We lay under the bed, and Sierra’s eyes are trained on the open door before he snores softly, his heartbeat slows, and his breathing evens out.
“How can he sleep after doing such things? I don’t think I will ever be able to sleep without seeing his image burned in my head,” Sierra shudders.
“Not that sleep comes easy anyway,” I mutter, knowing how badly we are plagued with the nightmares of our own memories. Sierra waits a while before quietly creeping out from under the bed. The moment she does, his snoring stops, and she turns to look over her shoulder. She nearly jumps out of her fur when she spots Andrei watching her, he makes no move to touch her, but she is frozen in fear. Her heart rate flutters so fast, and our fur stands on end, her tail tucked between her legs, and Andrei’s eyes dart to it.
“If you let me explain,” Andrei whispers softly, his voice snapping her out of her fear-shocked state, and she growls a warning at him.
“If I wanted to hurt you, I would have already, Sierra. I’m not going to hurt Sage,” he stresses before rolling on his back. “Training starts at 6 am with the rest of the pack. I suggest you sleep,” he advises, closing his eyes.
The moment his eyes close, Sierra darts from the room and races downstairs. We wander around the house as she searches for an escape, but this place is a concrete fortress, and there is no escape. We know this already, yet she insists on finding one. Every time she moves past the basement door, she stops to look at it. We can hear nothing down there, and we don’t know if that is good or bad. Eventually giving up, she moves into the living room and jumps up on the couch. The clock on the side of the desk says it is nearly 5 am.
“Training means we have to go outside,” she points out, thinking of ways to escape as she shuts her eyes. I wait for her to drift off before both of us plunge into darkness, her thoughts no longer race. I sigh, giving in to sleep with her knowing she still has a good grip on control even while asleep.
The beeping of an alarm echoing through the house jolts her awake as she looks up and around the room. Locks on the front door groan before it swings open, and Zane’s scent drifts to us as he walks inside. Sierra gets up, jumping off the lounge just as Zane appears in the entryway of the living room.
“Luna,” he greets, walking into the kitchen. He rummages around before his footsteps head upstairs, and the alarm shuts off. Sierra shakes out her fur, stretching her back and legs. I am exhausted, and so is she. We shouldn’t have spent so much time looking for an escape. Andrei ambles downstairs, and the scent of fresh coffee wafts into the living room from the kitchen. Sierra’s belly growls hungrily.
“Just give me control,” I tell her, and she sighs, knowing she has no choice, not if she wants out of the house. She shifts.
“Not here. I will be naked!” I shriek at her, but she doesn’t listen, and her exhaustion seeps into me as it takes longer for her to shift. Andrei walks into the living room to find me crouched on the floor.
“Is that you, Alpha?” Zane questions, and he walks toward the living room, and Andrei looks over his shoulder.
“Stay in the kitchen, Zane,” Andrei orders, glancing over his shoulder before Zane stops, and I let out a breath. Andrei reaches over his head with one hand tugging his shirt off and tossing it at me.
“You don’t shift in front of other people, Sage, only me,” Andrei scolds, and I shake my head, intending to tell him I didn’t, and there is no way in hell I was willing to get naked in front of anyone let alone random men.
“Get dressed and come into the kitchen,” he orders as I slip on his shirt. He turns and stalks off toward the kitchen, where Zane is.
I stand up, gazing out the living room door in the direction of the kitchen, and see him disappear into the kitchen. I rush up the steps to the bedroom, finding some clothes. Sierra is either blocking me out or sleeping. I’m not sure because she is so on edge, I can feel her nervousness
“Sierra?” I ask as I slip on the gray tights before walking into the bathroom. I grab the toothbrush Andrei gave me and quickly brush my teeth. While rinsing my mouth, the front door opens. I look around for a hair tie, I misplaced mine somewhere. Giving up, I walk downstairs and into the kitchen. Andrei leans on the counter with a cup of coffee in his hand, but Zane is no longer in sight.
Andrei slides a coffee cup over to me and a plate with toast. He moves closer before slipping a hair tie off his wrist and stands behind me. Running his fingers through my hair he pulls it up into a ponytail securing it with the hair tie, and steps away.
“We leave in ten minutes,” he reminds me before walking out of the kitchen. I grab my coffee and plate, sitting down at the table, and quickly eat. He doesn’t seem angry, more like he is trying to give me space, but Sierra is petrified of him for some reason. It came on so suddenly that it confuses me, wondering what my wolf is hiding from me. The fact she has retreated to the back of my mind has me anxious, like she can’t bear to be forward while he is present. I try to pull on her and move the veil separating us, but she slams it back in place.
“Sage!” Andrei calls as I finish eating. I hop up quickly, dumping my plate and cup in the sink on my way past Andrei, who is waiting at the open front door. He turns his back on me and walks out the door waiting just off its side.
As soon as I walk outside, Sierra stirs, peering out my eyes. I step past Andrei, and he suddenly grabs my elbow, jerking me back to his side. He closes the door with his other hand. His hand slides down my arm as he grabs my hand in his.
“Didn’t mean to scare your wolf,” he apologizes as he walks toward the road. I look up at him, but his eyes are straight ahead. What does he mean by that? I saw him, and yes, the sight of him was petrifying, but I still don’t understand her cold fear of him.
“What do you mean?” I ask, and he looks down at me.
“She didn’t tell you?” His brow furrows, and so do mine, trying to figure out what he was talking about. He shakes his head, looking ahead again. “I’m sure she will,” he adds, swallowing before pulling me between some houses and toward a small hill.