Alpha Vaughan

Chapter 24

On shaky legs, I ran up flights of stairs and through wide hallways until I got to my room. I shivered, both from the chill in air and the coldness spreading around my chest.

Why couldn't he have remained a jerk?

Why did he have to show this side of himself now? This relaxed, teasing and vulnerable side.

But I couldn't let that sway me from my plan, I decided, pushing open the doors to my room, I couldn't let Vaughan get in the way of finding my best friend.

Coming to that conclusion didn't fill me with the resolution I would've expected it to. What did that mean? That I didn't much care for finding Eunice anymore? Or that I was slowly starting to expand my priorities to fit in Vaughan's wishes?

Angry at my options, myself and, oddly, at Vaughan, I didn't let myself mull over the matter for too long.

Nayla stood in the middle of the room. When she saw me come in, she immediately strode over to me, pushing some clothes into my arms.

"Quick," she said. "You've got to change into these."

Nodding, I went into the closet and changed. I emerged wearing black leather pants and a black tanktop, my dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail. I rushed over to where I'd hidden the weapons, quickly putting the pistol into my pocket and inserting the dagger in my boots.

Grabbing my phone, I threw it into my side bag, then trailed after Nayla as she rushed out of the room.

I suddenly stopped by the door, turning to face the interior of my room. I felt an odd feeling of sadness spread through me. High on the wall, where the painting of the sickly boy and his fishing rod had been, I noticed it had been replaced with another painting.

In this one, a king sat on a high throne, surrounded by revelry; men in rich garbs making toasts with golden chalets, courtesans adorned with diamonds dancing with beatific expressions on their faces...

Given the lavishness of his court, the king himself looked powerful and untouchable and strong, but on closer inspection, his eyes... They were tortured, lonely.

'Do you know what my worst fear is?'

'What?'

'Being alone...'

'Promise me, Hilda. Promise me you'll never leave me. . .'

Eyes stinging, I briefly wondered if the paintings were his way of unraveling himself to me.

"Miss!" Nayla called, eyes wide. "We've got to get going!"

Shouldering my bag, I turned away from my room, and the odd paintings.

"We're going to be taking the omegas passageway again," she said. "And when we get to the gates, I'm going to cause a distraction, then you'll pull down the lever and make a run for it."

Nodding, I asked, "What distraction exactly?"

Rushing down a flight of stairs, she said, "I don't know yet, but I'm sure I'll think of something before we get there."

Seeing a few people up ahead, we drew to a stop when we got to the space dividing the back exit and the rear of the staircase. Nayla pulled me into an alcove, and there we stood hiding until the werewolves disappeared down the corridor.

"Come on," Nayla called, stealthily coming out.

We soon got out into the open, running down to the gates. We kept close to the forests in order to stay hidden.

A short distance away from the sprawling gates, Nayla stopped and turned to me.

She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. "Good luck... Hilda," she said, calling me by my name for the first time. "I really hope you find your friend. May the goddess be with you."