Under His Rule (Dark Romance Suspense)

by Clarissa Wild

  He grabs my arm. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Let me go. I’m the president’s daughter,” I say through gritted teeth.

  “You’re forgetting you’re also my wife now. A patriarch stands above all, including matriarchs and daughters of presidents,” he quips. “And do you honestly think he’ll listen to you? You’re mistaken if you think he’s a kind man.”

  I’m fuming, and I don’t believe a word he says. “I don’t care. It’s worth trying.”

  “You’re just doing this to try to hurt me,” he says. “I know I’ve caused you a lot of pain, but doing this won’t make it any better, Natalie, and you know that. Revenge is never an answer to solve your problems.”

  “It’s a start,” I spit back.

  Suddenly, a large explosion rocks me to my core, and I duck, and so does Noah.

  “What was that?” I yell.

  “I don’t know,” he says, which makes it even scarier.

  How does he, a patriarch, not know what’s going on in his own community? They set the rules, they govern, they punish … which means if he doesn’t know, someone’s gone rogue.

  Noah helps me up from the floor, and asks, “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” I reply, even though I’m still mad at him.

  “Stay here,” he says, and he immediately runs out the door.

  I rush out toward the staircase and peer over the banisters. All the guards and even the regular helpers around the house are scattering and running around, most of them heading for the door with what looks like buckets and hoses. What the heck is going on out there?

  I tiptoe down the stairs to have a closer look. I know he told me to stay in my room, but I can’t help it … I’ve always been a rule breaker.

  The front door is wide open with no one in sight. Should I take the chance?

  Clutching the doorframe, I gaze outside. Out in the distance, there’s a hut … or what remains of it. It’s completely in shambles, and a fire’s destroying the wooden rubble as well as the grass surrounding it.

  “Oh my …”

  I can’t even finish my sentence as I witness the onslaught down below. Several huts are on fire, and it’s spreading so quickly there’s no stopping it. The people are gathering around the fires, throwing buckets filled with water from the wells, but it’s like throwing a glass of water into a giant burning pile. They have hoses, but even those can’t fill up quickly enough to fight the fires.

  Another explosion follows. I duck again and cover myself as debris flies everywhere across the community grounds.

  That’s when I spot her … the woman huddled in a corner of one of the burning huts …

  My mother.

  “Mom, no!” I yell, but it falls on deaf ears. “Someone save her!”

  There’s no one around, so I run down the steps onto the pavement and across the grass.

  But then her eyes home in on mine, and the dark, blank stare she sends in my direction is chilling to the bone. She rigidly shakes her head at me. At first, I think I’m seeing things again, that what’s happening isn’t real, but it is. I know it is because people swarm all around the buildings in an effort to save them … and to stop the fires she started.

  A single look is all it takes to tell the truth.

  Just one look … and I know she did this.

  On purpose.

  She mouths two words. “Go. Now.”

  My breath catches in my throat as my lips part and tears fill my eyes.

  I want to shake my head at her, scream, run to her, save her from the fire all by myself, even if it kills me, but a strongly non-worded, “No,” from her mouth as she shakes her head stops me from doing just that.

  My lips rub together as I struggle to keep the tears at bay. And then she smiles. It’s a simple smile, but a smile that could light a thousand hearts.

  I give her back the best smile I could ever muster.

  And then I run.

  Chapter 29

  Noah

  “Stand in line! Hand each other buckets!” I yell across the crowd as they hurry to get together in a straight line and pass along the water to douse the fire, but it’s not enough. I delegate the helpers to bring the hoses, and for some of them to open the faucets to our emergency tank. This brings down the fire significantly, but it’s still razing in several places, and it’s hard to break through.

  Some patriarchs and guards are standing watch to keep the crowd calm so there isn’t a fight and to keep the women and children out of danger. I do my best to keep the fire at bay and to make sure everyone’s working in sync.

  Something like this has never happened before in our community.

  A fire, yes … but not of this scale.

  Who did this? And what set it off?

  An explosion is all I heard, and when I stepped outside, the fire was already consuming everything. There was no time to lose and no time to think. I had to act.

  But then I see her … the woman in the back of the hut … and my pupils dilate.

  Marsha.

  “Quick! Get an ax, something to break open the door!” I yell at one of the men.

  Smoke quickly envelops her, and I can no longer see where she is, but I know she’s in there. Did she cause this? I don’t see anyone else in there, nor do I hear any screams. There’s no other explanation, but why? Just to get revenge on me? Or is there more at stake?

  Natalie.

  I left her safe in her room … but what if she isn’t?

  Shit.

