Aria
I’m in the room, mentally spiraling, when Vanessa busts in like she’s in an action movie. She slams the door shut and glances around like she’s expecting an ambush. Then she full-on shudders.
“Fuck me,” she groans, waving her hand in front of her face like she just walked into a swamp. “This whole place reeks of wolfsbane. I can literally feel my wolf flipping me off.”
I’m standing there, squinting at her like, What the actual hell? “What are you doing here?” I ask, arms crossed because, let’s be real, I’m not sure if this is a rescue mission or some cruel joke sent by Ethan.
Vanessa, of course, grins and pulls out a key, dangling it in front of me. “Stole this from Ethan’s room,” she says, smug as hell. “Your ride-or-die friends begged me to come check on you. So, congrats, you’ve been saved by yours truly.”
I practically jump up.”Vanessa, you have to help me. I can’t stay here. He’s… he’s gonna force himself on me.”
Her smirk drops like a bad Wi-Fi connection, and her whole body stiffens. “That fucking piece of shit.” She takes a deep breath, her face turning serious. “Alright, I’ll help. But this is a terrible idea. If we screw this up, we’re toast. Like, fucking toast. But we gotta move now. He’s with Alpha Stevens, so we have a small window.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, practically vibrating with nerves.
“Don’t thank me yet,” she says, already heading for the door. “Save it for when we’re not dead.”
We sneak out quietly, and Vanessa locks the door behind us. We tiptoe down the hallway, every little creak making my heart jump into my throat. Somehow, we make it downstairs without running into anyone.
Vanessa stops by the living room and whispers, “Okay, the alpha’s room is in the other wing, so we’re clear for now. But we still have to get past the guards, and they’re not exactly blind or stupid.”
I swallow hard, panic creeping in. “How the hell are we supposed to do that? They’re not just gonna let me waltz out of here.”
Vanessa sighs, rubbing her temples like she regrets signing up for this. “Just follow my lead and keep your damn mouth shut.”
We step into the living room, and boom, there are two guards by the door. Of course. Because life hates me. Their eyes snap to us instantly, and I swear my stomach drops to my feet.
“Where are you going?” one of them asks, glaring at me like I’m a criminal.
Vanessa doesn’t even blink. She grabs my arm and yanks me forward roughly. “Relax, Joe. She’s with me. I’m taking her shopping. Gotta make my new slave look less, you know… tragic.”
Joe raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it. “Does the alpha know?”
Vanessa rolls her eyes so hard. “Of course, he knows. What, you think I’d risk Ethan’s wrath for fun? Do I look that stupid?”
I’m standing there, silently praying to every god, goddess, and magical force in existence to just let this work.
Joe hesitates, then sighs. “Alright. Let them out.”
Holy. Freaking. Shit. I almost cry on the spot, but Vanessa keeps her death grip on my arm and drags me outside like nothing happened. We walk past the gate, and I’m holding my breath the entire time, half-expecting someone to yell, “Stop them!” But nothing happens.
The second we’re clear, Vanessa shoves me toward her car. “Move your ass. We’re not safe yet.”
I’m about to climb in when a sleek black car pulls up. Vanessa freezes, and her face goes pale. “Fuck,” she whispers. “That’s my dad’s car.”
My stomach drops for the millionth time. “What do we do?”
She shoves the keys into my hands. “Do you know how to drive?”
“Yeah, but-”
“No buts. Get in. Wait for his car to go inside, then floor it. Head to Joy’s Park. Mia and Lily are waiting for you.”
“What about you?” I ask, my voice shaky as hell.
She slams the car door, her eyes fierce. “I’ll distract them. Now go.”
I duck my head as her dad’s car pulls up. My heart is pounding so hard I’m surprised it doesn’t burst out of my chest. I hear her dad say, “Vanessa, what are you doing here?”
She laughs. “Just leaving. But since you’re here, let’s head in together.”
I’m holding my breath, praying he doesn’t notice me inside the car. But then I hear the car door shut, and the gate closes behind them.
The second they’re gone, I start the car. My hands are shaking so bad I can barely grip the wheel, but I pull out and drive. Every shadow, every noise makes me flinch. I keep expecting a fleet of black SUVs to appear behind me like I’m in Fast & Furious, but nothing happens.
I just hope I make it to Joy’s Park without wrecking the car-or my nerves.
…..
Damon
So, it’s been ten minutes since Sarita walked into the mansion, and Theo is pacing like a man who just lost his car keys. “I think we should go in. It’s not gonna look suspicious,” he says.
Sarita had this whole “master plan” where she’d go in first, distract Alpha Marcus, and give us time to snoop around for Lucas. Sounded great in theory, but in practice? A walking disaster waiting to happen.
“Alright,” I say, because clearly I have no better ideas. I rev the bike, drive us up to the mansion, and we stop. Theo and I take off our helmets in perfect unison at the entrance… real dramatic shit.
Then there’s Kevin, the chief guard. Dude’s built like a linebacker and about as sharp as a butter knife. “Damon, Theo,” he greets. “You here to see Alpha Lucas?”
