Chapter 3: The Escape

My heart pounded so loud in my chest—I thought it was going to rebreak my ribs.

The screeches of the vampires were right behind me, and the hope I’d had before was dissipating.

I ran through the forest, stumbling on tree roots and uneven ground, my breaths heavy as I sprinted.

I wasn’t fast enough.

Tears stung in my eyes as I thought about getting dragged back to the vampire castle—back to Silas.

He was not going to let me off easy.

If I had thought the torture was bad before, I knew Silas was going to make it even worse now.

I was going to have to sing—to give them the power they wanted.

Fear hummed in my veins at the idea. If the vampires got power over the wolves, it’d be a massacre.

The wolves were the only thing protecting the humans, and even though I had never been a part of that collective, I knew that all races needed a chance to exist.

The vampires, backed by the power I gave them, would wipe everything out.

I ran faster.

It was all I could do—even if the idea was laughable.

They were vampires.

If they wanted to, they could be in front of me by now.

But the chase was a part of their bloodlust, and I was guessing I had just provided entertainment for the night.

Like a rat in a maze, running until they tired of chasing me and decided to end it in the most painful way possible.

“I’m not giving up,” I whispered.

I jumped when howls ripped through the air, the blood moon shining bright on the forest.

I paused, risking the seconds to look through the trees and foliage.

I shivered as the howls kept going.

I had no idea why the wolves were out, but it had me running faster again.

I wasn’t sure how much longer I could run without collapsing. I was exhausted, starving, and I had only healed a short while ago.

I looked up at the blood moon and to the stars that warmed my chest.

Surely this wasn’t meant to be my fate? To die at the hands of vampires for a voice I was born with?

Another howl broke the silence of the night, and I winced.

It was closer.

I ran in the other direction.

A flash of white ruined my concentration, and I squinted through the red shadows.

Another flash of white on my left.

I paused, panting as it happened again. But this time I saw what it was.

Another girl dressed in white.

I frowned and looked through the trees. There were more of them.

All wearing white—all running.

I looked down at my silver dress that was blood-stained and tattered.

I was so confused.

Did the vampires have other prisoners they tortured? Did they have a voice like mine?

But they had come from the other directions, not the vampire territory.

I looked around me, turning again and again to get my bearings.

The girls in white scattered, squealing among the trees.

That wasn’t a good sign.

I turned to run again when I realized it was too late.

My pause had cost me my freedom.

Five vampires closed in on me, and I scowled.

“I will not go back,” I warned, ready to fight if I had to.

“We are not going to give you a choice,” the middle vampire said.

I shuffled back from them, liking the idea of running again.

But I didn’t need to because, in the next second, three huge wolves that were above my height broke through the trees, snarling as they ignored me and eyed the vampires.

“She is our prisoner,” the middle one hissed.

The middle wolf of deep black roared, shaking the entire forest. I backed up further, adrenaline racing through me.

It was my chance to run, but something kept me rooted there.

I couldn’t turn away from the wolves.

I hadn’t seen any before.

I’d been told stories, seen drawings, but to see them? It was something else.

They were beautiful.

“Your territory or not, we are taking the prisoner with us,” one of the other vampires said.

The pale wolf with a mixed cream coat stepped in front of me and bared his teeth at the vampires.

I thought there was going to be more of a fight, but the wolves advanced on the vampires, and it was enough to have my captors hissing, turning, and fleeing.

I let out a breath of relief, putting my hands on my knees as I took deep, gulping breaths.

I had done it. I had escaped them. I was free.

At least that’s what I convinced myself of until I stood up to find the three huge wolves staring at me.

I cleared my throat and tugged my dress down, as if it could make me look any tidier.

“Thank you,” I said.

I wasn’t even sure if they could understand me.

“Uh, I was thinking I would just head off now. Thanks again,” I murmured, going to step past the brown wolf.

It nudged me back.

I frowned and looked over my shoulder at the other girls who were darting away.

Were they the wolves’ prisoners? Was I?

“Do you have some weird blood moon ritual like the vampires? Because if you do, I’m going to have to politely decline any invitation to join,” I smiled warily.

I had spent so long with the vampires; I wasn’t even sure how to behave normally anymore.

And something about the way the wolves were staring so deeply at me made my skin prickle.

But the fear I had felt before was gone. I had no idea why, but it had been replaced with a curiosity that made me sure I was going to get myself killed.

I tucked my red hair behind my ear and looked over each one of them.

The black one was intense, following my every move with his eyes. The mixed cream one was big, intimidating me into staying where I was. And the other one was a deep brown with strands of other browns through it.

But they were all taller than me and watching me.

I backed up. “Well, I’m going to go. Thanks again; I should probably—” I tripped on a damn tree root.

Before I could hit the ground in an elegant sprawl, the brown wolf propped me up.

His fur was soft and comforting as I fell against it. It immediately made me feel safe, and I nuzzled into it.

Then I realized how weird I was being and quickly stepped back, clearing my throat.

The brown wolf didn’t move, sniffing over me.

I remembered the food chute and grimaced.

I probably smelled awful.

But the brown wolf didn’t react.

Instead, it moved back to the other two and grunted at them.

They growled back, and I cleared my throat.

“For someone who isn’t fluent in grunting, can any of you tell me why you’re not letting me leave?”

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting in return, but it wasn’t what happened.

The three wolves looked at me for a second, then howled in the air.

My skin warmed, tingling all over me as their howl vibrated within me.

And then they shifted.

I gasped, my stomach tightening as they went from being three big-ass wolves with intimidating eyes to being three big-ass men with intimidating ~everything.~

My eyes flew open as their features imprinted in my head.

Blonde hair with a braid and blue eyes.

Long brown hair in curls with brown eyes.

Black unkempt hair with green eyes.

I recognized the men that stood before me.

They were the men from my dream.

I sucked in a breath as I met the eyes of each of them; lust, heat, and passion flared in them, and my core tightened.

Holy shit.

Had my dream come true? Or was I still dreaming? Had I even escaped?

I swallowed hard and stood there gaping.

They were so much taller in person and even more beautiful.

The blonde man was big and bulky, with a washboard of abs and corded thighs.

And his cock was terrifying, throbbing with leaking want from the thick tip.

The man with long brown hair had curls past his shoulders.

He was broad with a tapered waist. He had a deep V at his waist that drew my attention to the length of his cock. His was ready to go too, veins rippling up it, daring me to try and fit it inside me.

I shivered and averted my eyes, but they clashed with green.

The man with black hair held my eye contact, and when I broke it, I was almost panting. I drew my gaze down his body. It was leaner than the other two, but the muscles in his biceps were enough to have me sure he could pin me against a wall with ease.

My knees went weak as I dared to look at what he was not hiding at all.

His girth made my pussy ache, his length making my lips part—but it was the piercing on the end that caught my attention.

This had to be a dream still.

I was at the mercy of Silas’s venom again. It had to be.

Fate was not kind enough to put three men of my dreams—literally—with epically proportioned cocks in front of me.

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I let out a much-needed breath and clasped my shaking hands together.

“Well, in my dream, we were doing something a lot more exciting than standing around,” I tried.

My voice was shaky, and the brown-haired one smirked.

“This is not a dream.”

His voice was deep and seductive. I sucked in a breath, loving the way the sound of his voice burned through me.

But then his words hit me.

Not a dream?

Shit. What the hell did three werewolves want with me if not to ravish me in the forest like a dream? I was dreading finding out.

I glanced over at their bodies, highlighted by the blood moon, and corrected myself.

Actually, I was looking forward to finding out.

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