"All right, then," Julian said, smiling. "I’ll call the other werewolves for you. Just wait here."
The mont he turned and opened the heavy steel door, Charlotte didn’t hesitate.
She pulled her hands free from the loose bindings, her fingers shaking from the rush of adrenaline. Without thinking twice, she grabbed the chair and swung it with all her strength.
CRASH!
The chair smashed into Julian’s head.
He staggered back, cursing under his breath, his hand flying to his temple. His shocked expression would’ve been almost funny if Charlotte weren’t running for her life.
She didn’t wait to see how badly she had hurt him. The second the door was clear, she pushed past him and bolted.
Her heart pounded as her eyes briefly locked onto several n standing outside the room.
Their expressions flickered with surprise, but she didn’t stop.
She couldn’t stop.
"Catch her—NOW!" Julian’s furious voice echoed through the underground space.
Charlotte ran.
She didn’t know where she was going, but she knew she had to get away.
The air was filled with the faint scent of rusted steel. Her bare feet pounded against the cold concrete floor, making her grimace slightly every ti the soles of her feet stepped on sothing sharp.
Sothing was wrong with her body.
The stinging pain on her cheek wouldn’t go away, a clear sign that her healing ability wasn’t working like it should.
Had Julian injected her with sothing? Nightshade—that was the na, right? The one Primrose had ntioned before.
No ... no.
What if that substance could hurt her baby?
What if she was dying and needed an antidote now?
Her mind raced back to the green liquid the rogue werewolf had ntioned before. Was that the antidote? Or was it just sothing that could temporarily fix her healing?
She didn’t know.
And she didn’t have ti to figure it out.
At least she was wolfless, so she wouldn’t turn into a rogue werewolf. But what if that substance could still ss with her mind? What if it could make her lose herself?
"There she is!"
The sharp voice jolted her back to reality. Charlotte’s heart pounded. She could think about that later and right now, she had to run.
She barely had ti to take in her surroundings, but the more she ran, the more she realized that she was trapped.
The underground facility stretched endlessly, a maze of twisting tunnels and heavy steel walls.
Pipes ran along the ceiling, humming faintly. As she ran deeper, she noticed rows of locked doors lining the tunnel, so with small, barred windows like prison cells.
A shiver ran down Charlotte’s spine.
How many people had been locked in those rooms before her?
She wanted to stop and check to know if she was truly alone, but she couldn’t. Every second counted, and she didn’t even know if she was heading toward an exit or deeper into the bunker.
Behind her, she could hear the pounding of footsteps.
Julian’s n were coming.
She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to move faster, even as the sharp pain from running barefoot threatened to slow her down.
Then, up ahead, she spotted sothing, a ladder on the wall, leading upward toward what looked like a vent or a hatch.
An exit?
Charlotte’s chest filled with hope and relief.
She pushed herself harder, ignoring the burning ache in her legs and the stinging pain in her feet. If she could just reach that ladder, she might have a chance to escape.
"Charlotte!" Julian’s voice echoed through the tunnel, sharp and commanding. "Don’t make this harder than it needs to be!"
Back then, those words would have made her freeze.
Back then, she would have obeyed without question, too scared of what would happen if she didn’t.
But not anymore.
She wasn’t that woman anymore.
If she could just get out of here, she wouldn’t have to live in fear ever again.
With every ounce of strength left in her, Charlotte lunged for the ladder, gripping the cold tal bars. The steel was rough against her palms, biting into her skin, but she barely noticed.
All that mattered was climbing.
One step. Then another. She was halfway up when—
BANG!
A gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
Charlotte barely had ti to react before she felt the sense of pain on her left thigh.
For a terrifying mont, she thought she would fall, but her hands refused to let go of the ladder. The wound throbbed, the silver bullet already seeping into her veins, making her limbs heavy.
She couldn’t climb any further.
But she didn’t want to give up yet.
She bit down on her lower lip, trying to keep herself from crying out as the pain in her leg pulsed through her body.
Her fingers tightened around the ladder, her knuckles turning white. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and the small glimr of hope she had held onto quickly faded.
She might not make it out of here.
Her body was weak, her leg was bleeding, and Julian was right below her with a gun.
But ... what about her baby?
"Co down," Julian ordered, his voice filled with forced patience. "Charlotte, please ... don’t make shoot you again."
His voice filled with sothing softer, sothing almost gentle. That fake tenderness he always used when he wanted to manipulate her. "You know it’s really hard for to hurt you, right?"
"But this is your fault."
Charlotte held her breath as she heard his cold voice.
"If only you had listened to , I never would have hurt you," Julian continued, as if he was disappointed in her. "You always make do this, Charlotte. If you had just behaved, we wouldn’t be here."
Her hands trembled.
For years, she had believed him.
For years, she had convinced herself that he was right.
She was abused because she deserved it.
She lived in pain because she had chosen the wrong path.
She couldn’t be happy because she had ruined her own chances.
Everything had always been her fault.
But not anymore.
She refused to believe those lies again.
Charlotte suppressed the pain in her leg and shouted, "Fuck you, Julian!"
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