Page 90 of Lycan King's Captives
Rehan and Javier exchange a bewildered expression.
“Did she just give me permission?” Rehan asks, his voice filled with surprise.
“I think so,” Javier admits, his tone tinged with uncertainty.
After Queen Adina is gone, Rehan quickly follows, and Javier goes to get me lunch, leaving me alone in the room.
I decide to take a shower, hoping to wash away the tension that hangs in the air. However, when I’m in the shower, I hear a noise in the bedroom, causing me to freeze. I listen intently, my heart racing when suddenly Tyra’s voice reaches my ears.
“Sienna?”
I quickly turn off the water and wrap a towel around myself before stepping out of the bathroom. Tyra is standing there, peering around nervously. “How did you get in here?” I ask, surprised. She holds up a key.
“Master key. Got it copied,” she replies, glancing nervously at the door. “I have to be quick. Toby called me. I need you to meet me in the laundry room at 2 PM. I’ve organized an additional pickup; I lied and said it’s extra laundry from Vin’s guard and the extra guests. Luckily, I was stockpiling extra laundry in case I had to get you out early.”
“Wait, today?” I ask in shock; that is very little time for me to prepare.
“Yes. The king isn’t due home until tonight. 2 PM, no later,” she warns.
“How am I supposed to slip away? Javier is watching me,” I say with a surge of anxiety.
Tyra rummages in her pockets and produces two pills. She drops them into my hand. “Put these in his drink. They’ll dissolve and knock him out. We’ll only have an hour max, before he wakes. Sleeping pills don’t work on Lycans as they do on humans,” she explains. I nod, understanding the gravity of the situation. Also, how would I manage that without him noticing? Tyra quickly leaves, and I stare down at the dissolvable pills.
Quickly rushing back to the shower, I wash the soap that is still in my hair out. By the time I come out, Javier has returned with lunch. The tray sits on the coffee table while he sits in his favorite armchair, sipping his bottle of lemonade.
“Sandwiches,” he points to the coffee table. I nod, moving to the walk-in closet and getting changed; glancing at the two pills in my hand, I chew my lip, trying to figure out how I am going to get this in his bottle of lemonade. When I come out, Javier is sifting through the DVD collection he snuck up here a few days ago.
“Which one?” he asks me, holding up the folder full of DVDs.
“You pick; I’ll probably read,” I tell him, moving to the coffee table. I sit beside his drink, which luckily still has the cap off. I grab a sandwich while he flicks through his folder. Finding one he likes, he gets up, moving to the TV and DVD player.
While his back is turned, I drop them into his drink. My heart races the entire time as I watch them sink to the bottom. They fizz, making the bottle cloudy as they do so. I glance at Javier, who is setting the DVD in place, and my heart rate picks up rapidly as he grabs the remote and turns. I quickly grab his drink, moving to take a pretend sip of it.
“That one is mine. It’s sugar-free,” Javier tells me.
A bead of sweat runs down the back of my neck as I set it down before I finally inhale. The fizz has stopped, and the pills wholly dissolved.
“Sorry,” I tell him, and he shakes his head.
“It’s fine,” he tells me, taking a sip of his drink. At the same time, I take a bite of my sandwich and sip my drink. Javier and I eat, watching the previews on the DVD. I then grab my book when Javier comments. “It tastes different,” he mumbles, swirling the bottle. “Did it taste strange to you?” he asks.
“Tasted bitter; I suppose it would with no sugar,” I shrug, dropping onto the couch.
“I hate when they change it; I’ll have to ask Mari what they changed,” he sighs.
I was two chapters into my book when I noticed Javier jolt; peering over my book, I watch him fight against exhaustion. “Are you okay?” I ask him, and he yawns.
“Yeah, the movie is boring,” he states, then shakes his head. I return to my book, occasionally glancing at Javier; eventually, his head falls forward, and I get to my feet. Walking over to him, I tilt his head back. He mutters something unintelligible, and I rest his head back on the couch. Moving to stand before him, I rummage into his front pockets while my heart thuds rapidly.
No excuse would be good enough if he woke and caught me with my hand in his pocket. Grabbing his keys. I quickly put on my everyday uniform and grab the bathroom laundry basket. I stuff a bag with a change of clothes in it under the dirty towels. Moving to the door, I glance once more at Javier before carefully unlocking the door and slipping out into the hall.
I make my escape to the laundry room, where I meet Tyra, who is glancing around nervously. “Finally!” she whispers, moving to shut the door. She locks it and helps me climb into the massive hamper with my bag. She covers me with linen, wheels it outside to the waiting truck, and whispers the final instructions.
“Stay down, and when the truck stops, you must be quick. Don’t let the driver see you. Toby will be waiting for you in a black van.” she tells me. “Good luck,” she says when I hear a man’s voice before I can reply. “Just the one?” he asks.
“Yep, extra guests; thanks, Patrick,” I hear Tyra tell him.
“Any time,” he replies. As the hamper rolls away and is lifted into the truck, my heart pounds with fear but also excitement. This is my chance for freedom, to break away from the web of deception and danger surrounding me. I take a deep breath; I am finally going to be free. Finally free of Xandros and this luxurious prison.
