It's freezing inside.
The room was lined with hooks, broken blades, shackles, and forgotten tools.
I spun, scanning the area frantically.
The key should have been around there, that's what Lord Kareem had said.
My eyes darted to the wall, but I saw nothing.
Panic twisted through my chest and frustration started to set in.
I was pregnant and I shouldn't have been roaming like that, but some things just had to be done.
I staggered forward, my fingers brushing over rusted tools, biting edges.
Where was it?
The air was cold enough to numb my fingertips, but I didn't stop searching.
It must have definitely been there.
As if nature was responding to me, I spotted something glinting faintly.
It was lodged behind an old silver muzzle dangling from a nail.
Wow, it was properly hidden.
My hand shot up.
I reached too far, and I hissed as the muzzle's edge grazed my skin.
I adjusted, more careful then, balancing on my toes.
My fingers slid behind the leather strap, and then I felt it.
Cold metal, slim and crooked…it was a loop of three keys on a rusted ring.
Got you.
I snatched it and pressed it to my chest, my breath catching in my throat.
I held it there for one heartbeat, two, then shoved it into my robe pocket and hurried out the way I came, closing the steel door behind me.
I headed straight for Cell Delta.
Though the walk felt like forever, I didn't stop.
I was already panting by the time I got there.
The corridor was narrow, and colder than the rest.
This was where they kept the dangerous ones.
The werewolf hunters.
I inserted the key and opened the door to the cell.
Then I spotted them in a place so dirty and smelly.
I sneezed.
My purpose was greater than my disgust.
There were eight of them.
All bound, bruised, but alive.
They sat and leaned against the stone walls—some upright, some slumped, but all of them looked at me suspiciously.
Some of their wrists were still wrapped in iron-threaded rope.
One of them, a blond with a busted lip, jerked his chin toward me. "What do you want, she-wolf?"
I swallowed, then fumbled with the keys. "I came to let you out."
That got a reaction. The tall one near the center rose slowly, his muscles coiled like a spring. His eyes narrowed at me with contempt and a frown. Another, lean and sharp-eyed, spat at the floor. "Is this a joke?"
I shook my head. "I'm not here to trick you."
"You're one of them," someone snapped. "Why would you want to save us? You liar!"
"Don't shout," I cautioned in a whisper. I gripped the bars harder, my voice coming out raw. "I didn't say you had to trust me. I'm asking you to listen. I'm not one of them. I'm trying to escape too."
They didn't move. I felt the frustration build in my chest like bile. I blinked hard and pushed the words out before I collapsed. "I'm pregnant."
My words were met with total silence.
"I'm pregnant and tired and hunted. I'm abducted here. I have no idea how long I can keep running. If you want to die in this cell, fine. But if you want out, and if you want to breathe again… then help me."
For a moment, all I heard was the distant drip of dungeon water and the ragged breaths of exhausted prisoners. I heard one say, "Don't listen to her, our men would come to save us."
I waited till they arrived at a common decision among themselves. Then a low, but skeptical voice, broke through. "You release us. We help you get out of here. That's the deal?"
I nodded once. "Yes. I help you. You help me."
The tall one stepped forward. He was huge and broad-shouldered, buzz-cut hair, arms like stone pillars. His electric blue eyes burned into me with intensity that made my stomach twist. It would have been a shame if he ended up dying here with how good he looked.
"Open the door," he said.
"Ronan," One called his attention and he turned to him. "I don't trust her."
I scoffed. "You waste more time here, they arrive anytime soon because right now, they are having a meeting and it's about killing you all today. Haven't you thought of how I got to know about here? I eavesdropped. Be wise for once."
I said almost angrily, and they all seemed convinced now. The Ronan guy scanned me and said, "Let's move already."
Very good. I slid the key in and the lock clicked. Then the door swung open. They started to move really fast. Grabbing different things that can assist them in fighting if it had to come to that. The lean one grabbed a rusted dagger. Another snapped a metal bar from the bench. I was barely breathing. I had let them out.
Then the tall, muscular, handsome one called Ronan, stepped up to me. I didn't get a chance to flinch as his hand clamped around my throat and slammed me into the wall. Air ripped from my lungs. "Is this a trap?" he growled into my face. "Did you bring us out to hand us over?"
"N-no!" I choked. My hands flew to his arm, but his grip was tight. My feet barely touched the ground.
"I swear, I swear. I'm not…!"
"Let her go!" The only woman among them barked. A sharp-faced girl with red curls. "We already agreed, Ronan!"
Ronan's nostrils flared. He held me there, testing my fear like he was weighing it. Then, finally, he released me. I dropped to my knees, coughing hard, and beating my heaving chest. I just hoped I wasn't saving the wrong people.
"None of you should hold back, we fight if it comes to that. We are getting out of this cursed prison today," he said to them, and they made responses that agreed with him. It seemed Ronan was their leader. Kind of obvious.
They bolted. And I also scrambled up and ran. I was heading for Orion.