Chapter Eighteen
Alaina
D ax is right—this is the best chance we have at getting out of here. Olivia only knows Caleb and Dax don’t get along, although that also seems to have changed. Olivia wants me dead and Dax to herself.
My wolf snarls, and I quickly rein her back in. Now’s not the time to be territorial.
We found a window that leads out to the north side of the castle. Caleb will climb out and go to the front gate, which likely has new guards posted, since Olivia was alerted of their arrival.
Caleb will walk up to the guards and ask for an audience with Olivia. He’ll play the vengeance-seeking, newly made alpha, seeking mutual ground with an unlikely foe. He’ll go to her, falsely accuse Dax of being the reason behind the attacks on his pack and, ultimately, the death of his father.
Of which I can’t even begin to process right now.
Olivia will take the bait. With any luck, she’ll also remember I once tried to choose Caleb as my mate.
I will have to hope Olivia will settle for wanting me out of the picture and not just wanting me dead.
Dax and I are hiding behind a nearby wall, waiting for Caleb to be escorted into the great hall by the guards. Dax’s back is against the wall, clutching me to his front. He’s warm, safe, and I can’t put to words how much I missed his leathery smell. Even amid danger, in his arms I’ve never felt safer and more protected. I squeeze him tighter.
“Who’s been feeding off of you?” Dax growls into the mindlink.
I freeze at his question.
When I don’t respond fast enough, he speaks to me again. “I saw the bite marks, and I can smell the vampire all over you.”
I flinch at his last statement.
Does he think I betrayed him? Us?
“I’m not mad at you. Never you, darling. But I have to know. Who did this to you?”
I must reek of fear for him to say such a thing, but I relax a little at his reassurance.
“I don’t know. I woke up, and my body was covered in them...”
Sensing my unease, he doesn’t ask anything else, tightening his hold on me.
The wooden doors to the castle burst open, and in walk four vampires escorting Caleb to the Great Hall. I close my eyes and bury myself into Dax’s chest as they walk past us out of ear shot. Dax’s heartbeat remains steady like him, always dangerously calm, always the beast in control.
Dax places his hand under my chin gently, lifting my face to his. He cups my cheek with the other. “Now’s our chance. Stay with me.”
I nod.
Dax cranks his neck, peering out behind the wall. With his hand on my back, Dax leads the way.
I mimic his movements, seeing his stealth in action for the first time. Now I see why I can never hear him when he sneaks up behind me. Cat-like bastard.
Everything is still a little blurry from the drugs in my system, but I manage to keep up. He lifts me into the same window Caleb crawled out of. I squint at the sunrise peering through the trees, the crisp morning air filling my lungs. Able to stretch my body properly for the first time in a while, my joints crack at my movements.
“How long have I been gone?”
“Too long,” Dax groans.
I turn toward him, feeling his longing, despair, relief and... guilt?
Why would he feel guilty? It’s not his fault I was captured—or that his ex-fiancée is psychotic. I’m about to tell Dax this very thing when voices echo down the hall Dax is still standing in. Looking up at me, Dax’s eyes glow.
“Run.” Dax shuts the window and is gone before I can protest.