  I immediately spin on my heels and run across the community grounds. My lungs fill with oxygen as I skid across the grass, shoes covered in mud, my heart racing as I try to run up the stairs as fast as I possibly can.

  I don’t care about the dirty footsteps I leave behind. I have to find her … I have to find my wife.

  “Natalie!” I yell as I run up the flight of stairs and slide across the hallway to get to her room. “Natalie!”

  I burst into her room without warning, hoping she’s there, but there’s no one in sight. “Natalie?” My voice strains at the thought that there’s even a slight possibility that she’s not here … because if she’s not …

  She’ll disappear.

  “Natalie, answer me!” I growl as I march through her room and open every closet and look under her bed. She hasn’t left a single trace … except for the lights in the bathroom, which are still on.

  I march toward it, hoping to find her inside. Instead, there’s the mere ghost of her presence … and a tiny stick lying on the floor.

  Frowning, I pick it up and stare at it for a few seconds before I realize what it is.

  Natalie … is carrying my child.

  Natalie

  When no one’s looking, I slip into one of the empty huts that belong to people who are helping to douse the fire, and I steal a coat hanging from the wall. I quickly cover myself and put on a scarf to hide my long hair. Finally, I borrow a pair of boots that I doubt they’ll miss and put them on.

  Some guards pass the hut, and I freeze, hiding right next to the door. A few seconds later, I take a peek around. Everyone’s still busy with the fire, so when the coast is clear, I make a run for it.

  I go straight for the fence in the distance to the edge that’s the farthest away from the fire. There’s a small part there not covered by barbwires, which I spotted a long time ago, but it was always swarming with guards near the place.

  Not anymore.

  Adrenaline shoots through my veins as I run as fast as my legs will take me. With no one here to stop me, this is my only chance at freedom. The air is cold and harsh, but it won’t stop me from finding a way out of here.

  Suddenly, someone runs into me from the side, and I almost fall to the ground but manage to catch myself just in time. In shock, I turn, ready to fight whoever attacked me.

  But the moment I realize it’s Emmy, I freeze and stare at her.

  “You,” I murmur. I grab her by the arms and pull her close. “What are
you doing here?” I mutter under my breath.

  She looks scared. “Take me with you.”

  My eyes widen, and I glance over her shoulder and to the side to see if anyone’s listening.

  “Are you kidding? You could get killed,” I say.

  “I don’t care. I want to see the world,” she replies.

  I grind my teeth together and look around again. I don’t have much time. They’ll stop the fire soon, and then they’ll get back to their posts, and Noah will go look for me in my chamber and realize I’m not there … and then he’ll come looking for me.

  “I can’t take on charity projects right now, sorry,” I say, and I let her go and grasp the fence.

  Right as I’m about to climb up, she says, “I’ll tell on you if you don’t.”

  My eyes twitch. I almost want to smack her, but I realize that would probably only make her more inclined to run back and tell them what I’m about to do.

  Resting my head against the fence, I sigh out loud. “Fine.”

  I turn my head and see her smile from ear to ear. Fuck.

  “C’mon.” I hold out my hand, and she grabs it eagerly. “Climb up.” I push her ahead of me and shove her up. She’s slow and not steady at all. Has she ever done something like this before?

  “Hurry up!” I hiss.

  “I’m trying,” she says. “But my dress keeps snagging on the wires.”

  I reach for her long white skirt, and with both hands, I tear a piece off the bottom.

  “Hey!” She looks down at me.

  “What are you waiting for? Go!” I bark.

  And with a foul grimace, she shuts her mouth and continues to climb. When she’s over the edge, I follow her. Before I reach the top, I can’t help but look over my shoulder and scan the horizon. In the distance, the fire blazes … and the hut that has my mother’s body in it is turned to soot.

  I swallow away the lump in my throat as tears well up, but I push them back.

  No time to cry. No time to feel sorry for myself.

  My mother sacrificed herself so I could be free … so I could live.

  “Thank you,” I whisper even though I know she can’t hear it. “I love you.”

  And then I jump over the fence, grab Emmy’s hand, and run.

  The end … for now!

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  Natalie

  Hands locked, we run through the woods as fast as we can, away from the Community, away from … a Cult.

  I never thought I would be able to escape, that I’d be in this position right now and would be running for my life. I tried so many times and never succeeded … and then suddenly it happened. There was a chance, a moment in time, and I took it and fled.

  With her selfless act, my mother created an opening for me. With her sacrifice, she distracted the guards and allowed me to cross the fence and rush off into the unknown. But anywhere is better than that place … and I can’t ever thank her enough for what she’s done.

