Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

Chapter 109

Chapter 109 Run, baby.

She almost didn’t believe it when she heard the lock click. It took several tries at different keys before it finally worked. Doris threw on another sweater before she carefully creaked open the door and peeked into the hallways. She wasn’t sure how it had gotten so dark in such a short time, perhaps Jospeh took all of the light with him.

She quickly pushed his kind face away from her mind. Kindness counted for nothing when she wanted to survive-she learned that the hard way. Lessons are always learned the hard way and she had gone through more than a few of her own.

Slowly, Doris creaked the door open and slipped out through the small crack. She clicked the door shut and locked it behind her as if she hadn’t left the room at all. It would only fool them til morning, then they would be after her. Hopefully she would find the camp long before that happened.

It could have been hours or mere minutes until the sun came out, she didn’t know but she was certain of one thing. She had to hurry before anyone else came knocking. Joseph had been the only one to check on her since she’d been here besides Mr. Hugh. But, she already had an appointment with him so she didn’t expect him to wonder about her until evening. That gave her enough of a chance to try and get as far as possible from here as she could.

Doris kept her steps light as she followed the same path Joseph had led her down less than an hour before. She skimmed the walls and peered around each comer to make sure the guards were still fast asleep before she hurried by. She had no idea if Joseph was off for the night after he left her or if he was doing a round of the grounds since no one else was up to do she. She just knew she had to be extra careful.

Her feet felt as if they were gliding on air as she rushed to the door that led outside. Not one sound thumped against the ground as if she weighed nothing. Though, her heart was the loudest thing inside

her. It could have even woke the dead.

When she reached out to open the door, she banged against it. The sound was so loud, she had to hold her breath and listen for any trace of steps hurrying her way to throw her back where she came from. She counted silently in her head and stayed still as ice. When she reached thirty, she moved to open the door but it was locked.

Doris pulled out the keys and tried every single one of them until one finally fit in the hole and allowed her to tum it. The cold breeze the chilled her face was almost a relief. She glanced back once before she hurried out into the snow that still held their footsteps.

It was dead silent. Like there was no life for miles and miles no matter where she headed. Doris didn’t know what direction to head in, she didn’t know which one would lead her to where William was but she had to try. All she knew was that she had to make it through the trees but she was dead if she didn’t get a horse first.

Doris scaled the walls and peered over the edge of the corner. Two guards were in deep conversation with their backs to her near the stables where William had stolen the horses. Doris quickly pulled back and hid herself from their view again. Her breath grew louder to her ears. She tried to calm the sound but it only made her feel as if she’d gotten louder the more she tried.

This was ridiculous—how was she going to get out of this one without a horse? She’d be walking all night now and would arrive to them with missing toes from the frozen air.

Doris glanced at the trees and saw an opening between the darkness. She kept her steps light as she hurried towards it. It was much colder than she thought it was. When she came out with Joseph, she felt hot as if she couldn’t feel any trace of the cold air but now it was like she was coated in her own layer of ice. It was what she deserved for using his kindness for her own benefit.

A distant howl sounded in the distance, it made her skin ripple with goosebumps. What if they hunted her like an animal when they found out she was gone? She knew she had to keep going and at least try to get away. She’d never forgive herself if she sat around and did nothing while her future was decided for her. Especially if they ended up wanting to kill her just to spite William.

She moved between the trees carefully. There were no traces of another guard for miles and she hoped that meant she’d left them all behind her. Each crunch in the snow made her cringe and heart race as if it was trying to exit her chest. How far was the camp from here? She remembered it being long by carriage but fast by horses. Perhaps if she ran she would get there quicker—as ridiculous as that was.

Doris glanced around and saw nothing but more trees. She took a long deep breath before she took off into the darkness away from Life Pharmacy. The forest didn’t look familiar but she knew that William headed this way when they were on their horses.

Doris cursed those guards for surrounding the area and making her run back to the camp rather than ride. They must have realized that William stole a few of their horses the night they escaped before they were found out and now made sure it was always monitored.

It didn’t take long for her breath to run out with barely any ground covered thanks to the thick snow. She wasn’t used to running like this, she collapsed to the ground and rested her head against her knees. She had to keep going.

She allowed herself a few breaths before she got up again and continued on. Life Pharmacy was now a distant shadow behind her but she knew it was still too close for comfort. The sun started to poke up above the horizon and she wondered how long it had been since she left her prison. Did Joseph notice she was gone yet? Or would he wait a few more hours before he checked if she was awake?

She didn’t want to imagine the betrayal on his face when he realized what happened

and where his keys went. She deserved his anger and hurt, but she didn’t want to see it. He had to realize that she didn’t deserve to be a pawn, he had to know that. Why else would be be so kind to her?

Any time a small branch broke or something shifted behind her, she paused to make sure nothing was trailing her. She kept to the trees and didn’t dare to stay out in the open for long. It was only a death wish and she had no reason to be caught so soon. Even if she was heading in the wrong direction, it was better than sitting around. Anything was better than being a prisoner, they were foolish to underestimate her.

Louder howls echoed through the trees, she wasn’t sure how close they were but it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Doris quickly ducked behind a large boulder and searched for any sort of weapon to grasp onto.

She closed her fingers around a sharp rock and listened to the change in the wind. Paws beat against the ground and she knew in her heart that they had found out she was gone. It took them a lot quicker than she wanted and now the only thing she could do was

“Run, baby!” A loud voice broke through the silence. A man laughed so loud it made her flinch. “We’ve already got you!”

Doris stood and took off through the trees. She ran as fast as she could and couldn’t hear if anything was behind her or if she was about to be mauled to death. Keep going, keep going. Her breath was loud in her ears as she panted harder. Don’t look back, keep going

A rope wrapped around her chest and yanked her back into the darkness. Some man she didn’t recognize in the slightest lassoed her back and dragged her through the cold snow until she was at his feet. He took a long drag on a cigar in his mouth before he blew out the smoke and smirked down at her. “That was pretty fun. You almost got away with it, little one.”