Chapter 3

ELEANOR

I frowned as I got up, my leg aching as I scraped it with twigs and sticks that were on the floor. A few pebbles dug themselves in my leg, cutting my skin, making me bleed. But that was the least of my concerns, I knew that I needed to get out of here. 

I pulled a few sharp rocks, knowing that they would only slow me down as I tried running. My heart raced at the sight of my blood pouring, and I couldn’t help but fear anyone seeing me right now. That was the last thing that I needed, and I knew that one wrong move could and would be fatal. Knowing Elton, I knew that he wouldn’t miss a chance to make me pay for ‘disobeying’ him, and that was not something that I wanted to deal with. I had to either leave or die, there was no in between on this one. 

I got up from the ground, ignoring the ache in my leg before looking at the place that my mother died in long ago. The fact that this was the first time I’ve been here since her death and was leaving the way that I was made my chest ache. Coming here itself was surreal to me, therefore, leaving was even more painful to me.

However, knowing that it was what she would have wanted me to do, knowing her, she wouldn’t have wanted me to be enslaved in the dark fate that Elton would decide for me. The man has made me suffer enough, and the last thing that I wanted was to bound myself to him to torment me as he pleased until I took my last breath. 

I ran toward one of the back gates, knowing that it wouldn’t be guarded. To say the least, most of them were locked and the keys must have either been hidden or were lost. I frowned at a clench that hit my chest faster than I thought that it would. It wasn’t one that I understood, but nevertheless, I didn’t have time to look back at it. I knew that wasting it wasn’t going to be in my favor, and the faster I got out of here, the better. It was only a matter of time before my absence was known, and that wasn’t something that I wanted to deal with.

I ran through the garden, my legs aching with each step that I took. But I didn’t stop, I kept going.

It wasn’t until a hand was wrapped around my arm, taking me off guard, that I stopped. My heart raced and I tried to fight his grip, but he wouldn’t even bother looking at me as he dragged me through the field, making my body shake as I tried squirming from his grip, wanting him to let me go.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, maid?” He asked, his thick Russian accent, making me frown in confusion. I looked at the man who was standing beside a car. His eyes met mine but I couldn’t help but find myself freezing as I processed his words. I tried pulling my arm away from his grasp; however, the man tightened his grip, stopping me from doing so. I flinched as he brushed against a bruise that was still healing. And I couldn’t help but notice that despite the firmness of it, he was making sure not to hurt me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, and he chuckled, shaking his head. His eyes studied my expression for a few seconds before he shook his head at me. The scar on his face terrified me more than I knew that it should as I came to realize that he was a lot more dangerous than he might be letting out.

“I am not in the mood for games, get inside the fucking car, we’re heading out,” he said, and I frowned. I went to fight his grip again. But noticing the fact that the pack members were watching the cars leaving, I didn’t even know that we had guests, my room’s walls were soundproof, no one could hear what was happening inside and I couldn’t hear what happened out of it. Elton made sure to design it that way, making sure that regardless of the fact that I was a wolf, it made no difference. 

I knew that this was my best and only option. The man slowly nodded at the car and I looked down at my feet, avoiding his eyes before getting inside the car by the three girls who were in it. I didn’t know who they were, and thankfully, neither did they. 

My heart raced against my ribcage as they closed the door, and I couldn’t help but let out a breath that I didn’t realize that I was holding as I saw the car driving out of the house without being stopped by anyone. I smiled before I could stop myself, and the girl who sat in front of me frowned. 

“What is there to be smiling about? We are going to work for the Russian Pakhan, and you’re here smiling?” She asked, her tone hard with anger and distaste. I looked down at my lap, avoiding her eyes before frowning as I processed what she was saying.

“Who are you talking about?” I asked, shaking my head in question. My tone was lower in comparison, and she shook her head at me.

“You really don’t know, do you?” She asked, frowning at me. I frowned at her expression and shook my head in response. The other girls looked at me as if I grew a second head, and I couldn’t help but find myself shying back as I found myself cornered about something that they seemed to think that I had to know.

“Enough talking.” The man said, glaring at us through the rear mirror. He looked at me, studying my expression carefully before I looked down at my lap, avoiding his eyes. My leg was still bleeding, but I was thankful for the fact that no one had noticed it until now. “Good, at least the Italians knew to train you enough to listen to orders.” 

“I’m sorry, but can I ask where you’re taking us?” I said, daring to question the man who frowned at me. The girls looked at me as if I had grown a second head, but I had no other options, if I didn’t ask, then I wouldn’t know, and that wasn’t something that I wanted to deal with.

The man looked at me through the rear mirror for a few seconds, and I couldn’t help but feel small under his intense gaze. His dark eyes held a sense of dominance and power that were threatening to me. 

“The Ivanov Estate,” he said, his tone cold, making my heart drop at the mention of the last name of the family that was in conflict with the family for years now. “You now work for the Alpha of Alphas, Alpha Killian Ivanov…”