Blair peered over the window, trying to make sure that the posterior part of the house was empty.
That was the only passage she could use with her plan. She needed to slip away from that place as soon as possible if she didn't want to be bonded into matrimony that she knew would never make her happy.
Although Blair loved her pack and cared for them so much, she could never marry a man of their choice. Aside from the obvious fact that she hadn't felt a spark with him, she also stood up to her decision not to marry Dante for reasons she could hardly explain herself.
Not long, Blair heard the door from the next room shut softly. It must be her father. He was usually the last one who went to bed. He had a nightly routine of checking that everything and everyone would be safe for the night before he retired to his bed.
That was the cue that Blair waited for. She had to get out of there at that very moment since it was probably her last chance. Dante's pack would be coming first thing in the morning to settle everything as planned for their wedding.
She glanced towards the blankets, she hid under her bed. She had been preparing them for days, knotting them together long enough to reach near the ground from the window of her room. She would be using them for escape.
Of course, she could easily turn herself into a wolf and jump over from her window to the nearest awning then to the next until she would reach the ground. But it seemed to be more risky for her, knowing that her father's sense of smell and hearing were strong enough to detect her activity if she shifted.
So, Blair would rather not. To stay in human form was to remain lowkey. Not easy but less risky.
Her feet were still shaking the moment it planted on the grassy ground. She had always been a good and obedient she-wolf to her parents, to her pack, and this was the first time she transgressed against them.
Some part of her was apprehensive and doubted her decision. Still, the moment she found herself running away from their village and got deeper into the woods, she began to feel the adrenaline rush of being in danger and, at the same time, being free.
She felt stronger than she thought she was. Her entire life suddenly felt so mundane, felt like all she did was simply hide her true self.
However, not at this moment.
Being in the woods alone and about to start a new life without the fear of being trapped in an unhappy, loveless marriage felt like a victory.
The urge to celebrate made her shift to her wolf self as she hared off between the trees. Once she was a safe distance away, she howled, letting out the overwhelming, mixed emotions inside her, which was between euphoria and dread.
She was relieved, but at the same time, she was anxious. What would she do after that? This was the first time for her to be away from her pack, from her village.
Blair wondered what it would look like in the other parts of the world. She knew there were a lot of things she hadn't seen or knew. Undeniably, there were worries as well as excitement.
Would she make it there? And if she would, what was the possibility of survival?
Being different, being a wolf, was the reason they kept themselves away from other creatures like humans and vampires. Myths spread in their village were usually about tragedies of wolves being hunted by both humans and vampires, simply because they saw them as a threat.
Although Blair enjoyed the woods, she couldn't stay there longer. She needed to stay farther away from their village. Without planning to halt, she ran further until she felt the droplets slide down to her fur and go deeper into her skin.
It was starting to drizzle.
'Stronger than a drizzle, actually,' she realized after she tilted her head and more water droplets fell to her face.
The water may have felt nice, but she knew so well that her fur couldn't resist the cold. She needed to find shelter.
Blair rushed around the forest, hoping to find a cave to shelter her for the night until she would be ready to travel again tomorrow.
She didn't plan it that way.
She planned to travel as far as she could until the moon disappeared in the morning and maybe grab some clothes from the first town she saw along the way. She meant to leave her clothes in the woods so that they couldn't track her.
But, even as a wolf she was starting to shiver from the cold as a result of being soaked. If she shifted back to her human body, it would be worse.
She wasn't a quitter, though. Blair knew she could find something somewhere.
Then she saw a silhouette of a roof ridge in the distance. Most of its parts were covered by trees and tall bushes. She wasn't sure what it was, but hope glimmered within her.
She ran towards it, gaping over the lofty and gothic castle in the middle of the woods.
It looked abandoned and ominous, but that was a good thing. Blair could use that place to temporarily keep herself sheltered and hide until her next move.
Blair strode across the grassy field and shifted back to a naked human before she climbed over the high and antique fence. The building looked so old that she could even imagine its existence ever since medieval times.
The moment she landed in the inner part of the fence, Blair smiled, triumphant.
The sky zapped and flickered with the lightning, right after its thunder roared, reminding her of the reason for being there. She needed shelter, and soon as the sky was threatening a downpour.
Blair ran closer to the castle wall, hastily trying to find her way in. At last, she finally found a door but it was locked. She frowned and looked around again. Finally, she found a window with broken glass, good enough for her to fit in.
Slowly, she slipped her body through it, and she got in. However, the edgy part of the glass cut her skin near her shoulder.
"Dang!" She grumbled silently but slid that off. 'It's just a scratch,' she thought.
Blair looked around and found herself in what seemed like a spacious kitchen. It was dark and she was shivering. Hence, Blair found no reason to check it further and moved on.
She needed to find some dry clothes and fast.
Eventually, Blair located a bedroom. Desperately cold, she grabbed the sheets from the mattress and expertly tied a few knots. In no time, she had created a makeshift dress.
Grabbing a pillowcase, she began to dry off the soaked strands of her hair.
Just as she finished changing, she heard voices. Hastily, she stepped out of the room after realizing that there were people inside the abandoned castle.
Blair wasn’t alone.
She walked out of the small room, following the voice. The hallways were littered with belongings. Not a speck of dust coated the furniture and that was when Blair knew her assumptions from the start were all wrong.
'God, it seems that this castle isn't abandoned at all,' she worriedly thought.
She was scared to think of herself as a trespasser, and she knew that she needed to skedaddle before someone could detect her. She tightly wrapped the blanket around her body and promptly changed her course, attempting to find her way out.
"I said, the contract had ended. I demand you leave this instance!" A man spoke from somewhere inside the castle with a sound of a woman sniffing from the background.
Blair’s curiosity stopped her in her steps. She completely forgot her plan and instead, followed the voice again.
Navigating through the hallways, Blair found a man and a woman in the living room. However, she couldn’t see their faces clearly, only their silhouettes.
“You’ll regret this!” the woman cried.
From the shadows, Blair could still make out their movements. The woman stormed out with her hands on her face for some time. She seemed to be crying.
Blair tightened her grip on the blanket that was covering her.
She didn't know what to feel about what she saw. The scene felt like it was part of a play. Nevertheless, Blair had seen enough.
It was time to leave before she got caught.
"I know you're there.” The man’s voice sent chills down Blair’s spine. “What are you doing here?" His head turned in her direction.
'Was he talking to me?' She asked herself.
She flinched, startled. Before she knew it, he was already standing in front of her, gold eyes glowing with a handsome but sinister smile.