Half asleep I turned to catch the warmth lingering in his side of the bed when Rillon stepped out of it, just before dawn, as he usually did. He kissed my cheek, whispered good morning and quickly put on some clothes before he left me to sleep another two or three hours while he spent the morning with his pack. They had a daily routine to shift and run together in small groups each morning and it amazed me how much energy they all had.

I fell back into a dreamless sleep after he left, still feeling the warmth of his body on the blankets, and smelling him on his pillow. It did not take long before I noticed the door opening and closing again, and with a smile on my lips I awaited his naked body beside mine again. He did that sometimes, because he knew how much I loved to wake up beside him.But the light steps moving towards my bed were not the steps of a lycan, and I instantly sat up and turned to look at Angela who was sneaking towards me with her finger against her lips.

"What's going on?" I mouthed and was greeted with a face of despair.

"You and I need to get out of this castle, now," she whispered and went over to my wardrobe to get me some clothes. I noticed how she chose the clothes I used to wear when I snuck out from the castle to meet her in the brothel, she wanted me to leave unnoticed.

"Angie! Tell me what's going on!" I hissed as I left the bed, shivering from the cold and started to dress myself in a hurry. "Are we under attack?"

"You were right," she sighed and grabbed my shoulders to hold me still, or maybe it was to give me some comfort or strength? "Roland is a traitor," she whispered and I could see the guilt in her eyes. "Soldiers were waiting for the lycans when they came back from their morning run," she paused and stroked my cheek, "he put them all in chains."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, she had to be misstaken! "Angela, we need to help them!" I cried out but she hushed me.

"The best thing to do is take you out of this castle, and we need to do it now while they think we're still sleeping. There's no guards outside your door, everyone is keeping their eyes on the lycans."

"But Mathew," I pleaded and felt tears filling my eyes.

"Your fiancé wants you to stay alive," she interrupted, "he will understand and he will be happy that you fled." She let go of me and handed me my shirt to continue to dress while she began to pack one of my bags in a rush. "Believe me Adrian, this is what's best for the both of you. Don't you think Roland will use you against each other to get what he wants?"

Deep down I knew she was right and I was grateful I had her, but leaving Mathew and the lycans in Roland's hands felt like a terrible betrayal. "Where will we go?" I asked quietly, pulled a jacket over my shirt and grabbed the bag, while she moved towards the door.

Angela placed her ear against the hardwood and listened before she opened it slightly. "I've asked Gabby to alarm the servants, they're meeting us at the hunters lodge in the north. Then we walk to Faria, you'll be safe there," she said trying to convince us both, before she pulled me towards the door at the end of the corridor.

She'd been right, the castle felt abandoned. My head was spinning and my heart was telling me to run down to the field and help my lover and my new found family. But Angela held my hand in a firm grip, as if she knew what I was thinking. She would never let me go, but my heart was screaming, I needed to help him. It was all my fault, I was the one who'd pardoned Roland, and for what reason? Because I needed someone to lead my army, which he had clearly done. He had led them against me.

I needed to see Mathew, I needed to know that he was alive and desperately I tried to reach out to the wolf, focusing my consciousness on him. It took a few tries but then I felt his rage boiling inside me.

"Alpha!" I cried out to him in my head and the anger stopped.

"Where are you?!" he growled with desperation in his voice, and it made my heart ache. It was hard maintaining my focus on him while we were taking turns running and sneaking through the endless corridors and rooms of the castle, to reach the servants quarters where they would help us to sneak out.

"Angela came to warn me," I told him, "she convinced me to flee to Faria," I almost sobbed inside my head.

"Good!" He growled. "Run Little Lord King, run and don't look back. We will survive and we will join you, I promise you this. I will keep him safe." And then the connection was broken and I suddenly felt exhausted.

I felt tears flowing down my cheeks as I was taken to the sleeping quarters of the male servants, we moved towards the back door and I felt Angelas watchful eyes on me. "I can speak to his wolf inside my head," I explained, "he told me to run."

"Smart doggy," she sighed relieved but still looked thoughtful at me, as if she wondered if I was crazy or if I was telling the truth.

