Startled, I staggered back a few steps. "Well oops! Who do we have here?" I froze when I heard his voice. Alister. I lowered my head and tried to walk past him, muttering an apology, but his hand stopped me.

His fingers roughly dug into my wrist as he jerked me back. This was so unexpected that I was shocked and hit his chest again. He pulled me even closer to him and I felt sick. A whiff of alcohol wafted towards me. That wasn't good, not good at all.

"Where are you going, sweetie?" he stroked my cheek. Closing my eyes, I turned my head away from him to escape his fingers, but I couldn't. His face was now hovering very close to mine and I had to hold on to myself not to tremble. I wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible. Maybe I could get the guards' attention, but they wouldn't help me. After all, they were used to Alister. I wanted to cry. I desperately tried to break free from his grip, but his grip only became stronger and he laughed. Fucking werewolf power.

"Well, well. Lucy, why are you fighting back like that? I won't hurt you," he purred and I felt him laugh. Now the first tears gathered in her eyes. "I have to go back," I panted now. I saw something change in his eyes. I had seen this expression many times before. I had made him angry.

I gasped as his grip became so strong I was afraid he would break my wrist.

He kissed the crook of my neck and I whimpered. Why wasn't there anyone in that damn hallway!

"Don't!" I breathed. But it was already enough. The pain hit me on the cheek. The force of the blow was so severe that I staggered back a few steps.

He came towards me with his finger raised and grabbed my arm again. "Don't ever contradict me again! Do you understand that?" I nodded quickly, but he already took another swing. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain.

But he didn't come.

"What's this supposed to be?" asked a pleasant, deep voice that left goosebumps on my skin. I didn't see the owner of the voice because he was standing behind me, but Alister stared over my shoulder in awe. Then he submitted. Alister bared his throat and looked at the floor. I looked at him in shock before I realized what was going on. I quickly turned around and froze. The dancing bear stood in front of me, his expression was cold, and only his eyes showed the anger he was currently feeling.

I should submit, look at the floor, and do something other than stare at him like I was doing. But I couldn't. I was scared to death. So I did as she told me. I turned around and ran. I didn't know exactly where I wanted to go. I just knew I had to get away. Does not matter where.

My quick footsteps were the only sound that echoed on the cold walls of the basement as I raced along like a madman. How stupid was I? Did I just run from a wolf? Creatures that were superior to me in pretty much every aspect?

The only thing I accomplished with this action was to make him angry. But he would be much faster than me. If he was chasing me, he would have caught up to me long ago. That was good. Maybe he didn't care about me after all. Oh please, let him not care about me! Then the realization came to me. If Mr. Schönling aka Dancing Bear didn't kill me, then Alister would take over tomorrow at the latest. Cold as ice, my impending death crept into my veins. Still, I didn't slow down. No, quite the opposite. I sprinted down the hallways faster than ever, with no destination. Driven by a fear I've known for so long. I was tired. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

Just as I was about to slow down, I plowed into a chest at full speed for the second time that day. But due to my momentum, I was thrown straight backward. The picture was sure to make you laugh; how I ran into someone and then just fell backward. The person opposite only gave me a quiet oomph before I landed roughly on the ground.

The last thing I saw before everything went black was the block of ice leaning over me, brows furrowed.

Shit.

____________________

"I thought I'd get mine before you. But respect, brother," my head hurt and I was trapped in darkness. "Shut up, Rey! And get your dirty shoes off the table!" I heard a high-pitched giggle.

Where the hell was I?

"Don't look so grim, Elijah. Ha! Did you see that, Cassian? Your beta stuck his tongue out at me!", someone laughed deeply. "Can you two stop? And you! Did you have to knock her out?"

"Hey, don't blame me. She ran into me at full speed. And why? Oh yeah! Because she ran away from you. You made a great first impression."

Someone growled.

"Man! The ball sounds fun! And once again I wasn't allowed to go! You'll never take me with you when things get interesting!" I heard the female voice grumble. She sounded pretty young. Maybe I should make it known that I was awake. But you never knew when it would be better to listen. So I continued to stay quiet and pretended I was still unconscious.

If I heard correctly, there were three people in the room.

And one of them was Mr. Dancing Bear. "You know why I didn't want you to come with me! And now is not the time for these conversations."

"Yeah, yeah. What's the poor guy's name?"

It was quiet for a while.

"And what does Lucien say about you kidnapping one of his servants?"

Silence again. Wait what?

I was kidnapped?!