Her Promise

Her Promise | Chapter Eleven

SLOAN

It’d been months since I had a real shower. Bathing by creeks and water spigots under the moonlight was making me feel more and more feral. My wolf was itching to get out the longer I roamed, but I was afraid to let her. It felt like she would take over and never let me shift back. Using an actual bathroom made me feel a little more human.

That noisy girl brought clean clothes, but I must have been in the shower longer than I thought because someone had already brought back all my other clothes. They were sitting on the oversized bed, folded into neat piles. My bag was still on the floor.

I pulled on my clothes and then grabbed my bag, rummaging through it to make sure no one had messed with it while I was in the shower. Everything was accounted for, so I started to pack my now clean clothes back into it.

Next to the clothes was a bag with a note on it. ‘Just in case’ it read. I opened it, and there was a hairbrush, scissors, comb, toothbrush and other things inside. I had to be reluctantly thankful. I ran out of toothpaste two weeks ago and hadn’t been able to lift any in the last human town I was in. My toothbrush looked a little rough, and my comb had about three teeth left. I’d resorted to finger-combing most of the knots out and trying to keep it braided.

I grabbed the bag and went to the bathroom. I was suspicious of this Maddox and his kindness, but I wasn’t stupid enough to turn down the opportunity to clean up. I brushed my teeth first, feeling worlds better without that disgusting gamey taste on my tongue. Then I tackled my hair. It was so knotted it was taking forever to brush through.

My mom’s squinty eyes stared back at me in the mirror. I hated them. I could almost hear her voice in my head, chastising my appearance. I dug into the little bag and found the scissors. My hair had been a nuisance for months now; it was so hot all summer. It was getting cold now, and it could be argued that the extra hair would be good insulation on my head and neck. Those judgmental, squinty eyes kept staring as I pulled at my hair.

Snip.

I brought the scissors right above my shoulder and chopped. I held up the long, tangled strand and examined it. I felt lighter, better.

I finished my impromptu haircut and found a trashcan for the discarded hair. I was a rogue, but I didn’t have to be rude. These people had been pretty nice so far, so the least I could do was not leave a huge mess behind. I could finally brush through all of my hair and left it to finish drying.

I went back out to the bedroom, going over to the food tray the noisy girl brought to my room. When she came rushing in, she had endless questions, and I had to threaten physical harm to her to get her to leave. I left the food she brought on a little table for after I was clean.

I grabbed the sandwich and started eating while I looked around the room. This place was way too big for one person. My sisters and I could have all lived in this one room, although they would have complained about it. I could walk into the closet with three sides lined with shelves and bars for storing clothes. All my stuff fit in one backpack; I couldn’t imagine one guest needing all this space. How long did people stay here?

There was a TV on the wall, and for a short moment, I wondered how long I would be trapped in here. Now that I had clean clothes and eaten something, I needed to move on. I needed to find a good spot to sleep tonight before it got too dark and preferably off this pack’s land.

I moved over to the window and pushed back the curtains. I could see a lot of wolves gathered around. They looked to be celebrating, and then it clicked. Maddox was having his Alpha ceremony; it was a party.

My wolf started to fuss in my head. “What’s the matter with you?” I snapped at her.

“Something’s close,” she said.

“Good or bad?” I questioned.

“I don’t know. Both,” she said. I sighed. My wolf was sort of a wimp after all the crap we had to deal with. When she wasn’t on the verge of going feral, she was a simpering wuss.

I scanned the crowd outside. Their whole pack had to be out there. I bet the guy outside my door wanted to join the party. That was how packs worked, after all. He was probably frustrated he was stuck here sitting outside my door instead of eating and drinking on the Alpha’s dime.

“We should stay put,” my wolf said.

“Nah, they won’t miss me,” I said. No one missed me. I went back over to the tray of food; there were some packaged stuff - chips, granola bar, etc., and an apple. I downed the juice glass and then grabbed all the packaged stuff to put in my bag. I had to ration what I had in case I couldn’t get any critters. I needed to find something a little more permanent with the snow coming soon.

