I took a step towards her.

"Bianca, it's me – Quinn," my words tumbled out in a flurry and I immediately held up my hands in an attempt to placate her. "I'm going to get you out of here, just – "

Think, Quinn. Who could get us out of this? While my first thought was Jed, another person came to mind:

Diego.

I loosened a breath and stepped back. "Just – try to pull through, for a while more, okay?" I pleaded, staring at her earnestly, "do anything it takes to stay alive. I promise – I promise, I'll get you out of here as soon as I can." I took another step back, my heart clenching with guilt with she made another panicked noise through her gagged mouth, like she was begging me not to leave.

I ran out of the room in search for Diego. He wasn't the best option, but he was Bianca's henchmen. That meant something, right? My heart pounded with anxiety when I found him conversing with several guards. As soon as I came up, the conversation stopped.

"I can't find my room," I said. "Can you help me?"

"Bryson here will help you – "

"No, it has to be you," I insisted. "Mattheus said I was supposed to ask you if I needed anything. And I need to get back to my room."

Diego shot me an icy glare. But then he dismissed the guards and stormed off towards the stairs. I followed him silently until we reached my room.

"Here, you little shit," he spat, roughly flinging open the door to my room. "Happy?"

I snuck a glance down the hallway before pushing him inside. "Get in – "

He didn't budge an inch. "What the fuck are you – "

"Werewolves have heightened hearing," I whispered, shooting him a pleading look. "Just get in, I have to tell you something really important."

He looked at me like he was seriously considering wringing my neck and stomping all over my grave. But I supposed something in my demeanour must've intrigued him, because he strode into the room before turning to face me with narrowed eyes. "Now what do you have to tell me?"

I shut the door and pressed my back against it. "Where's Bianca?"

"The hell should I know?"

"Where is she?"

"I told you I don't know!" His exasperation made me realise that he was telling the truth. "She disappeared sometime ago after parading around like she was the head of the pack, then she up and left – "

"She didn't leave," I said. "I found her."

"What?"

"I found her." I lowered my voice so that it was barely audible. "She's a prisoner, here, in the dungeons."

"There's no dungeon – "

"Why would I lie about a dungeon when I'm a prisoner here?" I fired back, before taking a deep breath. "Diego, you have to help us. Please. Bianca isn't in a good shape and I'm terrified that she might die if she doesn't get out of there. You should've seen her. She was bleeding all over and she was mutilated and – "

"And you'd think I give a shit?"

I froze. "What? She's your Luna! You called her that – "

"That term means nothing to me," he said flatly, pushing past me to open the door. "I have no Luna."

"What about loyalty?"

He paused, the dim light from the hallway illuminating his tall frame. And when he spoke, his voice was colder than any other I'd ever heard before. "I don't know the fucking meaning of that word."

"Diego – "

I tried to reach for him but he was already gone, striding quickly down the hallway and disappearing past the corner. Defeat was a crushing blow and I sank down on the floor, burying my head in my hands and pressing my lips in a tight line as I tried to keep the desperation in.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

It was again in the middle of the night when I heard a howl.

I glanced up, trying to listen for anything else for a second or two, before losing interest and returning to my task. Everything I needed to have to escape was in the blanket. A spare set of clothes that I had raided from an empty room. Food that I nicked from the kitchen under the pretence of wanting dinner. And the most important thing of all – a bobby pin that I'd convinced one of the older ladies in the kitchen to hand over earlier. I'd already twisted it into some sort of loop at the end so that I could use it to pick Bianca's handcuffs apart later.

I was ready. I just needed to find a way out. There was another howl, this one more distant than the previous. As I stood, I heard footsteps outside my door.

But the door never opened. Instead, a note was slipped under the door, followed by two other objects that made a thud on the floor. I immediately reached for it, feeling a sudden relief surge through me when I saw the familiar gleam of a car key. Along with a compass. And a hastily scribbled note that read:

It had to be Diego who'd sent this. Quickly, I gathered my things and scrambled up. But when I opened the door, he was nowhere in sight. I looked down at the compass, pointed the needle North and started walking.

To my surprise, the hallways were empty. Midway through, I took a detour to the dungeons. Nausea swept through me at the tang of blood. I clasped a hand over my mouth and crept across the room to where the frail figure was.

"Bianca?"

She jolted up, her eyes wide, only to relax when she saw me. I reached for the muzzle on her face and quickly removed it.

"Quinn," she whispered. "Why're you here?"

"You thought I'd leave without you, huh?" I said instead, trying for light-heartedness amidst a dark situation. Reaching down, I pulled out the pin from my pocket and started to pick at the lock within her handcuffs. "I made you a promise, didn't I?"

She remained silent as I picked at the handcuffs. After the metal chains gave, I rummaged through the bag in search of the clothes I'd gotten for her.

"Why?" She rasped at last, blood dribbling down her chin as she spoke.

