Chapter 3 The Hero, The Villain, and My Terrible Escape Plan

3. The Hero, The Villain, and My Terrible Escape Plan

If someone had told me last week that my future would involve debating whether to trust the fictional hero of a werewolf novel or stay chained up in the Tyrant Alpha’s murder-palace, I’d have laughed in their face and asked them to share whatever mushrooms they were eating.

But here I was.

Rowan Hale—tragic-hero extraordinaire, headliner of the prophecy, and current poster boy of Lunareth’s Most Eligible Alpha—was crouched in front of me, blue eyes all stormy and serious, hand outstretched like we were about to star in some medieval shampoo commercial. Behind us, the war council chamber stretched silent and ominous, maps and goblets scattered across the table like the aftermath of a very aggressive game of Risk.

And me? I was sweating through my bunny slippers.

“Come,” Rowan urged in a low voice. “We must move quickly.”

Move quickly? Sir, I am wearing pajamas and a pair of novelty footwear from Target. The only thing I move quickly for is the sound of a microwave ding.

Still, his hand lingered there, steady, waiting.

I hesitated before slipping mine into his. His grip was warm, calloused, protective in that knightly I’ll die for you way. A shiver ran down my spine—and not the sexy kind. More the oh-god-what-am-I-doing kind.

“Fine,” I muttered. “But if this ends with me as a snack pack for your wolf buddies, I’m haunting you.”

The corner of Rowan’s mouth twitched—like the man didn’t quite know how to smile but was trying. Cute. Inconveniently cute.

We crept out from behind the pillar, Rowan moving with this fluid, practiced grace while I… well, I squeaked every third step because slippers weren’t exactly built for espionage.

Here’s the part I need to stress: Rowan Hale wasn’t here by accident. In the actual novel, the Council of Lunareth had sent him to Dravenmoor as their emissary. You know, political diplomacy, exchange of words before exchange of claws. The hero was supposed to endure, play nice, and return to Halecrest with Aria (me-but-not-me) still loyally at his side, unscarred and unkidnapped.

Except guess what happened? Original Aria, bless her soft head, wandered into trouble with the subtlety of a toddler running into traffic. That’s why she ended up being captive by Lucian pack—main reason why she would be killed at the forest in the book. And me, Kiera-who-reads-too-much, hated her for it.

And now? The universe had decided to punish my sass by making me live through her mistakes. Fantastic.

The corridor stretched endlessly, shadows twisting against the torchlight. My heartbeat drummed in my ears. Rowan pressed a finger to his lips, and I nodded, trying to quiet my breathing. Which, unfortunately, only made it sound louder.

We slipped past the two guards—now chatting in guttural growls I prayed wasn’t Small Talk for Wolves 101—and hurried down a side passage.

“Where exactly are we going?” I whispered, my voice bouncing off the stone.

“Out,” Rowan muttered.

“Oh, brilliant plan. Why didn’t I think of that?”

He shot me a look—half exasperation, half genuine concern. “The dungeons have a passage that leads beyond the fortress. If we can reach it, you’ll be free.”

Free. The word nearly unhinged my jaw with longing. Freedom meant waking up in my apartment, hugging my pillow, scrolling TikTok until three a.m. again. Freedom meant not being the object of a psychotic alpha’s obsession.

Except… a little voice in the back of my head whispered, He’s going to notice you’re gone.

Lucian.

The name alone sent a chill crawling down my arms.

We descended a spiral staircase, Rowan’s hand steadying me every time I tripped over my ridiculous slippers. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel him silently judging my footwear choices. Fair. I judged them too.

The air grew colder, danker. The smell of moss and iron flooded my nose. Torches gave way to eerie blue lanterns that flickered like ghostly fireflies.

And then—shouts. Echoing, angry, sharp.

Rowan froze. His body went rigid, wolf-sharp senses clearly picking up things I couldn’t. His hand tightened on mine.

“They know,” he murmured.

“Oh good,” I said weakly. “I love being the subject of an interspecies manhunt. Really makes a girl feel special.”

He pulled me faster, almost dragging me now. My lungs burned. My legs screamed. And yet Rowan didn’t falter, didn’t slow—until we rounded a corner and slammed right into him.

Lucian.

The Tyrant Alpha stood there as though he’d been carved from the shadows themselves. Black leather glinting, silver eyes glowing, every inch of him screaming predator. His wolves flanked him, teeth bared, hackles raised.

