Meanwhile, Bella was standing on the snow-dusted balcony, wearing nothing but the oversized T-shirt Benzy had given her after her confrontation with Abbey and Johnny. The cold night bit at her skin, the snow swirling around her, but she didn’t care. Wolves were naturally warm creatures, and while she could tolerate the cold to a degree, it had been years since she’d faced snow like this. Her arms were already trembling, and her teeth chattered as she rubbed her arms to keep warm.
Tyler will be fine once we’re out there, Bella thought, shivering. Her thick coat will protect her.
Her eyes scanned the ground below, searching for a way down from the balcony. The drop was daunting, but it wasn’t impossible. As a teenager, she’d climbed down the drainpipe of her parents’ house more times than she could count, sneaking out to play hide and sneak with the Alpha Unit boys in the snow.
But this wasn’t a game anymore. She wasn’t sneaking out for fun. She was trying to escape for real this time. The stakes were higher, the risks more severe. And even if she managed to get out of the Luna Suite, how would she get her children out of the pack? The snowstorm was intensifying, the roads were treacherous, and she had no plan beyond the vague hope of reaching the Winter Moon Pack.
Benzy had told her Luke was dealing with Matt and Nina, and she hoped her adoptive parents would make things difficult for him—difficult enough to keep him occupied until the storm passed and the roads were cleared. If the timing worked out, she could take her father’s car and make her escape. But it was a fragile plan, riddled with uncertainties.
The snow stung her cheeks as she leaned over the balcony railing. She needed to move fast, but she had no phone to check the weather or call for help. She was completely on her own.
We’ll figure it out, Tyler growled in her mind, her tone resolute.
Bella nodded, her determination hardening. We have to.
The drainpipe Bella had been eyeing from the balcony was a good ten feet away, far more difficult to reach than the one she had climbed as a teenager outside her childhood home. That pipe had been conveniently secured right next to her window. This one, however, was positioned precariously far from the balcony railing. Worse, she had no way of knowing if it was properly maintained. Was it firmly attached to the building? Or would it snap under her weight? She pushed the doubts from her mind. There was no room for hesitation.
If she miscalculated the jump, a five-story fall awaited her. The snow piling up below might cushion her landing slightly, but it wasn’t likely to save her from serious injury—or worse. Bella shoved those grim possibilities aside, her determination blazing brighter. She adjusted her plan, placing a sturdy chair flush against the railing to use as a stepping stone. The added height would ensure she didn’t lose momentum when leaping the ten-foot gap. This was her bid for freedom.
Returning to the suite, Bella closed the balcony doors to shut out the icy wind. She needed to warm up first. The climb—or potential slide—down the drainpipe would be physically taxing, and she couldn’t afford to have her fingers or toes go numb mid-descent. Back in her childhood home, a short drop from the second floor was manageable. The snow accumulating outside would likely soften the impact of a fall from that height. But five stories? That required absolute precision.
“We’ll shift as soon as we’re down,” Tyler assured her.
“I know. You’ll handle the cold better than I ever could.”
“We’ll make the jump, Bella. We’ve trained for this.”
Bella nodded. They’d spent years honing their agility and strength, leaping from fallen logs, bounding over rocks, and even vaulting over other pack members during training sessions. Those skills had to serve her now.
She stepped into the bathroom for a hot shower to raise her core body temperature. Keeping her hair dry, Bella let the scalding water warm her to the bone. She lingered under the stream, letting the heat seep into her muscles and chase away the chill of her earlier exposure to the night air. Once her body felt toasty warm, she dried off with the plush towels and readied herself for what came next. It’s now or never.
She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the biting cold outside. Opening the balcony doors, she stepped back into the room to give herself a running start. We can do this, she told herself. Tyler surged forward, lending Bella her wolf’s strength and speed. Together, they ran across the room, stepped onto the chair, and launched themselves into the open space between the balcony and the drainpipe.
The freezing air stung her skin as she reached out, fingers outstretched. The icy surface of the pipe was slick and unforgiving, her human fingers unable to find purchase. Panic spiked as her hand slid off. Tyler surged forward, claws unsheathing instinctively. One hand managed to scrape against the pipe, two claws puncturing its metal surface. They clung to the fragile pipe with all their strength, her other hand desperately grabbing hold.
The pipe groaned under her weight, and Bella felt it begin to shift, creaking ominously. She hooked one foot around the pipe to stabilize herself and brought up her other hand, gripping tightly. The sound of metal straining grew louder.
“It’s going to give!” Bella screamed in her mind.
“Hold on!” Tyler growled, her resolve unwavering. “We won’t fall!”
But the pipe trembled under the strain, and Bella’s heart pounded as she felt the connection between it and the building beginning to weaken. They had seconds—maybe less—before it broke entirely.
