, disapproving line. He radiated calm, as though he existed far above the world and was simply tolerating it.

And his eyes.

They were the first thing anyone would notice. Red, the shade of fresh blood, framed by thick lashes that gave him a penetrating, almost predatory intensity. Nova felt her pulse stutter. She could stare into them for days and never grow tired. For a terrifying moment, she even found herself imagining children with those eyes, and her stomach fluttered at the thought.

Then something shifted.

His eyes widened ever so slightly, lips parting in a flicker of shock. In an instant, he recoiled, dropping her hand as if she had burned him.

She heard him whisper faintly, 

"Mate."

-

Nova blinked, confused, as the red-eyed man glared at her with pure revulsion. The hate radiating off him was almost tangible. She was taken aback. They had just met. How did she piss him off this bad already? For some odd reason, his actions made her chest ache.

Questions swirled through her mind, but there was no time to ponder. She had to escape.

Seizing the moment while he was distracted, Nova leapt toward his car, snatching the keys dangling loosely between his fingers. Her heart raced as she slid into the driver's seat successfully.

Starting the ignition, she smirked and shot Cassian, who was frozen in shock, a middle finger. She cast a glance at the strange man, who stared at her blankly, as if he couldn't quite process her audacity.

Then she slammed the accelerator.

"Hah! I did it! Just wait till I tell the news about this. Those damn scientists will have a field day!" She muttered to herself, adrenaline flooding her veins.

The car tore through the abandoned street. She retraced the route she had seen the car arrive by, surely that was the way out.

But her fleeting joy crumpled in an instant. 

In the mirror, a massive black wolf was gaining on her with terrifying speed. It was the biggest wolf she had seen in her entire existence. The size alone made her want to pee herself.

"Shit!" Nova slammed her foot down, trying to outpace it. But it was fast, faster than anything she'd ever seen.

Her heart pounded in her chest as horrifying visions flashed in her head of it catching up and mauling her. It would gnaw her bones like candy.

Before she could finish her thought, the wolf slammed his body into the side of the car, making her drift off the road. The vehicle stood no chance. She hit a lamppost, and the airbag saved her from smacking face first against the wheel.

Her body groaned under the pressure, but she didn't even have the time to feel it as the massive wolf landed on the hood, eyes glowing red, teeth bared.

Nova froze, paralyzed by terror.

The driver-side door yanked open, and Cassian's firm hand pulled her out.

"Are you insane? You could have gotten yourself killed!" He snapped.

Nova's chest tightened as her escape crumbled. A dry, bitter laugh escaped her lips.

"Like you care! Weren't you planning to hand me over to your alpha to die a moment ago?!" She spat, glaring at him.

"That was before-"

"Before what?!"

"Our Luna-"

"You and your pack can go to hell!"

Cassian covered her mouth with his palm as she struggled.

"Luna, don't piss him off further. You tried to run from him. He's already mad." He said, gazing at the black wolf still snarling at her.

It was then that it clicked for her. This wolf, the one that had ruined her escape, was none other than the Alpha himself. He was going to execute her.

Nova suddenly felt exhaustion knock into her. The pressure from the crash, coupled with malnutrition, had finally caught up with her. Was this how she was going to end?

The last thing she saw before going limp was the wolf turning into a man.