Chapter 25 #2
I slipped from beneath the covers, pressing my bare feet against the cool wooden floor with practiced silence.
Years of dance had given me the muscle memory to distribute my weight and move without sound.
I never thought I’d turn ballet into a prison break.
Yet, both required precision, patience, and pain.
Moonlight slanted through the thin curtains, casting everything in silver ribbons and shadows.
I softly moved towards the door, pressing my face against it to hear better.
At first, I thought they were guarding me.
I thought I could walk right out the door and never look back, but then someone cleared their throat and dashed that pipe dream.
My only other exit option was the window.
Moving quickly, I crawled onto the bed.
The window’s lock was a simple latch, rusted with age and disuse.
My fingernails dug into the crusty metal as I worked it back and forth, each minor jiggle sending flakes of brown onto the sill.
I had to repress my instinct to clean it off, my grandmother’s voice nudging my consciousness about cleanliness and godliness.
My bruised wrists protested how I was wiggling them as I fought to release the lock.
Seconds ticked by, with each one stretching my nerves thinner, but finally I won.
The catch gave way with a metallic scrape that seemed deafening in the silent room. I froze, holding my breath, listening for any reaction from elsewhere in the house. Nothing. Small favors.
I gripped the bottom ridge of the window frame and lifted.
It didn’t initially yield, years of paint caked in the crevices, but firmer shoving gained me an inch, then two inches, then about a foot of freedom.
Each victory was met with a muffled groan of wood against wood.
I probably should have paused, waiting to see if I’d be caught, but my pulse was thick in my mouth and all I could think was: I have to get out! I have to leave!
Instinct had me shoving arms through the gap before my brain thought better of it.
When I remembered that I was still wearing the thin Eros dress, I pulled myself back into the room.
It wasn’t enough to protect me from the Wyoming chill.
Running in the dark in the dumb, delicate sandals wouldn’t work either.
I’d stripped those off yesterday and I refused to put them back on again.
Back off the bed, I padded to the closet.
Inside smelled so heavily of Cooper that I had to cover my nose.
Not because it was foul, but because it smelled so damn good to me.
Trying to take shallow breaths and keep my nostrils pinched, I fished through the clothing and pulled out drawstring joggers and a shirt.
I had to use both hands to strip off the dress and change, causing Eau de Cooper to slam into me, nearly making my knees buckle.
I forced myself to focus, yanking on the pants and cinching the drawstring as tight as possible.
I rolled the waistband over twice, creating a bulky knot at my stomach but at least keeping them from sliding to my ankles with each step.
The blue tee hung off one shoulder, exposing more skin than I wanted.
Most shifts I’d been partially clothed at Club Midnight, yet this vulnerability felt different.
The Alphas in this home wouldn’t get kicked out if they got handsy.
I closed the closet quickly, trying to dampen the intense Alpha smell inside it.
Now for shoes…
My gaze landed on a dusty pair of worn leather boots tossed against a wall.
I stuffed my feet into them, feeling ridiculous as they engulfed my feet.
If I tried running in them, I’d bust my ass.
But what choice did I have? I’d just have to go slower, take careful steps to avoid tripping.
Not ideal for an escape, but the loose boots were better than the Eros sandals or barefoot across that damn gravel driveway.
Turning, I gazed around, wondering if there was anything else I should do, or anything else I could take.
Something for protection maybe? I began searching, trying not to make too much noise.
When I nearly knocked over a wobbly floor lamp, lurching forward to catch it and nearly falling in the process, I stopped the hunt.
A makeshift weapon wasn’t worth alerting the guard dog in the hallway.
I crept back onto the bed, sticking my head through the foot gap and checking outside.
The ground looked farther away, the darkness making it a patch of shadow that could hide rocks, or holes, or God knows what.
My horse for a kingdom, or in this case a city streetlamp casting its annoying golden glow over everything, blocking the stars above and never allowing my apartment to fully darken.
But I wasn’t in Seattle, though getting back there was the exact reason why I was about to hurl myself out a window into the scary Wyoming night.
Legs first, I decided.
Rolling over on my stomach, half hanging off the opposite side of the bed, I stuck my legs through.
I slowly pushed myself across the mattress, tugging the quilt into lumps and folds as I shifted.
As my lower half bent down, following the line of the house, I tried to slow the pace.
Too fast, and I’d fall. This was only a one-story, but I hadn’t touched the Earth yet.
The back of the house seemed higher than the front, its crawlspace foundation taller.
Wriggling and twisting, I clung to the sill and lowered myself as far as possible before letting go.
I braced myself, hoping I was only a few inches from the ground.
I was, yet I still hit harder than expected, my ankles absorbing the shock before I tumbled forward, shooting my hands out to flatten against the siding and keep myself upright.
My wrists screamed at the force, but I bit down on the pain.
One of the too-large boots had twisted awkwardly, nearly spraining my ankle.
I lifted that foot, shaking out the kink.
When I lowered my leg again, boot sole flattening, I was relieved to feel no lingering pain. Not a real sprain, just a twinge.
For a moment, I couldn't move, the sudden reality of what I was doing freezing me in place. I was outside. Alone. In the middle of nowhere Wyoming, with no phone, no money, no real plan beyond "get the fuck away from here, and away from them."
I turned, leaning against the house to catch my breath and center myself for the journey.
But when my head titled back, I gasped.
The sky above me wasn't the murky orange haze of Seattle's polluted night.
It was an endless expanse of crystal-dotted, black velvet.
