Chapter 26

Olivia’s POV

After putting the collar on me again, Damien allowed me to move freely outside of the tower.

“I don’t care what you do with your time,” he told me. “Come when I call. Do not try to escape. Know who you belong to. Those are the only rules that matter.”

I could agree to those rules outwardly, but inwardly, I defied them.

I would have to obey him and go to him when he summoned me. There, I had no choice.

But I would only ever belong to myself, not to anyone else, and certainly not to him. If anyone had some other claim to me, it would have been Jacob. As my fated mate, he at least had hold over my heart.

And as for escaping? Now that I had some liberties to walk around freely, I fully intended to use them to plot my next escape attempt.

I couldn’t be rash this time. I needed to take my time in planning something perfect.

The weight of my last failure, and of the lives I had been responsible for, was heavy on me. If I hadn’t suggested an escape… If I hadn’t rallied so many people to the idea of freedom… Would they still be alive?

I didn’t know if I would ever forgive myself for what happened, for causing that loss of life. Even if I could, the other slaves never would. Even as I walked by them in the hallways now, they glared at me icily.

As they passed, I noticed one of them had dropped one of their rags. I quickly scooped it off the ground and hurried back to them to return it.

“You dropped this,” I said, holding it out.

The girl looked back at me, frowning. “Don’t expect a thank you,” she said as she snatched the rag from my outstretched hand.

“Thank her for not getting you killed,” snickered one of the other girls.

“I didn’t mean for that to happen,” I said. “I’m sorry.” I would apologize a thousand times – no, a million – if it would lead to my eventual forgiveness. If not that, then the lifting of the heavy weight inside of me.

“Save your apologies for the dead,” the first girl said. “They are the ones who gave everything to help you. Yet you return while they are in the ground.”

“If it were up to me, I would have been with them,” I said. I didn’t want to die, but being the lone survivor was a terrible kind of burden. I knew I had only been saved because of Damien. Because I was his wayward little pet. And I hated myself for that.

“Don’t pretend to be one of us,” one of the others said cruelly. “You are favored by the Vampire Duke. You might as well be one of them now.”

“No, I –”

“Let’s go before she gets us in trouble,” said the first. “I’m not getting whipped because she talks too much.”

All three girls turned then and scurried away, leaving me alone in the hallway feeling bereft.

The words on my tongue had been true. I wasn’t one of them. I was still a werewolf, still a slave, even if I was well fed and allowed a soft bed of blankets. Perhaps it was better they cut me off. Maybe my own words wouldn’t have helped my cause.

I didn’t try to stop them, not wanting to get them in trouble.

I’d never make that mistake again.

Now, I had learned that I could only really depend on myself. When I escaped, it had to be on my own and with no one’s help.

That way if I was caught, I would be the only one punished this time.

I would escape this cage on my own power.

As I had access to paper and charcoal now, I secretly started sketching out a map of the castle. I had to do so secretly, only a little at a time and then hiding the map among other portraits and landscapes. I had no doubt that, despite Damien’s permission, eyes were on me for every second I was outside of his tower.

Yet, secretly, even with the risk, I took to drawing my map, searching as I walked the perimeter for any weaknesses or escape points.

My walk today led me to the base of the castle walls. Looking up, I tried to gage their height. The walls were made of stone but that stone had mostly been sheered flat, not giving many handholds. To climb it, I’d practically have to put all of my weight on my fingertips and toes.

In my current state, I wasn’t nearly strong enough to pull that off.

Maybe there was a different way.

I looked around and noticed a gate not far away. Yet before I could walk closer, a vampire guard stepped directly into my path.

Even in full armor, this vampire had moved silent as the grave. For a man so big and broad, that should have been impossible, especially to a werewolf.

Gods, I truly had been too lax in my training if I was allowing my werewolf impulses to slip.

“What are you doing out here?” he demanded. As he took in the sight of me, his eyes narrowed with obvious suspicion.

“I was just looking for a place to draw,” I said, and gestured to my pictures and charcoal. Fortunately, before stepping outside, I had rolled up the map and tucked it into my bra. I didn’t think this man would find it, unless he searched me.

I shivered. I really hoped he didn’t want to do that.

The vampire guard grabbed my drawings. “You are up to something with this nonsense.” I flipped through the pictures, tearing some of them in his speed and carelessness. Many even dropped to the ground. “The Duke gives you too much freedom. If it were up to me, I’d keep you chained in that tower.”

When he reached the end of the pages he threw them all on the ground, then he started looking more critically at me.

Swallowing hard, it took everything inside of me not to glance down and assure myself that the map was carefully hidden, with no corners poking out. To do so would only give me away.

“You are up to some form of trickery, I know it,” he said, then grabbed my arm in a tight grip.

I winced. “Let go!”

“Not until you reveal what you are actually up to.”

“She has my permission to draw,” Damien said, appearing now to my right. How long he had been there, I wasn’t sure, but the vampire guard seemed just as surprised as I was.

He looked at the vampire guard’s hold on my arm with an expression of boredom. That expression did not meet his eyes though, which flashed with annoyance.

The guard smartly dropped my arm and backed up a step, putting more distance between him and me. “D-Duke Damien.” The guard had been stoic before, if pushy and frightening. But now, he was the one afraid, his eyes widening. “I apologize. I didn’t know she had your permission.”

“Yes,” Damien said. “My permission to draw, and my permission to walk freely.” His voice lowered dangerously. “Do you disapprove of my judgement?”