Adeline's POV
The pitchfork fell from my hands and clattered against the concrete floor.
I'd been cleaning the last stall when I heard that laugh. His laugh. The one that used to make my blood run cold.
"Come on, boys. She's definitely here. I can smell her fear."
Marcus.
My legs went weak. I grabbed the stall door to keep from falling.
This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not after I'd been so careful.
I pressed myself into the corner of the stall, behind a pile of hay bales. Maybe if I stayed really quiet, they'd think I'd already left. Maybe they'd give up and go away.
But I knew better. Marcus never gave up.
The stable door creaked open. Footsteps of multiple sets walked inside.
"Adeline!" Marcus called out in that fake-sweet voice he always used when other people were around. "Baby, I know you're here. Your car's still in the parking lot."
I squeezed my eyes shut. Stupid. I should have parked somewhere else. Should have hidden my car.
Should have run the second I heard Christmas music playing in town this morning. Christmas always made Marcus worse.
"Maybe she walked home," a different voice said. Gruff and mean-sounding.
"She didn't walk anywhere, Jake." Marcus's voice got harder. Colder. "She's hiding. She always hides when she knows she's done something wrong."
Wrong. Like running away from someone who hurt me was wrong.
My hands curled into fists. Anger mixed with the fear in my chest.
"Check every stall," Marcus ordered. "And be thorough. She's small. Could be hiding anywhere."
The footsteps split up. I heard them moving through the stable, opening doors, kicking through hay.
They were getting closer to my stall.
I looked around frantically. There had to be another way out. A window. A back door. Something.
But the only exit was the main stable door where Marcus and his friends were standing.
"Found something!" Jake's voice came from two stalls over. "Her jacket. Still warm."
My heart sank. I'd taken off my jacket an hour ago because the stable was stuffy. Left it hanging on a hook.
"See?" Marcus sounded pleased. "I told you she was here. Adeline! Come out now, and this'll be easier. You know I hate it when you make me chase you."
I did know. That's exactly why I stayed hidden.
The footsteps came closer. Closer.
Someone kicked open the door to the stall next to mine.
"Not here, boss."
"Try the next one."
My stall. They were coming to my stall next.
I couldn't breathe. My chest felt too tight. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision.
No. I couldn't panic now. Panicking made me weak and stupid.
Think, Addie. There has to be a way out.
The stall door flew open.
Jake stood there, a huge man with arms like tree trunks and a mean smile. "Found her, boss!"
I bolted.
I shoved past Jake, catching him by surprise. He grabbed for me but only caught air.
"Get her!" Marcus roared.
I ran for the stable door. My boots pounded against the floor. Almost there. Just a few more feet
Someone grabbed my arm and yanked me backward.
I crashed into a solid chest. Arms wrapped around me like steel bands.
"Gotcha," a voice breathed in my ear. Not Marcus. Someone else.
I thrashed and kicked, but the man holding me was too strong. He dragged me back toward the center of the stable, where Marcus waited.
Marcus looked exactly like I remembered. Sandy brown hair. Sharp green eyes. A smile that looked friendly but never reached those eyes.
He was wearing nice clothes, a button-down shirt, and clean jeans. Like he was going to a Christmas party instead of hunting down his ex-girlfriend.
"Hello, baby," he said softly. "Did you really think you could hide from me forever?"
"Let me go!" I struggled against the arms holding me. "You have no right to be here!"
"No right?" Marcus's smile disappeared. "I have every right. You're mine, Adeline. You ran away from your responsibilities. From me. From the pack."
"I'm not yours!" The words burst out of me. "I was never yours! And I'm definitely not part of your pack!"
His eyes actually flashed with gold light. Wolf eyes.
Fear spiked through me even harder. I'd always known Marcus was a werewolf. A Beta in some pack up north. But he'd never shifted around me before. Never showed me his wolf side.
Seeing those gold eyes made everything more real. More dangerous.
"You became pack when you moved in with me," Marcus said, his voice dropping lower. More growly. "Pack law says you can't just leave. You have duties. Obligations."
"That's not how it works!" I shouted. "I'm human! Your pack laws don't apply to me!"
"They do when you're living under pack protection." Marcus took a step closer. "When you're eating packaged food. Using pack resources. You owe us, Adeline. You owe me."
This was insane. I'd lived with Marcus for six months before I escaped. Six horrible months of walking on eggshells and hiding bruises under long sleeves.
I didn't owe him anything.
"The only thing I owe you," I said through gritted teeth, "is a kick in the face for every time you hit me."
Marcus's expression went cold. "I never hit you. I corrected you when you got out of line. There's a difference."
"You broke my wrist!"
"You fell down the stairs."
"Because you pushed me!"