“What are you going to do?” my wolf asked me.

“Give him a reason to steer far clear of this room,” I told her. I knew I could find my way out of this maze if I didn’t have to worry about some warrior douche trying to pull me back. The last thing I needed was to end up in a cell I couldn’t escape. My lock-picking skills were still pretty abysmal.

I packed up my bag and put it next to the door so it was easy to grab but also out of sight. Going to the door with it on me would be too much of a red flag. I knocked softly before I gently opened the door.

“Yea?” the guy on the other side said.

I fanned my face, trying to play the part. “Um, this is embarrassing,” I said, making my voice as sweet as I could. “I’m unmated, and it’s getting really hot in here. I think maybe it might be-”

The guy covered his nose and mouth with his hand. I made it obvious that I was looking for a mating mark, but his clothes would have covered it. “I’ll just move further down the hall. Do you need something?” he asked, the sound muffled by his hand.

“Maybe some ice? It’s just really warm,” I said, batting my eyelashes. He nodded his head as he backed away. I closed the door softly then pressed my ear to it, trying to listen. I could hear his footsteps moving down the hall quickly.

“Bingo,” I smiled. “The unmated ones are always afraid of a heat cycle. Most aren’t smart enough to remember our heat isn’t triggered until we meet our mates.”

“You should really not talk to yourself. It makes you seem odd,” my wolf pointed out.

“Honestly, that’s the least of my problems,” I said. “Now, hush. I have to concentrate so I can get us out of here. I need to avoid that backside where literally the whole pack is. If it were humans, I could use them to blend in and get away, but they will all smell me if they are paying any attention.”

I pulled on my coat and backpack and made sure I could move without making too much noise. I cracked the door slowly, listening for that warrior. I peeked out just enough to look down the hall both ways. There was no one in sight at either end.

“Left or right?” my wolf asked.

“Well, we came from the left and entered through the back side of this place, probably right through where all those wolves are now. Better try right first,” I reasoned.

I exited the room and shut the door behind me quietly. No reason to give them an overt reason to think I wasn’t inside. I shuffled down the hall as quickly as possible, my eyes on a constant swivel looking for anyone. The hall turned to the left, and I had no choice but to follow it. There were doors scattered along the hall, but I had no way to tell which were to rooms and which could be something different. This place seemed like one of those old buildings with servant halls.

The farther I walked, the more my guard was rising. My wolf was being antsy. I needed to get out of this place. The hall eventually opened up into a wider walkway. To the left, I could smell a kitchen, and I thought of my measly food collections. I knew it could get me caught, but I couldn’t resist trying to snake a few more things. Surely a house this big wouldn’t miss a few snacks.

I followed my nose and made sure to stop and listen for anyone around each time I had to turn the corner. When I finally got to a set of swinging double doors, I pushed them open just an inch to look inside. The Goddess must be on my side because the kitchen was empty.

I raced to what looked like the pantry and was elated when I was right. I hit the jackpot. I pulled my bag open and started stuffing anything that looked edible inside. This would be my saving grace over the next few months.

After filling every available space in my backpack, I threw it back over my shoulder and turned to go. I already took too long to get out of here, and now I was a thief on top of a rogue. Now they really had reason to put me in a cell.

I went back to the doors I came in, making sure to check that there was no one outside of them. Before I could sneak out the doors, another door opened from the other side. I froze at the sound.

“Who-” a male voice started to shout. My back stiffened as my wolf went crazy. I turned slowly to face him. He stood like a statue in the other doorway, his blonde hair and pale skin bright against his dark coat.

My breath came in short bursts as my heartbeat picked up. This was not happening. I was so close to getting out of there. The guy’s expression turned pained as he stormed toward me. I stepped back instinctively, hitting the doors. I lost my footing and tumbled back onto the ground.

He pushed the doors open, stopping over me. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Who are you?” I snapped back. I had to get out of here; I wasn’t going to deal with this.

“Apparently, I’m your mate. Start talking.”