“Hey, man! What’s up?” I shoot back, channeling my best smile. “Nah, we’re here to see Miss Sarita.”
Kevin squints, trying to decide if we’re full of shit, but then he shrugs. “Well, she’s inside.” And just like that, he clears the way. Theo and I exchange the tiniest smirk, mentally fist-bumping each other. If we’d mentioned Lucas, Kevin would’ve shut us down quickly.
As soon as we step into the living room, we hear it… Sarita and Alpha Marcus are going at it seriously.
“Dad, you can’t treat him that way! He’s not your toy!” Sarita’s voice rings out.
Alpha Marcus fires back, “I’ll not let my son turn out useless like you!”
Theo leans over. “What now?”
I sigh, already regretting this entire situation. “We search for Lucas. He’s probably in his room. Let’s go.”
We creep upstairs like two ninjas and barge into Lucas’s room. But, of course, it’s empty.
“He’s not here. Of course, he’s not here!” I groan, throwing my hands up. “This mansion’s so goddamn huge, he could be anywhere!”
Theo scratches his head, looking around. “I have an idea. Come on.”
Next thing I know, we’re sprinting back downstairs. Thank fuck Sarita is still keeping Alpha Marcus busy with her Oscar-worthy drama. We head straight to the kitchen, where Theo’s got his sights set on Maria, one of the maids.
“Maria!” Theo calls, flashing his Certified Lady Killer smile.
“Hey, Theo!” she replies, blushing so hard I almost feel bad for her.
“Maria, we need your help,” Theo says, cutting to the chase. The fear in her eyes is immediate.
“This is about Alpha Lucas, isn’t it?” she whispers.
“Yes,” I nod, trying not to sound desperate. “We need you to show us where he is.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. Alpha Marcus will kill me!”
“Maria, please,” Theo pleads, turning up the charm to 11. He grabs her hands, and I swear she melts on the spot. “We just wanna see him. Nothing else.”
“Fine,” she sighs, her cheeks still red. “But you owe me.”
“Anything you want,” Theo winks.
Maria leads us to the basement, and we follow her through a maze of doors with creepy vibes. Finally, she unlocks a room, and we step inside. It’s dark, damp, and smells like crap.
“Fuck,” I mutter when I see Lucas lying on the floor, looking like he’s been through twelve rounds with Mike Tyson.
“Lucas! Hey, man, wake up!” Theo and I drop to our knees beside him.
“He’s been drugged,” Theo says, sniffing the air. “Wolfsbane.”
“Aria… where’s Aria?” Lucas whispers, barely coherent.
“Dude, focus. We need to get you out of here,” I say, already hauling him up with Theo’s help.
“How do we do this?” I ask, glancing at Theo.
“You’re gonna have to take him out while I distract her,” Theo says.
I frown, glancing at him. “You sure you’ll be okay?”
He nods, all confidence, and hands me his helmet. “I’ll be fine.”
I don’t feel great about this, but I nod back. No time to argue. I slide my helmet on, then wrap Lucas’s arm around my shoulder. Lucas is barely standing, and his legs are shaky as hell. I pop Theo’s helmet onto his head to keep up the disguise.
“Lucas,” I whisper. “If you really wanna see Aria, you gotta be strong. Can you do this?”
His head bobs in a weak nod, though his heart’s pounding so hard I can practically feel it.
“Alright, let’s move.”
We shuffle out of the basement, and I silently thank every god out there when I see Theo’s managed to get Maria out of the way. No sign of her, or anyone else for that matter. By the time we hit the living room, I hear Sarita’s voice echoing from the study.
“Is… that Sarita?” Lucas whispers, his voice barely audible through the helmet.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “She’s keeping your father busy so we can get you the hell out of here.”
He lets out a weak laugh, surprising me. “She’s fucking crazy.”
“Yeah, no kidding. Now, come on,” I say, motioning for him to move. “Remember, they think you’re Theo. Don’t show any weakness, no matter how much you feel like collapsing.”
Lucas takes a deep breath, removes his arm from my shoulder, and steadies himself. He’s wobbling like a drunk, but at least he’s trying.
We make it outside, and of course, Kevin and the other guards are still there, standing around like this is a casual Tuesday.
“Leaving already?” Kevin asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” I say, forcing a chuckle. “We waited, but Sarita’s still busy with Alpha Marcus. Guess we’ll try again later.”
Kevin laughs, and the tension in my chest eases a little. “Alright then. See you later, Damon. You too, Theo.”
Lucas nods at him, adjusting the helmet slightly to avoid looking suspicious. Thank fuck Kevin doesn’t notice anything off.
We walk out of the mansion without a hitch. The second we’re clear, I lead Lucas to my bike.
“Come on, hop on,” I say, swinging a leg over.
“What about Theo?” Lucas points to Theo’s bike.
“He’ll be fine,” I say, starting the engine. “Just get on before someone realizes we’re gone.”
Lucas doesn’t argue. He climbs on behind me, and I feel his weight press against my back as I rev the engine.
“So,” he mutters as we take off, his voice muffled by the helmet, “where are we going?”
“Joy Park.”