Leah knew that she didn't have enough time on her hands. She turned and glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. Half past ten. If she didn't hurry, then the buyer who had purchased her would certainly come to look for her. She couldn't allow that to happen. Not when—Leah gulped and shook her head before saying to herself, "Everything will be fine."
However, as she peered out of the window, she let out a soft gasp. A gasp that soon disappeared in the billow of wind that was blowing through the window that was situated in the high tower. Leah looked at the distance between the ground and the window and soon realised that the Goddess had played another joke on her. What was the point of letting her have hope if it was going to be snatched at last?
But the thought of staying put and waiting for the man who had purchased her to come and take her to the bed behind her churned her stomach. She couldn't stay here. She. Needed. To. Get. Out.
Turning on her feet, Leah scrambled around the room. First, she snatched the bedsheet from the bed, followed by the curtains and the clothes in the broken wardrobe that sat quietly in the corner of the room. Anything that could be used to make the makeshift rope to get out of this room, Leah took it without thinking twice.
She would have enough time to worry about the stolen laundry once she got out of this damned tower.
As she tied knot after knot, Leah couldn't help but complain. Why was she not born with the same power as Rapunzel? Just a bit different, where she would not drop dead if she used her own hair to get out of this nasty tower. Alright, she admitted that she was getting way off track.
The restraints in her hands clanked and crinkled, making it even harder for her to finish tying the knots. Leah scrunched up her brows, feeling annoyed and frustrated by her slow speed. However, even if she was moving at the pace of a turtle, she knew that she had to continue moving.
The pressure in her stomach doubled with each passing second. Why? Why did she have to be what she was and not a witch? That way, she could have just snapped her finger and got this thing done.
But if you were not what you are, then you wouldn't be here, a voice in her head tittered.
'Shut up,' snapped Leah.
She finished tying the last knot and then, without wasting another second, she turned on her feet and scrambled to the window with the pile of tangled rope that she had created with whatever she could find at the moment. Upon arriving at the window, Leah threw the fabric rope out. But!
Leah looked down at the rope that didn't even reach halfway to the tower and gritted her teeth. "If I am going to break my legs anyway, why did I even bother making this damned thing?" She raised her head and glared at the sky. There had to be some sort of grudge between her and the Big Sister up there because there was no way a person's life could be this fucked up.
With another look at the poor excuse of dangling rope, Leah turned her head and looked back. Her eyes were searching the room in hopes that she would find something… but when she didn't, Leah turned her attention to the mattress covers. With her head grappling with the knowledge that she was about to get fucked big time if she didn't get out of this tower, Leah rushed to the bed.
Though the restraints in her head made it impossible for her to shift and escape, she could do small labour like tearing the bed mattress. Don't ask her. She was not in charge of this auction house and had no idea how the minds of the people here worked. Anyway, she was not going to complain because whoever came up with the idea of using these restraints was helping her in her escape.
Good news. Leah succeeded.
Bad news.
The second she finished tearing off the covers, the lock of the door turned and with a creak, it was pushed open.
For a good two seconds, the man who purchased her stared at Leah while Leah stared right back at him.
And then the man was advancing on her, causing Leah to drop the torn covers to the floor as she stepped further and further back.
"Did you really think that you could escape me?" growled the man. Even though his face was covered with the mask, Leah could still smell him. A pallas cat.
A part of her. The reckless one, who was still not able to understand the situation they were in at the moment, wanted to retort and tell the man that she really, for a second, thought that she would be able to escape if not for her bad luck.
Her eyes flicked to the window once again. If only they were on a floor that was a bit closer to the ground.
The man growled upon seeing her eyes flickering. He had paid a grand sum to get this woman, and the thought of her running away was like a blow to his shifter pride. He stepped inside the room, with muscles rippling beneath his shirt; each moment was deliberate and slow, just like a predator circling its prey.
A bead of sweat rolled down Leah's temple as she stumbled backwards. Now that she was facing the shifter, she realised that she was in real danger. With her hands in restraints and her feet tied in shifter-resistant chains, she was literally helpless. Her heartbeat started to thump in her ears as she tried to reason with the man. "Ca... can we talk this through? I mean — I never agreed with this auction. It was just my stepmother—"
A growl ripped through the room, which silenced most of Leah's words. Ah, okay. Got it.