*Saoirse*
"Wh-what?" I stuttered out.
My rollercoaster of emotions had left stunned, unable to process his words.
"You will be bound in marriage to Conall at first light, and then you will return to Blackstone with him," Alpha Strider announced. "We could use their help now more than ever."
Darkness seed to be descending onto from all sides, and my throat was closing off. I was going to be bound to Conall, the man who believed won were less, forever.
The world was closing in.
"Saoirse, go to your room and prepare," Alpha Strider’s voice broke through the void.
I didn’t know if it was his voice alone or him telling to go to my room, but my spark seed to bloom back inside my chest. The darkness was still pressing in, but now I had a glow, so I was at least able to identify myself.
"No," I whispered, still trying to catch my breath.
There was no doubt that the Alpha would hear .
"Excuse ?" Alpha Strider asked, raising his voice.
The volu of his voice lit the glow inside of to a full fla, letting gain even more control over myself.
"I refuse!" I erupted.
I embraced the rage that was burning away the darkness. My eyes snapped up to my father’s bulging, bloodshot ones, and I knew he could read the defiance there. He wasn’t one to accept defeat.
He stepped forward, his face purpling as he towered over my petite fra. "Do you dare defy your Alpha?"
His words bellowed, and I was sure everyone in the entire village heard him. I wondered about the man in the next room. I couldn’t let my attention focus on him, or I would lose my rage again and lose my fight.
I clenched my fists as I stared up at my father’s imposing fra. He was unleashing his full Alpha will onto . My hands began to tremble, but I held firm. In the back of my mind, it hurt to disobey my father, but it would hurt even more if I respected his wishes now.
I would not be bartered like cattle, especially to the likes of that arrogant, misogynistic Conall. I could do just as much for my village as that man could. My traveling to the capital had been proof of that.
Squaring my shoulders, I held his blistering glare. I might not have had confidence in certain aspects of life, but I was confident about this.
"I am not so prize to be won!" I shouted through his invisible force, trying to shove back against it. I was gaining ground. "And I don’t trust Conall any more than I do your scheming. I refuse to play a part in this."
A weight seed to lift off at my last words, and I whirled away from the man who should have had my back.
"We’ll see about that!" he roared as I continued to walk away from him. "You aren’t getting out of this!"
I stord to my room, ignoring the threats and curses that he continued to throw at my back. With every step, my resolve beca more and more clear. There was only one option.
I would have to flee in the night if I didn’t want my life stolen from . Surprisingly, the thought didn’t scare as much as I thought it would. Then again, my rage was still running the show at the mont.
When I reached my room, I began to hurl clothes blindly into a bag, overwheld by the desperation to leave the duty being forced upon . The clothes I was throwing in the bags seed to mock as I couldn’t find much except dresses. Dresses weren’t the best option for going on the run.
Ever since I was born, I resisted and railed against my pack’s expectations of female submission and obedience. Even when I didn’t realize that there was a different option, I fought. It had never seed fair. When I read in books how won’s rights had evolved, I fought harder. We were the oddity, not the norm.
My trip to the capital had been proof of that. And the way Rhys treated was proof of that. He never viewed as lesser than him.
A pang in my chest reminded that the Rhys subject was off-limits until I could get away and have a mont to process it. Right now, I needed to stay focused.
The pang in my chest had let in another sadness. The idea of leaving my village pained . Protecting my village and doing my duty were the only reasons that I had accepted the idea of the arranged marriage in the first place. I was now failing them all.
I was trying to fix the stuck zipper on my bag when another hand suddenly covered my own. Looking up, I found my mother standing next to . She reached forward and wiped a tear off of my cheek.
I hadn’t even realized that I had been crying. I never cried.
"Oh, Saoirse," my mother whispered, gently taking both of my hands in her own. I was surprised to see my anguish mirrored in her face. "I cannot stand by and watch you forced into a life that will destroy your fiery spirit."
"But what about the village?" I choked out, keeping my voice low as well. "The pack?"
