Escaping The Beast: A Darkhills Romance (The Darkhills Series Book 2) by Elizabeth Greene (young adult books to read TXT) 📕

No. She wouldn’t let herself be beaten.

She’d grown up tough and savvy. She was smart and capable. Lord Nightingale wouldn’t subdue her so easily. She scanned the opposite wall again, looking down at ground level. In the corner that adjoined her side of the courtyard, there was a light coming from a covered basement window. Bingo.

Katherine ran back out of her room, and straight down the stairwell back down to ground level. Just as she suspected the stairwell continued downward. There was at least another level below. She hurriedly ran down to the next level and inwardly cheered when she found a well-lit corridor leading along what she guessed was the front perimeter of the mansion. She tried every door as she went, most were storage cupboards or were locked. Finally, she came across one door that opened into a brightly lit kitchen.

It was huge and had a clinical stainless steel look about it. Despite the traditional and dated feel of the mansion, the kitchen would’ve been the envy of any chef worth their salt. Katherine wasn’t in the mood for cooking however, she needed to escape and get to the town to find help before Lord Nightingale or Mr. Jones caught up with her. She paced around the central island and over in the far corner she spied what she had been looking for. A back door.

She rushed to it and let out a victorious cry as the handle gave under her hand and it swung back, revealing iron steps leading up to ground level.

She took the steps two at a time and sprinted for the front of the mansion, only to skid to a halt. Her rental car was gone. She’d given the keys to her father.

Dammit.

She looked down the driveway to where she knew the bridge across the chasm was behind the heavy fog that had crept in. She would be running into it blind. Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention, she felt like she was being watched. She looked frantically all-around before peering up at the mansion. There were numerous windows looking out above her, she couldn’t make out anyone standing at any of them but it got her thinking. She’d likely be spotted heading across the bridge and then it’d be all too easy to catch up to her and drag her back to her gilded cage.

She glanced back the way she had run and looked at the tall trees that rose steadily up the hills behind the Tumbricane estate. She always did enjoy cross country running, and she had decided to explore her surroundings today. There had to be another town or house further up the mountain where she could seek help.

With her mind made up, Katherine broke into a run and disappeared into the forest.

Chapter Five

Lucian

Dammit.

Lucian cursed for the umpteenth time as he paced the length of his suite.

Katherine had gone. He wasn’t sure why she had run and left the safety of the Tumbricane estate but she had. What’s more, she hadn’t headed back towards Darkhills, she had chosen to go deep into the mountains that rose up behind his mansion. While he knew any wolf shifters or bear shifters in the area would likely avoid a run-in with any human. He couldn’t be sure about any of the truly wild creatures that lived in the mountains.

He cursed his own existence as he waited anxiously for the sun to dip low enough in the sky for him to risk leaving the shelter of his home. He had considered sending Mr. Jones but he had no faith in the older gentleman’s ability to find her. The poor man didn’t do well in unfamiliar surroundings and Lucian doubted he would be able to track her even if he tried.

The one trick he had up his sleeve, however, was that he had summoned the clouds with his mind to descend on Tumbricane, covering the land in a heavy fog. It would help block out any glimmer of the sun as soon as dusk arrived; he wouldn’t need to wait for full dark. It might sting his eyes a little, but the discomfort wouldn’t last long, and quite frankly his discomfort was the least of his worries.

Katherine had been gone for hours and hadn’t returned. Anything could’ve happened to her during that time. He had promised to ensure her safety during her two-month stay with him, and yet, not twenty-four hours had passed and he had already failed. Failure was not something that Lucian did often.

Why had she run? Lucian thought back again to every interaction they had shared since her arrival. He had been understanding that she still did not wish to dine with him, he had offered to have whatever it was she required brought to her. She had said she had enjoyed her breakfast. Something that had pleased him greatly. He hadn’t known what she would have preferred so had chosen what would’ve suited his palate, had he still eaten food. He had always enjoyed cooking, even when he was a young boy he had spent countless hours in the kitchens of his family home in England pestering the cook to let him help. For Katherine to say she enjoyed his cooking, was a rare pleasure. He hadn’t cooked for anyone in years.

Perhaps he had been too forward, asking her so soon if she would reconsider joining him for dinner? Perhaps the gift of the rose had been too much? He cursed his ridiculousness. He was centuries old. She was a beautiful, smart, bold, and dignified young woman in her prime. What had he been thinking?

Lucian drew his hand over his face. He knew what he had been thinking. He had been thinking that he had never been more captivated and intrigued by someone in his long existence. There was something so rare about her, so guarded and yet vulnerable, it called to him. He had wanted to throttle her