Ava’s POV
I tap my foot on the concrete floor, my eyes closed, trying to think.
I am picturing the layout of the house we are in, thinking of where that Lycan must be.
The basement is small. It consists of this storage room and one more open room with two low windows that lead to the backyard.
Is that where the Lycan is?
Lily stirs beside me and I look over at her.
She is laying on the floor, curled up so that her head is laying on her upper arm, facing away from me.
Was Caleb really going to reject her? His own mate?
Even after I found my mate and made it clear that I wanted to be with my mate?
Surely not…
My mind wanders back to all the times Caleb and I snuck away to this house…would he think to check here?
Cameron does not even know that this place exists.
My stomach clenches painfully at the thought of Cameron.
Why did I not listen to him? Why did I not just leave when he told me to?
I know he will come looking for me, will he get hurt? Killed?
Stop. Stop it Ava. You cannot think that way.
I shake my head.
“Ava…”
Lily sits up.
“Ava…I have to go to the bathroom.” Lily whispers desperately.
I sit up straight too.
That’s it! We can say we have to use to bathroom! There are no bathrooms downstairs, so he would have to take us upstairs to the main bathroom, which has a window!
I raise my voice just slightly, knowing the Lycan will hear me.
“We have to go to the bathroom!”
Lily looks towards the door and back at me, her head tilted.
I purse my lips together and mouth ‘I have a plan.’
She nods.
A few seconds later, the door opens to reveal the Lycan from earlier.
“Keep your voice down!” He hisses harshly and glances outside the room.
“Sorry…but we really have to go.” I whisper and gesture towards Lily.
He glares down at me.
“Fine. One at a time then.”
I see Lily look at me in panic.
“It makes sense for us to both go at the same time, doesn’t it?” I try, not wanting to be separated from Lily.
The Lycan gives a snort.
“Not at all.”
He walks over to me and jerks at my arm to lift me up, slicing at the rope tied to the pipe at the same time.
“Ava…” Lily’s voice is panicking.
“It’s okay, Lily.” I try to look at her as the Lycan jerks me towards the door.
“Ava!” Lily yanks on her rope, terrified.
“I’ll be right back!”
The Lycan pulling on me chuckles and I resist the urge to bring my elbow against his chest.
“Do not make a sound, or you and the other one, are dead.” The Lycan whispers in my ear, his breath hot against my neck making me jerk away from him.
He lifts me over his shoulder and carries me up the stairs and through the kitchen to the main bathroom, where he sets me down roughly and uses a small knife to slice the rope off my wrists.
I rub at the rope burn marks at my wrists in relief.
“Don’t get any ideas. I’ll be out here.” He grips my sore wrist painfully as he speaks and then lets go, stepping to the wall beside the door and leaning against it.
I glance at him as I walk into the bathroom and shut the door behind me.
Taking a deep breath, I look around. There’s the window.
I can’t try to escape though…Lily would be left behind, and they might retaliate against her.
Lifting my arms up to my face, I try to sniff to see if the wist is still working, but I can’t tell.
I close my eyes and try to mindlink with Cameron.
Nothing.
It is as if I have been cut off from the pack. Can someone do that?
I rub my wrists absently and look around for something, anything, to use.
My eyes go back to the window and I notice a large screw that is halfway out of the window. I make my way over and try to loosen it the rest of the way.
“Hurry up in there!” The Lycan hisses through the door.
I squeeze the screw painfully with my fingers and twist until it comes free.
Turning it over in my hand, I have an idea.
Wist works really well, but it doesn’t always disguise the scent of fresh blood.
I position my foot up on the toilet flusher and my hand on the window lock, ready to act.
I push with my foot at the same time as I push the lock and open the window, the tiny squeak disguised by the sound of the flush.
Quickly pricking my fore finger, I smear the blood on the outside of the window and pull it shut again, leaving it unlocked.
Breathing heavily, I place the screw in my sock and head over to wash my hands.
As I wash the small amount of blood off my fingers, the prick is already healing.
The bathroom door opens and the Lycan looks around the room.
I lift my eyebrow at him as I dry my hands on the hand towel.
He grabs me and throws me back over my shoulder, carrying me back down the stairs and into the basement.
He grabs more rope off a chair outside of the storage room and reties my wrist before putting me back in the storage room and tying the end to the pipe.
“Ava!” Lily’s voice is relieved as I walk in.
Without saying anything, the Lycan repeats the process with Lily, yanking her up and carrying her out of the room.
As soon as he leaves, I lift my foot up to my hands and dig the screw out from my sock.
It’s an awkward process, trying to cut at the thick rope with a screw, but I hack away, pausing and holding the screw in the palm of my hand when the Lycan brings Lily back in.
After he ties her back up, he leaves without saying a word and I start cutting at the rope again, Lily watching me, but not daring to say anything.
I have no clue how long it takes, maybe close to an hour, before I make the final cut and the rope drops with a small thud to the concrete floor.
Lily and I both look to the door, but no one comes in.
I stand up slightly awkwardly, as my hands are still tied, and make my way over to Lily, crouching beside her.
She glances to the door as she holds up her wrists for me get a closer look. I put the screw down and try to tug on the ties with my fingers, able to get a better angle now. My fingers raw from the effort, I finally feel the rope loosen and Lily and I eagerly pull at it until her wrists are free.
She throws her arms around me.
I try to awkwardly pat her back, but my hands are still tied.
She pulls away and takes her turn to pull at my ropes, making quicker work than I did with her hands being completely free.
Once my wrists are free, we look at each other.
I stand up and look around the room again, but there is nothing that will be useful for us.
I put the screw in my pocket and motion for Lily to follow me.
She looks at me with wide, terrified eyes.
Not sure where the Lycan is, or if he can hear us, I don’t tell her the plan, just grab her hand and mouth, ‘be ready to fight’ to her.
She nods solemnly at me.
Grabbing the doorknob, I take a deep, steadying breath, then slowly open it and look out.
My heart beating so loud in my chest that I feel like there is no way that he won’t be able to hear it, I open the door a little further so I can squeeze out, Lily following behind me.
The Lycan must be upstairs, since we can see the entire basement where we are standing, despite the darkness that is starting to fall outside of the house.
Jerking my head towards the windows, I start taking slow, careful steps forward, stopping every once in awhile to listen.
When I reach the window, I stand on my toes to look closer at the lock. It looks old and rusted. It looks like it will definitely make a noise when we try to open it.
I chew on my lip as I try to think.
Lily is watching me, standing still beside me.
We really don’t have a choice.
There is an old rag on the floor across the room and I walk over and grab it.
I place the rag on the rusty lock and twist it, holding my breath.
To my astonishment, it barely makes a sound. Lily and I both look up towards the ceiling, listening for the Lycan’s footsteps.
Turning back to the window, I slowly push it open and turn to look at Lily.
I cup my hands together on top of my knee and mouth ‘you first’ to her.
She looks at me for a moment and I think she might actually say no, but then her face becomes determined and she nods, stepping towards me and placing one hand on the wall and the other on my shoulder as she steps into my palms.
I push her upwards and she climbs noiselessly out the window.
Looking back towards the staircase, I make my way to the window and grab Lily’s outstretched hand as she pulls me upwards until I can grasp the side of the window and help pull myself through.
As I crawl flat on the grass, pulling my feet through the window, I feel a wave of relief and look at Lily, who is sitting on her knees beside me, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
I start to sit up when something grabs me from behind and jerks me up, covering my mouth with a hand to muffle my gasp.
Struggling against the grip, I hear a familiar voice whisper in my ear that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“Do not make a sound, Ava.”
It's Chris.