Chapter 5

ELEANOR

My heart raced against my ribcage as the car came to a stop inside the Estate.

I knew that I needed to find my way out of here. 

IF the Alpha found out of my presence, then I would either be sent back to Elton or I was going to get killed. At this point, him killing me was going to be a lot easier for me, but the idea of him sending me back to Elton worried me more than I could let out.

The man wouldn’t let me live for a second and I knew that he would have realized that I was gone by now. The man wasn’t the type to just leave me alone throughout the whole day, and if not him, one of the maids that he had checked on me on an hourly basis would have reported to him that I was now missing.

“Out of the car.” The man with the Russian accent said. My heart raced against my ribcage, and I took a deep breath before walking out of the car. My knees ached as I got up, but despite that, I was sure to hold my stance as I stood straight. 

Thankfully, no one commented about the smell of blood. I doubted that it would last for long though, I was just thankful for the fact that the leaves of the tree were masking my scent enough for them not to notice anything. Otherwise, things would have gotten a lot more complicated. 

“Liana, these girls are to be checked, cleaned and trained. Alpha Killian would give you further instructions on what he wants them to do later.” The man said, nodding at a woman who walked out of the house to get us. 

The woman looked at us, her eyes studying our expressions for a second before she nodded in response at the man. He walked back toward the car, not bothering to say a word.

“Come inside,” the woman said, and I looked down at my feet, not wanting to attract any attention to myself. I needed to find a way to slip from their gazes and for that to happen, I needed to be extremely calm and quiet. 

We walked into the house in silence, and I couldn’t help but feel an ache in my chest. It was the same one that I felt at home before leaving. Whatever it was, I knew not to bother as I found a hall to slip through. The house was crowded and busy, but knowing to keep my head down, I walked through the hall without saying a word.

The hall led to a staircase and an empty hallway that seemed to have a path of its own. 

My hands shook, and I went to walk through the hall, not wanting to take the stairs in fear of the state of my knees. However, my heart dropped as I heard footsteps and a man and woman talking. My hands shook and I quickly rushed toward the staircase, knowing that it was my only solution.

“You know that I don’t like this, my love.” The woman said, her tone gentle as she spoke. 

“I know, but Killian has to be the one to decide what happens from here. We know that he’s working on kicking the family out, and we know that this ‘treaty’ thing won’t be lasting for more than a day or two. The Bernardi family is not one to be trusted; however, your son is also smart in letting them stay until the wedding ends. To say the least, we would know our enemies…”

I didn’t bother listening to what they were saying as I quickly slipped into the hall. It seemed to be a secluded area, leading to a floor or an apartment within the mansion. The scent within the walls caught my wolf’s attention, making her grow curious despite this being against her natural, careful, and somewhat isolated demeanor. 

My heart raced against my ribcage as I heard a man’s voice behind me. And closing my eyes, I quickly slipped through one of the doors, it was the only one open, revealing a bedroom.

“I want to know when you’ve found her, and I want her brought to me first.” I heard a man say, making my heart drop. My wolf perked at his voice, and I couldn’t help but frown as my heart raced.

I looked around, scanning my surroundings before hearing the steps coming closer.

My hands shook, and I couldn’t help but feel my wolf grow more nervous than she already was. She whimpered in fear, and I cursed under my breath before everything stilled for a second. 

“Fuck…” I whispered before getting inside the closet. It was either the closet or under the bed, and judging by the fact that I couldn’t touch my knees let alone add any weight on them, I knew that the closet was a lot better.

I slipped behind the dress suit jackets, gripping on two, hiding behind them as I heard the room’s door close. My heart raced and my wolf nearly whimpered out loud before I bit my bottom lip, forcing myself to stay very quiet. I took slow breaths, trying to calm my racing heartbeat and shaking hands. 

Everything stilled for a few seconds and had it not been the strong intoxicating scent which was in the bedroom, I could swear that the room was empty. 

The bedroom’s door opened and closed, however, I forced myself to stay very quiet as I tried to focus on my own breathing and racing heart, isolating all sounds that surrounded me.

However, the moment of peace didn’t last for long as the closet’s door opened and a hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me out. I screamed before I could stop myself and my emerald green eyes met silver-blue ones. 

“Well, it seems like I have found the missing Italian.” He said, glaring at me. His voice deep with anger and rage. My wolf whimpered in both fear and pain, and he frowned before shaking his head and letting out a low growl. “Who the fuck are you? And what the fucking hell are you doing here?”