Tight ropes shackled Serafina's hands, causing her wrists to ache as she sat on the cold dirt floor of a crude wooden cabin. Her stomach turned as the air filled with the scent of unwashed humans and damp mud. Nestled deep in the forest and out of the Night Wind Pack's range of sight, the rogue camp was a somber place.
Her captors had spoken in low tones as they had carried her here in the dark. She was significant leverage against her father, Alpha Jacob Barduff, as their leader, a grizzled outlaw with a scar across his cheek, had made clear. This implied that they would not murder her just yet. However, Serafina was aware that their restriction was insufficient.
Shortly after her arrival, she had made her first effort at escape. She had used a sharp pebble to shred the ropes around her wrists as she waited for her guards to get preoccupied. She was about to escape and run for the trees when she was pinned down by a huge wolf. As they brought her back, her kidnappers tightened the bonds even more while laughing.
She persisted. The second effort was more strategic. For a whole day she had watched their patterns, the lulls in their patrols. She had crawled on her stomach through the underbrush after squeezing through a tiny opening in the hut's wall under the cover of darkness. She was almost free when a renegade caught her scent in the air and pulled her back.
Now, Serafina sat in the shadowy cabin, her mind racing. She had another chance. One final attempt before they get too cautious. She heard the low-pitched voices of the rogues outside, bragging about their imminent victory and giggling. She planned to exploit their lack of confidence in her.
She took a deep breath and scanned the hut for anything she could use as a weapon. Another escape was almost imminent, and this time she would be successful.