More stars were scattered across the landscape above than I'd ever seen in my life.
They stretched from horizon to horizon, impossibly bright and clear.
It took my breath away. For a moment, I forgot my fear, my anger, and my desperate situation.
I became lost in the sheer beauty of this oh-so-different Mother Earth.
Then… the moment passed.
I pushed away from the house, from its solidness that promised safety, if not autonomy, and I began creeping quickly away from where I’d landed.
I needed distance, roads, civilization. I found my way to the back left corner of the rambler, and I peeked around to ensure there was no one in view.
It was late; it would probably be weird for anyone to be roaming around past midnight, but this was a ranch, filled with Alphas determined to keep me indoors. Better to be careful.
The oversized boots clomped awkwardly with each step, threatening to trip me, forcing me to adopt a strange shuffling gait.
My heart jumped when a horse neighed in the distance, then my pulse raced as a dog howled a response.
I picked up the pace, trying not to trip.
The gravel driveway crunched beneath my feet, each step sounding like cannon booms to my ears.
Why was everything so damn loud? I needed it to be quiet.
I moved to the edge of the road where grass softened my footfalls, though the uneven ground made balance more difficult.
It was chilly out, and I regretted ignoring the coat and hoodies in Cooper’s closet in my rush to block his scent.
My breath came in pale clouds; the air, so much cooler than it had been the day I’d arrived, made my lungs ache slightly as I breathed too erratically.
I was riding the edge of panic and had been since the moment I’d woken up on that damn plane.
Yet, I pushed myself forward. I didn’t let myself stop walking.
How far to the main road? How long until they discovered I was gone?
Would they come after me? Of course they would.
As if I were a work horse or milk cow, they'd paid for me. A lot, if those asshole Eros goons on the plan were to be believed. Nobody let that kind of investment simply walk away. Even if they were acting like they cared… Even if their attitudes gave me hope that they weren’t the type of men to keep me against my well…
the sheer fact that I’d arrived here in the way I had proved I couldn’t trust them.
The darkness pressed in around me as I moved farther from the house.
The moon was clear and bright, it and the stars providing enough illumination to make the driveway a pale ribbon stretching ahead.
I didn’t have to think, I only had to follow the landscape rock beneath my feet.
Each step took me further from the Alphas, yet deeper into unknown territory.
My city instincts screamed warnings about the shadows, the isolation, the wild things that might be watching.
But I couldn’t focus on what might move beyond my scope of vision.
Couldn’t focus on the rustling of grass beyond a fence nearby.
Had to stop thinking that the soft humming sound was something other than crickets singing songs.
One foot in front of the other.
If I just kept my thoughts on taking one step.
Another step.
A third.
Then eventually I’d be in Pinedale.
How long was this fucking driveway?
The same determination I’d always weaponized—the one that got me through grueling rehearsals, through the devastating injury that ended my career, through nights of smiling at handsy men while mentally calculating how much rent their groping would cover—came to the surface and drove me onward.
Away from the five men who sought to take away my identity.
The thought of them made my inner Omega stretch. I hated that uncontrollable biology made me unable to stop the visions of each Alpha flashing through my mind.
The adorable tooth gap.
The long, blonde braid.
The deep, honeyed skin.
The lilac eyes.
The sharp jaw and quiet confidence.
Maybe if life were different, I could have met them another way. We’d start out in a good place, and I wouldn’t hate their damn guts. But life wasn’t different. To them, I was merchandise. An Omega prize to be claimed.
I’d die before I let anyone own me.
The entrance to the driveway came into view.
I felt like I’d been walking miles already.
Funny how stress and anxiety can make distances fell impossibly far, and time impossibly slow.
The massive wood poles supporting the overhead sign were harder to see in the night.
The carved, rustic letters of ‘Sagebrush Ranch’ were there, but I couldn’t see them above.
I stopped beneath the property marker; leaning over to brace hands against my knees as I allowed myself to take a beat.
My calves trembled, more so from stress than exertion.
The oversized boots had already rubbed raw patches on my heels and ankles.
But I'd made it this far. I could easily go further.
I straightened, a shiver running up my spine.
I’d paused long enough that the chilly air had time to sink into the fabric of the clothes, getting to my slightly sweaty skin beneath.
Rubbing my upper arms briskly, I warmed myself.
As I did, the pants tried to slip down my body.
I pulled them back securely around my waist, tugging the drawstring even tighter.
When I started walking again, every step made the boot-rubbed raw skin tug and rip and peel.
My body wasn’t conditioned for this. I was a dancer. A runner. Endless walking in boots that felt like concrete blocks strapped to my feet was not in my skillset.
Just after the wood ranch sign, the driveway met the dirt road. I hung a left.
My chest felt locked in a vice as I took a few tentative steps down the unpaved road.
Suddenly, I didn’t feel sure of my memory.
Had we hung a right onto the driveway before?
Was I going the wrong way? It doesn’t matter.
I shook my head, forcing the doubts away.
Any direction’s better than back there. Better than being treated like property, like a prize breeding mare for five men who thought they could buy a human being.
The wrong way was still the right way. I’d end up somewhere eventually.
Confidence renewed, I straightened my shoulders and moved faster.
I could do this.
A yard.
Another yard.
And then…
A low, rumbling growl from somewhere in the darkness to my right sounded.
The hair raised on every part of my body, primal fear flooding my system with adrenaline. I froze mid-step, not daring to move, barely breathing.