The Claiming

Chapter Seventeen

A silence fills the room, and all I hear is my heavy breathing. Then I force myself to sit up, inching away from Walden's lifeless body. Is he dead? I sure hope not. That'd be a death sentence for me and whoever just—

I look up and see Alec.

He kneels at the foot of the bed, a vase in his hands, blood spattering the intricate designs of the porcelain. He wears a white T-shirt and jeans.

Before I know what to say, Alec drops the vase and slides off the bed. He walks around to help me off and pulls me into a tight embrace. "We have to get out quickly," he says. "I'll explain everything on the way." He holds me at arms' length and kisses me. "Go change. I'm going to tie him up."

"With what?"

He smiles. "I always come prepared!" He gestures with his head to the ottoman at the end of Walden's bed. A backpack sits opened with rope peeking out.

"You're wonderful, you know that?" I say.

I race back into the restroom, strip off the stupid bra and panties, and change back into the beautiful blue gown. As inconvenient as it is, I'm totally bringing this with me. Let's think of it as a "souvenir" from my little experience here.

When I open the door, I find Alec tying a knot around Walden's wrist and one of the bed posts.

"I'm ready," I say.

Alec stops and looks at me, his jaw dropping. "You look gorgeous! Is that all you have."

I shrug. "I can't dress myself here."

Alec smiles sympathetically and finishes tying the knot. "Okay. I need you to stay close to me the whole time." He zips up his backpack and slings it over his back. I notice in the dim moonlight that the guard uniform he had been wearing rests on the ground. He must have had to ditch it to make as little noise as possible.

"Wait, so I really did see you earlier today," I say quietly.

"Yeah," he breathes as he grabs ahold of my arm. "I'm glad you didn't say anything. I would have been executed, knowing how ridiculous this place is. It killed me not being able to just explain everything... and to tell you that I would come to save you."

I hug his arm. "Thank you," I whisper.

He opens the door into the corridor, and looks outside cautiously. When he looks back at me, he smiles once more. "You're welcome, love."

Then we're gone. We fly through the corridors, around corners, up and down stairs, me not knowing where the heck we're going the whole time. My faith in Alec never fades, though. He seems to know what he's doing.

Eventually we end up outside a door at the end of a dark hallway. I look down at our hands enclosed together. Alec is still wearing his ring.

"Okay, there is a door through here that leads to the gardens. We'll slip through the woods behind them and towards the back roads. My car is parked back there."

"And then?"

"One thing at a time, Belle," he says.

"Sorry," I murmur.

Alec stops suddenly and faces me. He touches my shoulder with one hand and cups my cheek in the other. "I don't want to overwhelm you. I'll tell you the rest once we're to my car, okay?"

I nod.

"If anything happens from here until then... I love you."

I stand on my toes and kiss him. "I love you, too."