"We will survive as we always have," she said, a thin smile on her face. "Plus, now that the king is helping, I see no reason for you to have to give up your life and freedom. He can take care of us, and you can take care of yourself for a change."
She reached into a fold of her dress and pulled out a lump of fabric, quickly passing it to . I unwrapped it slowly, only to be shocked. Inside were money and forged identity papers.
"I’ve been getting it ready for you for a long ti," she admitted. "I hoped there might co a day when you could be who you were ant to be."
I felt myself choking up. "But I can’t go. I have so many questions."
"And I can answer them another ti." My mother smiled. "This isn’t goodbye forever, my sweet girl, it’s just goodbye for now until it’s safe for you to be you."
She wrapped her arms around and embraced tightly.
"Just make the choice for you," she whispered. "When the moon hits its peak, I’ll cause a distraction. That will be your chance if you choose to go."
She pulled away and left before I could say another thing.
I didn’t even get a chance to thank her.
Standing there in shock, I wasn’t sure what to do. Once again, my mother had proven not to be who I thought she was. She was better than I could have imagined. She had given her covert blessing, sothing I never would have expected.
The papers crinkled in the cloth in my hand, bringing my attention back to them. As I looked at them, my nerves steeled. I made my decision. I wadded the gifts back up and tucked them safely into my mostly packed bag.
I accepted the consequences. That night, I would escape toward my only chance at salvation. I didn’t need any man to rescue . I could rescue myself.
My father was either so angry with that he didn’t want to see or my mother had done sothing to keep him out of my hair because he didn’t bother for the rest of the night. I had hidden my bag just in case.
The lights were off in my room. I stared at the moon in the sky outside. At this point, I was just waiting for the sign.
My foot tapped nervously against the real wood flooring.
I was so alert that it was easy to tell when the distraction ca.
"Good evening, gentlen," my mother’s faint voice drifted through my open window. "I thought you all might be a little tired, so I brewed you so coffee. I also have snacks. Please, co help yourself."
The sound of movent as the guards outside the house moved toward was music in my ears. I didn’t even hesitate. Once I was sure they weren’t outside my window, I was out with my bag in hand ready for the adventure.
The moon was bright in the sky as I stealthily crept my normal path to the woods. It was my path toward freedom. There was a lightness in my step that I didn’t expect with the heaviness of the situation.
The giddiness didn’t last long.
As I turned to walk along the tree line, a dark figure detached itself from the shadows right in front of . Before I even had a chance to fight or scream, a hand shoved forward, clamping a chemical-soaked rag over my face.
I tried to bite through the rag, to defend myself sohow, but the toxins worked fast. The darkness found again.
***
My whole body ached as if I slept on the floor all night, and the air was too wet for my taste, making my mouth taste like iron.
I put my hand out to try and push myself up but was surprised to find a hard substance under my hand instead of the soft fabric of a bed that I was expecting.
Everything ca back to then. The running away... The figure appearing... The drugged rag...
I tried to force my eyes to open, but they didn’t seem to want to listen. It wasn’t the ti to be taking a nap.
My eyes finally opened, but I had to blink a few tis to get them to adjust. Once they did, I still couldn’t see much. It appeared that I was in a cave, but that was about it.
With enough effort that I was breathing hard, I got myself to sit up. I was still trying to get the grogginess out of my eyes and my head. In the process of shaking my head, I froze and then slowly turned my head to the side.
Sitting there, at the entrance to the cave, with the moon bathing him in its light, was a bald, striking man with unsettling silver eyes that seed to lay bare my soul. He was my kidnapper.
My heart started to pound. Adrenaline kicked in, clearing my head a little more at a ti.
"Be still. I an you no harm," the man intoned.
As my vision continued to clear, I could see the man more clearly. And even clearer still was the telling shimr that surrounded his form.
I gasped in genuine shock. "You’re a dragon shifter."
"I am Axureon. We have much to discuss..."
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