Chapter 2

Drunken werewolves lay sprawled beside the long tables, surrounded by shattered wineglasses.

The air was thick with the smell of liquor, roasted meat, and wolf pheromones.

No one noticed when I slipped out of the servants' quarters.

I changed out of my bloodstained maid's uniform and pulled on the black cloak I had prepared long ago.

Hidden beneath it were several packets of herbs, a small knife, and the coins I had secretly saved over the past three years.

My right hand had swollen badly.

Every movement sent a bolt of agony through the broken bones.

But tonight was my only chance.

Everyone in Blackwood was celebrating the birth of the heir.

None of them would imagine that a human slave, broken and humiliated for three years, would still dare to run.

They thought I had surrendered long ago.

What they never understood was that every time I lowered my head, I was preparing for this night.

I left the main castle through an abandoned drainage tunnel behind the kitchen.

The passage was narrow and filthy, reeking of rot.

Curling my body inward, I dragged myself forward with my left hand.

My injured hand kept striking the stone walls.

The pain became so intense that my fingers eventually went numb.

Still, I clenched my teeth and made no sound.

With a werewolf's hearing, even the smallest mistake could get me killed.

Half an hour later, I finally crawled out the other side.

Cold wind hit my face.

I dropped to my knees in the mud, gasping for breath.

When I looked up, I saw the tall iron fence in the distance.

It marked the edge of Blackwood territory.

I pulled a handful of bitterroot from inside my cloak and chewed it.

Its sharp, bitter juice spread across my tongue.

For three years, I had gathered the herb piece by piece from a discarded medicine cabinet in the infirmary.

It could temporarily mask the scent of a human.

Tonight, it was my only hope of survival.

Two guards stood beside the fence, talking beneath a tree.

"The Alpha definitely isn't going back to the main castle tonight."

"Of course not. Seraphina just gave him an heir."

The other guard let out a mocking laugh.

"And the human?"

"She could die tomorrow, and no one would even notice."

Hidden behind the bushes, I waited in silence.

Then a ceremonial horn sounded in the distance.

Both guards turned toward it.

Now.

I burst from cover.

Branches whipped past my legs.

I stepped onto an old wooden crate buried in the mud and launched myself at the fence.

The sharp wire tore through my calf.

Blood ran down my leg.

"Who's there?"

One of the guards spun around.

I did not look back.

A second later, the sound of bones twisting and reshaping came from behind me.

A howl split the night.

Two gray wolves vaulted over the fence and charged after me.

I ran into the forest as fast as I could.

Wind roared in my ears.

The howls behind me grew closer with every second.

Then a steep slope appeared ahead.

I jumped without hesitation.

My body tumbled down the muddy incline.

My shoulder slammed into a rock before I crashed into an ice-cold stream.

The water swallowed me whole.

I fought my way to the opposite bank and staggered forward.

Behind me, the two gray wolves stopped at the water's edge.

They lowered their heads, sniffing frantically.

The bitterroot mixed with the stream water, destroying my scent trail.

The wolves growled in frustration.

Still, neither of them dared to follow me deeper into the forest.

Their voices faded little by little.

Only then did I stop.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed beside a tree.

I had escaped.

But just as relief began to wash over me, a crushing presence—far more terrifying than Damon's—descended over the entire forest without warning.

My breath caught in my throat.

Then the thick scent of blood drifted slowly through the air.