Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

I wake with a start. It is execution day.

"Hey!" a voice says.

I look over to the crack. The girl in the next cell is peering at me.

"You're awake," she says. "Finally."

I sit up. "I was dreaming," I tell her.

I stop short of telling her it was about an Alpha mate of my own choosing.

"Are you ready?" she asks.

"Ready for what?"

"For the plan!" she cries.

A sudden jolt of dread hits me. It is execution day.

I try to compose myself. "Of course I'm ready," I say. "I will follow you."

"Good," she says. "Good."

I get up and peer through the crack in the doorway. I can see the hallway. The guards are waiting outside my cell. Several of them. I guess they're not taking any chances.

They turn and pace toward me. I move back from the door.

It opens.

A guard steps inside.

"Are you ready for the gallows?" he says.

I hold my chin high. "I'm ready."

I have the herb in my pocket. If the girl is telling the truth about it, I will soon be free.

"Let's go," he says.