Nyra bit her lip to tuck away the sigh that threatened to escape at the loss of proximity as he stepped away, even as her temper began to rise at the command.

“Why do I keep feeling this way? What have you done to me? Is it some sort of spell or...?”

“No more questions, vixen,” he said abruptly, interrupting her. Then he turned to leave.

“Wait!” Nyra yelled, feeling a new panic set in again. “You can’t just leave me here. I’m not some pet for you to keep in your manor!” She shouted at his retreating figure.

He paused at the door and said, without looking back, “Someone will bring you some food. I will speak with you tomorrow.” With that, he turned, and the door closed, a soft click signaling it being locked.

Nyra let out a scream of frustration. There was no way this was happening to her. After a lifetime of hating Lycans, now the Alpha had decided to keep her locked in his manor? Without even bothering to explain anything?

She screamed again and looked for the nearest thing to throw at the door, across the room—anything to fling just to channel some of the aggression she was feeling. Her eyes settled on the pillows clustered on the bed, and she began to pick them up and throw them before falling onto the bed and letting out another scream.

“No!” She shouted again, starting to feel the fight drain out of her, and tears began to brim in her eyes. What had she done to deserve this?

“Oh my god. Aunt Ivy and Amelia.” She gasped, sitting up quickly. In all the chaos, she’d forgotten about her family. “They must be so worried.”

She got up and started to pace the room, wondering what they must be thinking now. Staying out past sunset wasn’t something she’d even done before, let alone staying out for the entire night. Her family had to be worried sick by now.

Shame coated her and brought bile up into her mouth. While they were out there trying to find her, she was here arguing with her kidnapper and feeling so...wanton around him.

It felt like there was a war going on inside her each time she was in his presence. Her mind and heart knew that he was the Alpha King and that he was the same beast she had spent all these years hating. Yet once he was close to her, something in her short-circuited and made her want to get closer to him.

Enough of this! She got up. If he’s not going to let me go, that means I have to find a way to escape.

Nyra went back to the window and looked down. The room she was in had to be at least three stories up, so there was no chance of jumping. She turned and began to look around for something—anything—that she could use to help her get out.

She opened the doors to the armoire and began to tie together the blankets and old shawls inside. After making sure it would be long enough to reach the ground safely, and tight enough to hold her weight, she secured one end to the bedpost and tossed the other out the window.

Just before she started her descent down, the thought of what she’d do once she was down crossed her mind, but she pushed it to the side.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” she said to herself, and after giving herself a mental pat on the back, she turned and started to go down the side of the wall.

“It’s a good thing I’m not scared of heights,” Nyra told herself, feeling slightly breathless. She had gone almost halfway when she felt something begin to give.

“Oh, no, no, no.” She chanted, panicking as the makeshift rope got looser and looser. Nyra glanced down and saw that there were still a lot of feet before she would hit the ground.

She began to panic and flail once more, feeling hopeless as it loosened and gave way completely. She screamed and brought her hands up to her head to protect it from the impact. She tried to think of something that would help her—a prayer—but nothing came as her mind spiraled out of control because of the panic.

I can’t believe I’m going to die here! Nyra thought, closing her eyes tightly.

She waited for the crushing pain that would start as she hit the ground, but it never came. Instead, she felt herself land in a pair of thick arms that tightened around her. A hand came up to her back, crushing her tightly against a firm and warm body, while the other was tucked under her knees. She could feel the heat radiating from every point of contact through her dress, and it was almost scalding.

“Vixen.” That voice. No way...

Nyra opened her eyes, wide with shock when she found the Alpha King, Lucian, holding her. He looked down at her, face clouded by anger, his expression darker than she’d seen before, and a tremor of fear ran through her.

Her heart picked up again, realizing that she was in as much trouble as she had been while she was falling. This beast. This man. Lucian, she chastised herself, getting tired of the terror she was feeding into by not using the name. But that terror was even more palpable now because she was scared of what he would do to her now that she’d attempted to escape.

“What were you thinking?” His voice set off goosebumps again, and she shivered—this time out of fear because of the tone he was using. It would’ve been better if he had shouted, but this quiet temper just stirred up all the stories she had heard of his ruthless nature.

The way he would rip off the heads of the Lycans who slighted him. The way he tore his enemies to shreds. The way he didn’t suffer fools. His people feared him just as much as they respected him, and now she had an inkling why.

“I am not in the habit of repeating myself, human,” he said again in that even tone, his husky voice grating against her, rich with the promise of danger.

“Let me go!” Nyra shouted, remembering herself. She began to try to escape from his grip, but he simply held on tighter.