It took her a moment to look at Lacey, whose smiling face was only a few inches away from hers. Lacey's mouth was moving, but Xenia wasn't paying attention. The only thing Xenia could picture was Mason forcing himself on her. Would he drug me like Barrick so I wouldn't fight? She wondered before another thought even worse than that came to her. Would he…OH GOD…would he shift? "I think you broke her," Lacey said to Frieda, trying to shake Xenia out of her mini coma. "Hey, girl. Did we break you or something?" "I…I have to get out of here," Xenia managed to say through her shaky breath. "Hey, hey, hey. It's gonna be okay," Lacey laughed a bit. "We're just kidding." Xenia looked at her again, searching her eyes for the truth. "Right?" Lacey looked at the other girls, who smiled and nodded. "I didn't mean to scare ya white, hon," Frieda said while laying a comforting hand on Xenia's shoulder. "Sex can be scary for the first time." "Frieda!" Celia playfully tapped Frieda on the

Surprisingly, it was very easy to run down the four flights of stairs and use the second door down the hall on the right to get to the back of the house, at least according to the map on the napkin. Xenia opened the door to freedom and momentarily hesitated to walk over the threshold. She looked towards the woods before her, only a few feet away. What if this was a trap? She wondered while looking around to see if someone was waiting for her. She waited for only a minute before taking that first step. Nothing happened. No alarms, no wandering werewolves. This was actually it. She held the knife from the tray and the napkin, telling her where to go. Behind the cabin to the right, there was a bridge that could help her cross over. Xenia ran towards the woods, ignoring the twigs and sticks pricking at her face and feet. A gnawing feeling in her stomach made her nervous about how easy this was, but she couldn't think of that now. Instead, she had to think of her family and return to the

The people, mostly men, just stared at Xenia while others ignored her pleas and continued their business. Some of the women looked away while others stared at her with pity in their eyes. What kind of creepy cultist bullshit was this, Xenia pondered. With Mason's tight grip around her, they quickly returned to Xenia's room. When he opened the door, he threw her on the bed, and his body quickly covered her. His hand went around her neck, giving it a little squeeze. "Don't ever embarrass me like that again," he growled. "Do you understand?" Xenia didn't say anything as she glared at him. He brought his face closer to hers. His lips hovered only an inch over mine. "Do you understand," he asked again. Xenia would've spoken if his hand hadn't been around her throat, so she nodded slowly. He stared at her a little bit longer. His eyes flashed red as they moved down to her lips. She prayed he would just leave her be. His body was pressed too close for comfort, and the heat coming from him

Mason walked into his office, barely able to control his anger. She got away and almost got hurt. His best chances of getting Melania back were almost taken away just like that. He thought of Melania, but eventually, the image of Xenia clouded his mind. The ghost of her body felt imprinted in his. He sat in his chair but only wanted to return to her. Touch her. Feel the way her body melted to his. Never let her go. Then the image of her being attacked flashed in his mind. The way she looked when that rogue attacked. She was prepared to die. Frustratedly, he threw everything off the table in one angry swipe. "GET IN HERE!" Lillian, Kane, and Rick cautiously entered the room. They kept their distance, and Mason didn't blame them. They could probably feel the energy in the room like sparks of electricity pricking at their skin. Rodin's anger was rolling through them like waves. They needed to know how serious this situation was. "How did a fucking rogue get this close to my territor

Xenia was healing slower than usual but enough for Mason to put her back to work. She couldn't move as much with her injuries and the bandages but was glad to leave the room. Instead of one of the girls coming to get her, Mason sent two warriors in their place. Probably thought it best to send someone she couldn't easily knock out. Though if given a chance, Xenia wouldn't pass it up. She walked in front of them as they shared a hushed conversation behind her. Luckily, they paid her no mind, and she listened well. "Can't believe they stuck us with this human," one of them sneered. "I have better things to do than babysitting." "Tell me about it. I wish I had joined them when they killed all those bandits. It would've been fun getting a few kills under my belt." "I don't know, Bran. Rick said they had magic bombs that made the air taste like blood and dirt. They confiscated them so the Alpha could study them. I saw it in his office, but it didn't look impressive." "That's becaus