Crowned by Fate Chapter 72

Skye's POV

The bathroom door rattled as one of the guards pounded his fist against it.

"Two minutes are up," he growled through the door. "You coming out or are we coming in?"

"Just a second!" I called back, my heart racing as I stared at the narrow window high on the wall.

It was my only chance. The window was small—too small for most adults to fit through—but I'd spent three years as a lone wolf learning how to make myself invisible, how to squeeze into impossibly tight spaces when hunters or other threats came too close.

I quickly stripped off my torn bridesmaid outfit, the fabric already stained and tattered from our captivity. The dress had been beautiful once, a piece of my brief connection to the human world. Now it was just another reminder of everything Kane had destroyed.

I pumped the liquid soap dispenser repeatedly, coating my hands, arms, and shoulders with the slippery substance. Then, after a moment's consideration, I smeared it around the window frame as well.

"What's taking so long?" The guard pounded again, his voice edged with suspicion.

"Female problems!" I shouted back, hoping the awkward subject would buy me a few more precious seconds. "Just need another minute!"

I dragged the small trash can beneath the window and climbed up, my soap-slicked fingers grasping the windowsill. With a deep breath, I wedged my head and one shoulder through the narrow opening, twisting my body at an unnatural angle.

The frame scraped against my skin, threatening to hold me fast. I pushed harder, feeling my shoulder joint strain against the pressure. A sharp, blinding pain shot through me as my shoulder dislocated with a sickening pop. I bit down hard on my lower lip, tasting blood as I fought to stay silent.

Keep going. For Nadia. For Adrian. For Oasisborn.

With my shoulder dislocated, I gained the precious extra centimeters needed to wiggle my torso through. My hips nearly stopped me, but I twisted sideways, using the soap to slide inch by painful inch through the opening.

"That's it!" The guard's voice was followed by the sound of a key in the lock. "We're coming in!"

With a final desperate push, I squeezed through completely, tumbling onto a narrow ledge outside. Below me, a metal drainpipe ran down the side of the building. I could hear the bathroom door slamming open, followed by a string of profanities as the guards discovered my absence.

I tore a strip from my discarded T-shirt and wrapped it around my hands to muffle any sound. Then, cradling my dislocated arm against my body, I grasped the drainpipe and began my descent, sliding down as fast as I dared.

Halfway down, I spotted a window ledge jutting out from the second floor. A row of white coats and scrubs hung on a drying rack just inside the slightly open window—the hospital's laundry room. Silently thanking whatever luck had placed it in my path, I swung myself onto the ledge and snatched a white lab coat and surgical cap through the gap.

Donning my stolen disguise with shaking hands, I steeled myself for what came next. My instinct screamed at me to run—to flee as far and as fast as possible from Kane's territory. But instinct would get me caught. They'd expect me to run. They'd have guards stationed at every exit, warriors patrolling the perimeter.

No, my only chance was to hide in plain sight. At least until nightfall.

I slid down the rest of the drainpipe and ducked into a service entrance, pulling the surgical cap low over my distinctive silver hair. The pain in my shoulder was becoming unbearable, white spots dancing at the edges of my vision. I needed somewhere to hide, somewhere I could reset my shoulder without being discovered.

The hospital's lower level was a maze of corridors and storage rooms. Following the signs for Maintenance, I found myself in a narrow hallway lined with mechanical equipment. At the end stood a door marked "Boiler Room - Authorized Personnel Only."

Perfect. The cacophony of hissing pipes and rumbling machinery would mask any sounds I made while resetting my shoulder. I slipped inside, finding a labyrinth of massive tanks and snaking pipes that generated the hospital's heat and hot water.

In the farthest corner, behind the largest boiler, I found a small maintenance alcove—just enough space for a person to crawl in and service the equipment. A discarded janitor's jacket hung from a hook nearby, which I balled up to use as a pillow.

First things first. I braced myself against the wall, took a deep breath, and with one swift motion, jammed my shoulder back into its socket. A scream bubbled up in my throat, but I caught it between my teeth, muffling it to a low whimper that was swallowed by the mechanical symphony around me.

For hours, I huddled in that hidden alcove, listening to the occasional rush of footsteps and urgent voices as Kane's warriors searched the hospital. Through the tiny ventilation grate, I caught snippets of conversation:

"—can't have gotten far—"

"—Alpha Kane wants her found before—"

"—search teams at all borders—"

As daylight faded outside, so did the intensity of the search within the hospital. They believed I'd escaped the building entirely—exactly as I'd hoped.

When night fell completely, I carefully emerged from my hiding place, my muscles stiff and aching from hours crammed in the tiny space. I adjusted my stolen lab coat and made my way toward the upper levels, moving with purpose but keeping my head down.

Near the staff exit, I overheard two werewolves in security uniforms complaining to each other.

"Overtime again," the taller one grumbled, checking his watch. "Because some silver-haired bitch couldn't stay put."

"Alpha Kane's got everyone on double shifts," his partner agreed. "Every available warrior at the territory borders. Like she'd actually be stupid enough to run straight for the boundary line."

"If I were her, I'd be halfway to Mexico by now," the first guard snorted.

I slipped past them, my heart racing but my pace measured and calm. Outside, the night air hit my face like a blessing after hours in the stuffy boiler room. I took a moment to get my bearings, then looked back at the hospital's illuminated windows.

One of those lights was Nadia's room. My Beta. My friend. The woman who had swallowed poison to give me this chance.

"I swear, Nadia," I whispered into the darkness. "I'll come back for you. Adrian and I both will."

With that promise burning in my heart, I turned and began moving through the shadows, heading not toward the territory border where Kane's warriors waited, but deeper into Gravestone Pack's domain. I would find my way out where they least expected—through the heart of enemy territory itself.

Every step took me closer to Adrian, closer to freedom, closer to the strength I'd need to return and save Nadia from Kane's clutches. The night embraced me as I ran, silver hair hidden beneath the surgical cap, my wolf's spirit guiding me through the darkness toward home.