She was a master of hiding in the shadows. I knew she had fled to Gera because she was a wanted thief, or something similar, in her country. She never told me much about it, but the hidden throwing knives in her belt said enough. Our escape went a little too easy though and I wondered if Roland really believed I was still asleep? Usually I wouldn't be up for another hour, I loved to stay in bed for as long as I could and would eat my breakfast alone in the kitchen long after the council members and my court had finished theirs. He must really think I was a spoiled brat since no one would wake me up for breakfast. Maybe that was the reason the KingsGuard was helping him with the lycans instead of watching me.

We zigzagged between the many beds in the quite big hall, and moved towards the back door. It would lead us to freedom and we would only have a quick run from there to the forest. But as we moved towards the door we could hear men talking on the other side.

"Wait here," she whispered close to my ear, and then she pushed me behind the door as she opened it and peered outside.

"What are you doing here?" A male voice called out to her. "This is the men's quarters."

"Yes, I know," she answered innocently, "I was looking for Jack, he usually guards this door in the mornings," she said with a suggestive voice.

"Lucky Jack," another voice snickered, "he will be back tomorrow, the colonel has him on other duties today."

"That's too bad," she sighed, "I was feeling lonely, want to join me in his stead?"

I heard low thumps and noises from the other side, and my mind kept racing. I knew she was trying to trick them, but were they really going to fall for something like that? Women weren't that desperate, and most men would surely understand that they were being tricked when offered free, random sex? Apparently not, I sighed as she opened the door and told me to watch my steps. Two bodies lay lifeless on the ground and I felt like throwing up when I watched them.

"Better them than us, she mumbled and urged me to run before the morning sun would rise over the castle walls and make it easier for anyone to spot us. Surely I was happy to be alive, but those men had just followed orders. I guess that was the life of a soldier, but I still felt sad for them.

The grass was slippery from the morning dew and I had to focus so much on my running that I lost track of where we were. "You said there would be servants there, helping us. Angela the whole castle was empty," I panted as I ran.

"Roland is smart," she sighed, "he knows they're on your side."

My heart ached for them. "So he captured them," I concluded, and wondered what he'd do to them. Would he judge them as traitors or offer them to work for him? He would need their services for a while to keep the castle running, but he would never trust them.

"Have a little faith," Angela said, squeezing my hand, "hopefully they're all waiting in the lodge."

As we entered the forest we were able to stop and catch our breaths, Angela looked back at the field and made sure no one was following us. "If you really did talk to the Alpha, my guess is he started some commotion to keep them focused on the Lycans," she mumbled.

"Sounds like something he would do," I whispered but it made me feel even worse inside and a continuing stream of what if's tormented me all the way to the cabin. What if he'd never left for a run that morning, what if I had asked him to stay a little longer, what if that was our last kiss, what if I never see him again. What if he dies?

The thick vegetation of the forest slowed us down, but it gave Angela the time to watch the surroundings and she picked up a few tracks. "I can see womens shoes Adrian, that's a good sign," he said, sounding relieved. She noticed my tremor and squeezed my hand yet again, the small gesture giving me some comfort. "He'll be fine. He's the strongest man I've ever met, determined and positive. Knowing you made it out will give him focus to follow you."

"He trusted me, he trusted my decision to keep Roland," I whispered.

"We all fell for it sweetheart, he played the role impeccably," she muttered. "Don't put it on your shoulders, he fooled us all."

We walked in silence for almost an hour, there was nothing more to say and I was busy with my own thoughts. We stepped over roots and logs, pressed through thick masses of ferns, dodged low hanging branches and burrows in the ground. But eventually we noticed the scenery started to change. The trees grew sparser and we could spot a small grove appearing in the distance.

"Stay here," Angie hissed, "I won't let you walk into a trap, not when we made it this far."

I nodded a few times and promised her I'd behave and wait as she quickly ran towards the grove and the light that insisted there were people in the cabin. As she left I sank down on a log and focused all my energy to contact Alpha again, but nothing happened. I tried over and over again, but was only met with silence. I could only hope it was because of the distance, but my heart sank low in my chest as dark thoughts took over. One in particular grasping my mind, what if it meant that he was dead?

(A/N - A new update at last! I've been struggling with this chapter quite a bit, I'm not super happy with how it turned out, and eventually I just decided to post it anyway. )