"Enough!" His voice came out as a snarl. The man holding me flinched. "You're coming back with me, Adeline. Tonight. We've wasted enough time looking for you."
"No." My voice shook, but I kept talking. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Ever again."
"You don't have a choice."
"There's always a choice!"
Marcus moved faster than I could see. One second, he was standing five feet away. His next hand was wrapped around my throat.
Not squeezing. Not yet. Just holding.
A threat.
"Listen carefully," he said quietly. His breath smelled like peppermint. Like Christmas candy. "You can come back willingly and accept your punishment for running. Or you can fight, and I'll drag you back. Either way, you're leaving with me tonight."
Tears burned my eyes. From fear. From anger. From the unfairness of it all.
I'd finally started building a life here. A small, quiet life where nobody hurt me. Where I could sleep without nightmares.
And he was going to destroy it all over again.
"Boss," Jake said nervously. "Maybe we should just grab her and go. Someone might come."
"Nobody's coming," Marcus snapped. "It's Christmas Eve. The whole town's at that stupid festival. We've got time."
His hand tightened slightly on my throat.
"So what's it going to be, baby? Easy way or hard way?"
I couldn't answer. Could barely breathe.
His eyes searched my face. "Still so stubborn. That's what I always loved about you. That's what I'll beat out of you when we get home."
Something inside me snapped.
I'd spent two years running. Two years hiding and looking over my shoulder and jumping at shadows.
I was so tired of being afraid.
If he was going to take me back, I wasn't going to make it easy.
I bit his hand as hard as I could.
Marcus howled and jerked back. Blood ran between his fingers.
"You little"
I stomped on the foot of the man holding me. He yelped and loosened his grip just enough.
I twisted free and ran.
Not toward the stable door this time. Toward the back exit that led to the woods.
"STOP HER!" Marcus roared.
I burst through the back door into the snowy night. Cold air slapped my face. My breath came out in white clouds.
The woods were dark and scary-looking. But they were also my only escape.
I ran toward them.
Behind me, the stable door crashed open. Multiple sets of footsteps pounded after me.
"She went into the forest! After her!"
My lungs burned. My legs felt like jelly. But I pushed harder.
The tree line was right there. Just a little farther
Then I saw it.
Through the falling snow, in a small clearing at the edge of the woods, stood a horse.
Not just any horse. The most magnificent horse I'd ever seen.
It was huge and black as midnight. Its coat shimmered in the moonlight like it was made of shadows and stars.
Someone had tied it to a tree. Why would anyone leave such a beautiful animal out here alone?
I didn't have time to wonder.
The horse was my only chance.
I changed direction and sprinted toward it. My fingers fumbled with the rope, tying it to the tree.
"She's trying to steal the horse!" Jake yelled.
The knot wouldn't come loose. My fingers were shaking too hard. Too cold.
Footsteps were getting closer. Way too close.
Forget the knot.
I grabbed the horse's mane and threw myself onto its back. No saddle. No bridle. Just me and this massive animal.
"Good boy," I gasped. "Please be a good boy. Please run."
I squeezed my legs against the horse's sides.
The horse exploded into motion.
We shot forward so fast I almost fell off. I grabbed its mane tighter and pressed myself flat against its neck.
Behind us, Marcus was screaming. Cursing. But his voice was getting fainter.
We were escaping. Actually escaping!
But then the woods around us started to change.
The normal pine trees became massive oaks with twisted branches. Silver mist rose from the ground. Strange lights flickered between the trees, colors I didn't have names for.
And the horse wouldn't stop. No matter how hard I pulled on its mane, it just kept running.
Faster and faster into woods that didn't look like any woods I'd ever seen.
"Whoa!" I shouted. "Stop! Please stop!"
The horse ignored me.
Trees flew past in a blur. The mist got thicker. My skin started tingling like electricity was running through the air.
Where were we going?
Then I saw it through the mist.
A fortress. Massive stone walls and steel gates. Guards on the walls with weapons.
The horse was carrying me straight toward it.
"No, no, no!" I tried to turn the horse. "We can't go there! Turn around!"
But the horse wouldn't listen.
The gates opened. Guards shouted. Weapons pointed at me.
And through those gates walked the scariest man I'd ever seen.
He was tall and powerful-looking. His eyes burned with cold fury as he stared up at me.
"Who dares," his voice boomed like thunder, "to steal my horse?"
His horse. Oh god. I'd stolen someone's horse. Someone important and dangerous.
He reached up and grabbed my wrist to pull me down.
The second his skin touched mine, pain exploded through my body.
Not bad pain. Overwhelming pain. Like lightning was racing through my veins.
I heard him gasp. Saw shock replace the anger in his eyes.
Then I was falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Into darkness.