PENELOPE'S POV
"You are going to be moved to the gestation quarters. You'll be under strict observation. The pups are valuable to the pack."
Of course, they were valuable, and I was useless.
She snapped the file shut and walked to the door. "Rest. You'll be monitored every twelve hours." And then she left. I stared down at my stomach, feeling numb. Just the ghost of his claim still smeared into my skin and the seed of a future I never asked for already taking root.
Triplets.
I was already pregnant with triplets at eighteen. That might be good news to others, but considering how these pups came around, they were bad news to me.
Alpha Klaus would own my kids and dismiss me like I was nothing. And that was if I was lucky. The greater guess was that he would kill me after birthing his kids.
I had made up my mind, I had to come up with an escape plan before I was moved like a lamb again to the gestation quarters. I wasn't delaying it, I was leaving that night.
So when Orion, a teen boy guard of not more than sixteen years from the Aurum pack brought me food that night, I stopped him. "Orion," He halted, visibly surprised that I called his name.
He turned to look at me, frowning slightly. "How would you feel if I were your sister?"
He turned fully, his good-looking young face one of confusion. "I don't understand what you mean." I stood and stalked towards him as far as the collar chain tied to my leg could let me.
"You can see my situation. Your Alpha forced me to be his mate, and now I'm isolated here with no…"
"Please don't implicate me. I can't be seen talking to you." He cut me off with a scold, and I flinched.
He may be young, but he was fiercer than I thought. I wasn't relenting though.
I was desperate.
"I'm Pregnant, Orion" He stopped to turn again. He still had that frown on his face but this time around, he said nothing.
I took that as a go-ahead. "I am an Orphan, adopted since I was little by my pack's Alpha. I was told they saw me beside a stream as an infant. You know, I wish they had left me to die." Orion's expression morphed into a curious one, still silent.
"You probably think I'm a sadist right now." I chuckled sadly. "I had never known peace in my life. My pack members treated me as useless because my wolf never came out. I suffered every day of my life, hoping that a savior would come someday. But here I am," I sighed tiredly. "Lonely, tired, and a mere pawn in Alpha Klaus' game." I looked from the wall at him, biting my lips to stop them from trembling.
I caught his sober expression before he immediately hardened it again. I didn't blame him. Men in our world were taught to be ruthless and merciless.
They masked their actual emotions no matter what. What mattered was that I was breaking through his boundaries.
"Alpha Klaus would kill me," I informed him. That's if he didn't already know.
"What do you want me to do?" He spoke for the first time in the past few minutes. "Why are you telling me this?" He asked like he hated that he was asking questions and getting himself more involved in this.
"Because I want you to help me escape" I rushed my words before I could take them back. Orion's eyes widened then he turned abruptly and left. My knees weakened beneath me and I almost dropped to my knees. Orion had the key to this room and I was hoping he would feel pity for me and help.
Delusional me!!!
Before the tears could start spilling, the sound of the door opening again jolted me, revealing Orion. He didn't have that hard expression on him again.
He looked so…sober now. I stayed silent, staring at him with eyes full of hope.
"You asked how I would feel if you were my sister," I nodded. "I had a sister. Alpha Klaus…" He paused, his jaw tightening. "Alpha Klaus killed her. He cut off her head." I gasped.
Then it suddenly clicked. "Your…your sister was the one he killed in that gathering last year?" His nod was all I needed to confirm it. A whimper escaped my lips. "I'm so sorry, Orion." I buried my head in my hands to school my emotions, and when I looked back up, he had the key stretched out to me.
"Don't get caught," That was all he said as I snatched it from him as if he would change his mind. He quickly turned and exited the room then I tucked the key in between my firm cleavage.
That was the safest place I could think of to keep the key. My breath started to come out erratically as I started to think of what next. I was really doing this.
I was running away. Hopefully, fate would have a better life for me and my pups out there. I waited till it was midnight.
Even the food I was given earlier was left abandoned on the table. I had no appetite. All I could think of right at that moment was how I would get out of this damn prison under the disguise of a castle.
I sat frozen on the edge of the bed, listening. Waiting. My ears were straining for the sound of footsteps. Voices. Anything. All I could hear was the gentle moan of the wind outside my barred window. The silence was the loudest thing I'd ever heard. This was it.
I moved slowly and carefully, letting my bare feet touch the cold floor. Then I crossed to the door, dropped to my knees, and held my breath as I inserted the key under the doorknob. It opened with a click.
The sound was loud in the quiet, and that made my heart thud in my chest as I paused, waiting to see if someone had heard. It seemed not. I turned the knob. The heavy door creaked open with maddening slowness.
Finally, I slipped through the crack and into the hallway. My breath hitched when I turned to spot a guard slouched on a bench just a few steps down, snoring softly, his helmet tilted forward over his brow. Another leaned against the wall beyond, arms folded, head bobbing like he was fighting sleep.
One more was pacing farther off, muttering to himself.
I stayed on the wall and made sure my motion was very silent as I moved, the hem of my gown gathered in my hands to keep it from brushing the stone.
Every step felt like a countdown. My heart was in my mouth but I dared not make a wrong move. The first two didn't stir. The third turned at just the right moment for me to dart past, my breath stuck somewhere between my ribs and my throat.
Down the corridor, around the bend, my body was shaking with tension, but my feet kept moving.
The trailing edge of my gown snagged on something I didn't even see. I quickly pulled at my dress and to my utmost shock, a loud crash followed.
Fuck me!