Rowan shoved me behind him instantly, sword flashing free in one smooth motion. “Lucian.”

Lucian’s lips curved into something sharp and merciless. “Rowan Hale. Ever the hero.”

“Let her go,” Rowan demanded. His voice was steady, commanding, the kind of voice that could rally armies.

Lucian tilted his head, eyes sliding past Rowan to lock onto me. My breath caught. It was like being pinned to the wall by a hurricane—inescapable, consuming.

“She is mine,” Lucian said simply.

Oh for crying out loud, not this again.

I peeked around Rowan’s arm. “Look, not to interrupt your testosterone showdown, but I am most certainly not anyone’s.”

Lucian’s gaze sharpened. “You are marked.”

“I am jetlagged, thank you very much,” I snapped. “Big difference.”

Rowan stepped forward, blade raised, every inch the noble defender. “You cannot keep her, Lucian. She is not a prize to claim.”

And here’s the kicker. In this world, when two alphas mark the same mate, only the strongest bond survives. The Moon doesn’t bless both. It chooses.

Which meant… yeah. Welcome to my very own nightmare edition of The Bachelorette, where instead of roses, the prize was my eternal soul and possibly my spleen.

The air vibrated between them, thick with power. Lucian’s wolves snarled low, pacing. Rowan’s knuckles whitened around his sword.

And me? I was clutching my slippers like they were holy relics, wondering how the hell my life had spiraled into a werewolf version of Who Wants to Marry a Murderous Alpha.

“Stand aside,” Lucian warned. His voice dropped into that deadly calm that promised nothing but blood. “Or fall.”

Rowan didn’t budge. “Try me.”

And then they moved.

Steel clashed with claws, the sound ricocheting off the stone walls like thunder. Sparks flew as Rowan’s blade met Lucian’s strike, the Alpha’s raw strength rattling the ground beneath my feet.

I scrambled back against the wall, heart pounding so hard I thought it might actually tap dance out of my chest.

Lucian fought like a storm—wild, brutal, unstoppable. Rowan countered with precision and grace, every swing of his sword measured, every dodge perfectly timed.

And I? I did what any sensible human would do in this situation.

I screamed.

Both men ignored me, of course. Typical.

Rowan ducked under a swipe, slashing across Lucian’s arm. The Alpha barely flinched, silver blood—wait, silver?—glistening against his dark leather. He snarled, fangs bared, and slammed Rowan back against the wall.

“Rowan!” I cried, panic clawing up my throat.

Rowan twisted free, his blade flashing dangerously close to Lucian’s throat. For a heartbeat, I thought he might actually win.

But then Lucian’s hand shot out, catching the blade bare-handed. The steel sizzled against his palm, smoke curling, but he didn’t let go. His other hand lashed forward, striking Rowan across the chest with enough force to send him crashing into the opposite wall.

The sound he made when he hit—it was human, pained.

I bolted forward before my brain could remind me I was squishier than both of them. “Rowan!”

Lucian’s head snapped toward me, eyes blazing. For a terrifying second, I thought he’d strike me too. But instead, his expression shifted—hard, furious, but also… relieved.

Like finding me in the middle of the chaos was exactly what he wanted.

“Mine,” he growled, voice vibrating through the stone.

“Again with the mine!” I shouted, hysteria bubbling up. “Buddy, I am not a lost sock in a laundromat, okay?”

He stalked toward me, every step lethal. Behind him, Rowan groaned, struggling to rise.

Panic clawed at my chest. Fight or flight? My brain screamed flight, but my body was rooted in place, staring up at the monster-villain who’d just demolished the story’s golden hero like swatting a fly.

Lucian reached me, towering, shadow-wrapped, smelling of pine and blood and danger. His hand shot out—not to strike, but to seize my wrist. Sparks erupted under his touch, fire dancing across my skin.

I gasped, yanking back, but it was useless. His grip was iron.

“You will not run again,” he snarled, eyes burning into mine. “The Moon chose. And I do not release what is mine.”

Rowan staggered to his feet, blood at his lip, sword raised despite the tremor in his arms. “Let her go!”

Lucian didn’t even look at him. His gaze was all on me, relentless, terrifying.

And that’s when it hit me.

This wasn’t just obsession. It wasn’t just villainy.

Lucian Drevane—the Tyrant Alpha—wasn’t going to let me go.

Ever.

And for the first time since I’d landed in this nightmare, I realized the scariest part wasn’t that he could kill me.

It was that he didn’t want to.