Chapter 89

Leah’s angry shriek at Samuel has alerted every single danger in the stairwell to our presence, and some in the hallway too. Their thunderous footsteps come closer to us.

Samuel uses his body to push Leah and me inside the stairwell. I yank closed the door behind us and turn the inside lock.

From somewhere beneath us, padded footsteps start to come up the stairs. Samuel places himself between us and the stairs.

“You protected Harper,” Leah continues to hiss, like our lives aren’t in immediate peril. I shush her, but she doesn’t listen. “You went to her like it was your reflex, and left your wife to die.

It could be the fear and adrenaline, and perhaps some blood loss, that is making her panic like this. But that panic isn’t helpful right now. Not when her frantic outbursts are just making more trouble for us.

“He’s protecting you now so be quiet,” I whisper to her.

“So easy for you to say, Harper. You aren’t here about to die knowing your husband won’t put you first.”

There are so many things I want to say to her, like, Maybe you shouldn’t have married my ex-fiancé. Or, What do you expect when you treat everyone around you like garbage?

Instead, I tell her, “We can argue about this later.”

“There won’t be a later!” Leah shouts.

Too loud. Far too loud.

Whatever had been looking for us in the hallway begins to pound on the door. That lock is flimsy, meant only to direct and deter the slaves. There’s no real threat in it. It’s not meant to keep out monsters.

The wood of the door begins to splinter. What surprises me, in my panic-addled brain, is how the door seems more likely to give before the lock. Perhaps it’s not such a flimsy lock as I previously thought.

Samuel starts to growl. He backs up some, shielding me somewhat with his body.

Leah’s eyes go wide with shock and distress. “You utter bastard! You are doing it again!”

Just then, the bear breaks down the door. Its massive form fills the doorway. Drool and blood drip down from its chin in sick wet globs. It lifts itself up onto its hind legs, rears back like it’s taking in a great inhale of breath. Then it roars loudly straight at us. The breath – the stench of it assaults our noses.

Samuel growls as he lowers himself, ready to pounce.

As the bear finishes its roar, it moves to take one step forward, when suddenly, a massive arm smacks it from the side, sending it flying away. It careens away like a bag of potatoes, disappearing further down the hallway.

In its place, Caleb, in his massive Alpha wolf form, leans down to peek his head in through the doorway. When he sees me, he immediately shifts down to his human size.

“What the hell are you still doing here, lingering around?” he demands. Though he’s shifted to human form, the blood remains covering him. His face is red, and it’s dripping down his arms and legs. “Come on.” He pushes past Samuel and immediately starts to go down the stairs.

I follow along at once, with Leah and Samuel behind me.

Down a flight, we hear another growl of a bear.

Caleb turns to look at me. “We have to get downstairs. No matter what else happens. The only way out through the tunnels is one the base level.”

“We’re running away?” I ask.

“Just follow me. No matter what,” he says. He’s gross, covered in blood and who knows what else, but he’s serious. And for whatever the reason, of all the people he could be choosing to protect right now, he’s picked me.

Right now, I’d follow him to the ends of the earth.

At least, I want to.

A flight of stairs down, we are confronted with another bear. Caleb shifts into his massive wolf form and tackles it. He’s contorted in the tight chasm of the stairwell, but even then he still seems to be winning.

“This way!” Samuel says, pushing Leah and me toward the exit of this landing, which would lead us out into one of the interior floors, but certainly not the lowest.

“Caleb said to follow him!” I reply, pushing back.

But Samuel is much stronger than me. “Your king is the target here. He’ll only lead us into death!”

I continue to try to fight against Caleb, but he doesn’t give me an inch, He said to follow him. He said the lowest floor was the only way out.

Samuel’s not listening. To any of it. Not even to me, as I scream, “We have to follow Caleb!”

A bear appears in the hallway behind us, forcing us now to run forward and leave Caleb behind. I curse with each forward step. Samuel shifts, turns and faces the bear, and pounces again. I look behind me, to make certain that Samuel is okay. When I look forward again, Leah is gone.

Did she hide? Where did she go?

I have no idea, and before I can figure it out, another bear appears before me. Not knowing what else to do, I duck into a side door and hope to the gods it has another way out.

Locking the door behind me, I peer farther into the room I’ve found myself in. It looks like a classroom, with desks and shelves of books. Near the back of the room is another descending staircase, though it’s not nearly as steep as the main one that connects all the levels. This one, at least, might lead me to a safer location.

At this point, anyway of getting down is a good way, after hearing what Caleb said to me.

Rushing to the stairs, I take them two at a time down, down. There’s a door at the bottom. I try for the handle but it’s locked.

On the other side of the door I hear women talking.

“Hello?” I call. “It’s Harper! Is anyone there?”

“Harper?” I hear Gwen’s voice. “Don’t open the door, you idiots. This is our chance.”

“Please!” I say. “I know we’ve had disagreements, but –”

“Enjoy your mauling, Harper,” Gwen shouts. “There’s no way anyone is letting you into this safe room.”

I’m too frightened to be hurt or proud, so I beg, “Please, Gwen! This is life or death!”

“It was too, with Nina and Madeline! You’ve made your choices, bitch. Now live with them!”

I realize with a growing pit in my stomach, that Gwen is not going to let me inside of this room. It’s a safe room, she said so herself, but to me, it might as well have been on a different planet.

Then, thinking of all the harem members locked inside, I had to ask, “Is Bethany in there with you?”

“Why the hell would we save the handmaidens?” another girl scoffs.

Shit. Gods, I hope wherever she is that she’s safe.

Right now, with this option barred, I have to focus on me.

I move back into the classroom, and then press my ear to the door. It’s quiet now, I don’t hear anything, so I risk opening it, just a hair. There’s no one in the hallway.

Careful not to make a sound, I sneak out of the room and move back toward the stairwell. There’s no sign of Caleb or anyone else, at least, not beyond the blood and ripped out floor on the stairs.

I send a quick prayer to whatever god might be listening that it’s not Caleb’s.

I move slowly down into the depths of the capital, holding my breath with each step.

Then, blessedly, I reach the final step and the final door.

On the other side, the house-like rooms are dark and abandoned. The wallpaper is torn. There’s bullet holes in the walls.

This was a battlefield once, but no longer.

Curiously, I move toward one of the open doors.

Just as I reach it, I watch Caleb’s strong Alpha wolf crash through an upstairs window. He falls lifeless down, down, gaining speed as he goes, before disappearing behind a nearby building with a sickening crash.