Page 72 of Rogue & Her Hunters
I grab Bird’s hand, forcing him to run with me again.
Three guards are normally on duty today, and I need to escape without meeting them before the exhaustion from using my Rogue Powers sets in.
It is hard to ignore the clanking of bars and cries from the other Rogues who are locked in the cells on either side of the corridor. They yell out in excitement at our escape but also hold out their arms desperately, calling for us to take them with us.
How can we?
It will be hard enough to evade capture with two of us on the run, rather than one.
A mass escape would either lead to immediate recapture or a massacre.
Bird cringes.
I can sense his guilt through the bond.
“We’ll come back for you,” I shout. “We won’t forget you.”
It’s the best that I can do for now.
“We promise,” Bird adds.
We’re almost at the side door.
I chose this door because it is less monitored than the main doors. I’ve worked out that it leads to the delivery side of the building with a path out to the high fence and then the vast Houndfall Forests.
It will be freezing outside. Bird and I may not survive simply because of the weather.
I know how to cope with such harsh conditions. But what about my Omega who has only known life inside a hotel?
Still, we will die free.
I never knew how much I cherished that.
I fucking do now.
Freedom is more valuable than anything in the world. Strange that people who have it take it for granted. They don’t realize how fragile it is and how easily it can be taken away from them.
Yet inside, I cringe too because we’re leaving Colette behind.
I remember how she whispered, “If you ever think about escaping, you will take me with you, right?”
I swore that I had no pack but the Rogues and that everyone who is locked in this facility ismine.
I meant it.
I still mean it.
How will Colette feel when she discovers that I have run, however, and left her behind?
My insides twist.
I have spent my life obeying others’ orders, dwelling in their darkness. I only held loyalty to myself and my brother.
Yet now, I owe it to Colette and the other Rogues.
This is a new emotion for me.
I am no hero. But I can be their shield.
