Chapter 3 Trapped

• Anila POV
• “Gina!!! Get in here and help me!” Claire yelled throughout the house to my sister.
• I struggled against Claire’s stronghold, trying desperately to get to the door. But every time I tried to rip my arm out of her grip, her nails would dig into my flesh.
• Gina was rushing down the stairs and when she saw me, her eyes grew large and round.
• “What the—” She began to ask.
• “Help me get her to her room,” Claire growled, grabbing onto my other arm and making it impossible for me to move.
• Gina nodded and rushed toward me, grabbing a hold of my feet, and causing me to become airborne.
• I screamed loudly for them to release me. I screamed for help. I screamed for Xaden. I screamed until my throat had gone raw. But it was no use. Nobody could hear me. I was all alone and as Claire said, I was never going to leave. I was never going to be free.
• I was a true prisoner.
• They took me upstairs and they threw me onto the floor in my small bedroom. I hit the hardwood with a thump, and I was too weak from fighting to stand once they released me.
• With a hollow laugh, Claire stared down at me, shaking her head with disgust on her face.
• “You thought it was going to be that easy?” She asked, her tone dark. “You are nothing more than a mortal disappointment. You aren’t special, Anila. You never were and you never will be. You aren’t worthy enough for that school. You’ll embarrass yourself. I did you a favor by ripping that letter.”
• “You won’t get away with this, Claire,” I said through my teeth, surprised by how strong my voice sounded despite my current situation.
• She laughed loudly this time.
• “Oh, sweetheart. I already got away with it. Do you really think anybody would care if you went missing?” Claire asked. “Nobody cares, or ever cared, about you, not even your own father.”
• “You’re wrong,” I said, lifting my head off the ground so I could stare daggers at my stepmother. “Xaden Gresham gave me this invitation. He cares. He will come for me.”
• This made Claire and Gina both laugh.
• “THE Xaden Gresham?” Gina asked between chuckles. “Now I know you are lying. Xaden Gresham is the hottest guy in the entire world. There’s no way he’d pay you any attention.”
• Fury boiled through me.
• “If anything, it was probably just a joke,” Gina added.
• Claire bent and grabbed my face with her hands, forcing me to look at her.
• “Your father would be so disappointed in you; as always,” she murmured before releasing me.
• Her words left me broken as she turned and left the room with Gina following after her, still chuckling at the thought of Xaden Gresham paying me any attention.
• I heard the latching of the lock outside the door, and I knew before checking the door that it was locked. She had a lock installed on my door when I was 7, and she had locked me in here before.
• But now it felt different. Now I felt suffocated.
• I was truly stuck, and I don’t even think Xaden could get me out of here.
• The only thing I could do was crawl into bed and close my eyes, wishing that this terrible day could just come to an end.
• By the time night fell, I was emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted.
• I was heartbroken and disappointed.
• As the night went on, I was starting to doubt that Xaden would ever find me. My heart squeezed painfully in my chest, but I shouldn’t have been surprised.
• Maybe Claire and Gina were right; maybe it was just a cruel joke.
• I curled up in bed, wondering to myself if this was truly the life I was meant to have. Xaden was convinced when he said I was a werewolf. It’s the only way I’d be able to be his mate.
• This was something that I could only ever dream of.
• I should have known that it was too good to be true.
• I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to chase away my raddled thoughts. But I was awoken around 11:30 pm with a loud knocking on the front door.
• The scent of citrus and blackberries assaulted my nose and the familiar feeling of tightness formed in my chest. I sat up in bed quickly.
• Xaden.
• He was here.
• I heard Claire muttering something as she walked out of her room. I quickly got out of bed and rushed to my bedroom door. My room was practically a closet with a twin-sized bed, so it didn’t take long to reach the door. It was still locked, but if I pressed my ear to the door, I might be able to hear what was going on downstairs.
• “Do you have any idea what time it is?” Claire hissed as she yanked the door open. I was glad she spoke loud enough for me to hear. “Whatever you are selling we are not interested.”
• “I apologize, mam. I’m not selling anything,” Xaden’s voice was like a warm blanket that wrapped around my frigid body and soothed away all the anxieties I had felt in my lifetime. “My name is Xaden Gresham and I’m here to pick up Anila Montgomery.”
• “Anila isn’t going anywhere with you,” Claire shot back.
• “She has been accepted to the Lunar Academy,” Xaden said in return. “She’s expected to arrive at the school tomorrow night.”
• His voice was calm, and I knew that alone was driving Claire crazy.
• “I don’t care. She’s not going,” Claire argued. “You have it all wrong. She’s not special.”
• “We don’t make mistakes—”
• “She’s not even home,” Claire lied, interrupting him. “So, you are wasting your time here.”
• I heard the creaking of the door as she attempted to shut it, but it quickly stopped. I knew Xaden must have put his hand or foot on the door, preventing it from clothing all the way.
• “I know you are lying,” Xaden said simply. “I can smell her.”
• “You can what??” Claire asked, her eyes narrowing.
• Before she could get another word out, I heard footsteps walking into the house and they didn’t stop. They were getting closer, and my entire heart was beating rapidly against my ribcage. I stepped away from my bedroom door as the footsteps neared.
• “You can’t just barge into my house!” Claire growled, chasing after him. “You need to leave Mr. Gresham!!”
• I heard Gina gasping loudly as Xaden walked past her bedroom and neared mine.
• He truly could smell me.
• Excitement boiled in my chest as he paused outside my door and tried the door handle before realizing it was locked.
• With little effort, Xaden kicked my door, and it swung open with force; I watched as the lock crumbled to the ground.
• My mouth fell open in shock.
• Xaden’s eyes met mine and his gaze softened.
• “Told you I’d find you,” he said, giving me a lopsided grin that made my heart skip a beat.
• I opened my mouth to speak, but Claire’s voice stopped me.
• “I will call the police if you take her!!” Claire whined. “This is kidnapping.”
• Xaden took hold of my hand, his eyes pouring into mine. Then, he winked at me, and he turned to face Claire with his hand still tucked into mine.
• “Anila is an adult,” he told her simply. “They would care more about you keeping her prisoner than me taking her away.”
• The color in Claire’s face drained and her mouth hung open in shock.
• “You have no right…” Claire growled.
• She raised her hand and for a second, I thought she was going to slap him. I wouldn’t put it past her to try something stupid like that. But just as her hand neared his face, she completely froze.
• Her eyes widened and I saw panic consuming her face.
• “I… I can’t move,” she said in a strained voice. “What did you do??”