I knew what she was referring to. Why had I come back for her even after the way she'd treated me the last time we met? The answer required no thinking at all. I held out the clothes to her and averted my eyes while she dressed with slow, painful movements. "Because you're not the monster here. And – we need all the help we can get to take him down."

She winced as her arm got caught in the sleeve, and I reached over, helping her to pull the shirt over her bruised body. "Twenty-three times," she said quietly, blue eyes flickering up to meet mine. "I counted."

"Well," I said slowly. "At least there won't be a twenty-fourth time."

She didn't say anything. Realising that the clock was still ticking, I climbed to my feet and held out a hand to her. She grabbed it but stumbled as she pulled herself up, and I quickly wrapped an arm securely around her waist to help her maintain her balance. She could barely walk and I found myself dragging her across the tiles, wincing as I saw the blood trickle from her and stain the floor beneath us. It was painfully slow, dragging Bianca out of that hell-hole and out of the building, but thankfully, there was no one in our way.

It wasn't until we reached the exit that I realised what the car key was for. Beyond the gate, there was a car in the driveway, and no one seemed to be inside. The gate was unlocked, much to my relief and I mentally thanked Diego for going above and beyond what I'd expected from him. I placed Bianca in the backseat and climbed in the front, plugging the key into the ignition.

"Get some sleep," I said, meeting Bianca's gaze through the rear-view mirror. She quietly curled up and was out like a light within seconds, while I didn't waste a moment pulling out of the driveway.

And heading North.

It was dark out and the road was unclear at times, but I kept to the compass directions. Everywhere around us there were trees and shadows, the moonlight had never seemed fainter before and home had never felt farther. Still, I kept driving, keeping my ears pricked for any distant howls or threats that could harm us.

After what seemed like forever, I caught a glimpse of a familiar street in the distance. It was sweet relief, to see Jed's house outlined in the dark, or the low-lit street lamps that had never seemed more welcoming before. The porch of Jed's house was lit and I was still revelling in the warmth I felt at the sight of home when Bianca suddenly jerked awake with a gasp.

"Quinn!" She doubled over, coughing out blood onto the floor. "You – you have to hurry."

"Just hold on!" I slammed down on the car horn to get someone's attention.

In the distance, a figure descended the steps of the porch, and I almost began to cry in relief when I realised that it was Lorraine. Thank God she was still alive. Lorraine's eyes were wide when she saw the car, but then she began running towards us when I pulled the car to a stop.

"Quinn!" she cried, "I'm so glad you're – "

"I'm so glad to see you too, Lorraine, but there's no time for that," I all but scrambled out of the car, and gestured to Bianca in the backseat. "Get her out of there. She needs medical attention, immediately."

"Our doctor's with the rest of the pack out looking for you," Lorraine wrung her hands in distress, before turning around and signalling one of the few people who had stepped out of their houses to see us. A younger guy came running up, looking barely a day over sixteen, bowing almost nervously when he saw me. "Harvie, take Dion and Terence with you, head over to Callisto and see if they have a medical team on hand."

"Got it."

"Be careful!" Lorraine signalled the rest of the people over. "Let's bring her into my house."

"We should give her some space," I suggested, after several minutes of watching the crowd stare at her. "If she wakes up and sees how many people there are in here, she's going to be terrified."

"Good idea," Lorraine said, before glancing at the crowd behind us. "I need everyone out of here. And has anyone called for Alpha again?"

"Yes," one of the others said. "He's on his way back."

I let out a relieved sigh and followed Lorraine back to Jed's house.

"We have plenty of questions for you, but I think you need a good rest," she observed. "You look like you've been through hell."

"Close." I stopped on the front porch and sat down on the top step. "I want to wait for Jed."

"You miss him, huh?"

I nodded and hugged my knees to my chest as Lorraine took a seat beside me. My head pounded with exhaustion, but I forced myself to stay awake.

We didn't have to wait long. Minutes later, several cars drew up, but Jed's was the one in front. He was also the first one out of the car, with Adrian stepping out from the other side. To say that Jed look exhausted was an understatement. He looked – broken, if that could even be a way to describe a person. Like he'd been through hell and back again. It was clear he hadn't shaved, if the faint lines of shadow tapering across his jaw was of any indication, and his hair fell haphazardly into his tired green eyes. But he was everything I imagined and everything I hoped to see.

He saw me first and his eyes seemed to brighten, and I thought if I'd seen light before, it was nothing compared to the light I saw in his eyes now. He strode quickly across the front yard, just as Lorraine left my side to rush over to Lance and Spike. It wasn't until I was close enough that he paused in his tracks, barely a few inches separating us, and he exhaled.

"Quinn."

"Hi," I breathed and maybe it was that, the way he finally spoke again only to say my name, that made me pitch forward as I leaned on the tips of my toes, stealing the breath right out of his lungs when I pressed my lips to his.