  Tears stream down my face, but I force myself to stop feeling any emotions. If she’s gone, I can’t let her death be in vain. I don’t know where I am, but as long as I’m going in the opposite direction of the fence I’m going the right way. I will never, ever, turn back willingly.

  Suddenly, Emmy stops, and almost pulls me down with her.

  I forgot she was here with me, running alongside me as though she has something to run from.

  She grew up there, she loves the place, and yet she wanted to come with me … like some kind of fun day out.

  She’s gasping for air. “Wait. I need a second to breathe.”

  “We can’t,” I say, trying to jerk her along. “They’ll notice we’re missing soon.”

  She places her hands on her knees and breathes out loud. “Just … One … Second.”

  I frantically look around the forest to see if there’s anyone there. Even though the fence is already long out of sight, I can’t help but feel as though I’m watched wherever I go. What if someone saw us jump over? What if someone’s behind us right now?

  “C’mon!” I say through gritted teeth.

  “Okay, okay!” she says begrudgingly.

  Why am I even waiting for her? She has no reason to run. No one’s trying to ruin her life by enforcing her to live a life she didn’t want. No one pulled her out of her world and stuck her into a cult only to be forced to marry a man just so she could birth his babies.

  She thinks it’s normal, which is why I don’t understand why she wants to come with me. And why I should even care.

  WOOF! WOOF!

  My eyes and ears perk up. The sudden sound of howls and barks has me on edge.

  “Wolves?”

  Emmy’s eyes widen as she leans up. “Hounds,” she mutters, lips tremoring.

  Without thinking about it any longer, I spin on my heels and run. Hounds are a game-changer. If they let them loose … there’s no way we can escape.

  “Wait for me!” Emmy yells, chasing behind me.

  “Be quiet!” I whisper-yell back at her over my shoulder.

  I keep running, despite having no shoes on my feet. Fallen branches and autumn leaves crackle and poke into my bare soles, but the slight sting is forgettable compared to the pain I’ve had to endure in that Community. In the wilderness I feel alive, and nothing energizes me more than the smell of freedom.

  Emmy has trouble keeping up, but she won’t stop tailing me. I never said she should come, but she invited herself the minute she threatened to expose my escape plan to the Elders. But they know now, so she has no power against me anymore.

  For a brief moment I stop and spin on my heels. “Stop following me.”

  “What? No, I wanna come with you.”

  The hounds bark again. We both flinch and lower ourselves as to not be seen.

  “They already know I fled,” I hiss. “I don’t have to take you anywhere.”

  “But I—”

  “Leave!” I hiss.

  Tears well up in her eyes, and it almost, almost hurts to see her cry because of something I said. But she’s one of them, I shouldn’t feel sorry for her.

  “Go back home. You belong there.” I point where we came from, towards the sound of the hounds.

  “No,” she says, shaking her head. “I want to see your world.”

  I grab her by her white dress. “I’m not gonna take on a charity project! Don’t you understand? This is life or death.”

  She seems shaken by my words, unable to reply, so I let her go. “You’ll only cause me more problems.”

  “I promise, I won’t,” she says, right as I spin around.

  I sigh to myself and say, “Whatever. Suit yourself.”

  I can’t stop her from doing what she wants, even though I wish for nothing more. But I have no power to stop her and I don’t want to resort to violence. She wants to thrust herself into her own grave? Fine by me.

  “I’m not going to protect you when shit hits the fan,” I reply.

  She pauses and frowns. “The what?”

  Of course, she wouldn’t know what that phrase means. I roll my eyes. The minute I got beyond that fence it was like my past self flooded back in, along with all the words I was forbidden from using in that Community.

  “Nothing. Just stay out of my way,” I growl, and I run off.

  I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to think about her, or any of the things I left behind there in that hell hole. I just want to go home … if I still have one.

  Noah said he’d released my contract from work and gotten me vacated from the house. Did he mean it or was it just a threat to keep me quiet? What if I did lose everything I ever knew? Where will I go now?

  Well, anyplace is better than here. The forest is cold and merciless at night, we won’t stand a chance if we stay here.

 
I glance over my shoulder, and sure enough, she’s still there tracking my trail. She just won’t give up. If I wasn’t so hell-bent on getting away from people like her, I would think it’s courageous. But I don’t. I think she’s trying to get herself killed. But why? Wasn’t she happy there in the Community? She always told me she was … even said I should smile more.

  Just the thought makes me want to give her an earful.

  Not now, Natalie. Focus on getting out of here.

  First I need to get back to a normal city. Or a town. Or anything, really, as long as it has normal people in it, with normal clothes, and normal behavior.

  WOOF!

  The hounds sound like they’re getting closer. I can’t lose any time.

  I rush through the leaves and jump over big rocks, ignoring the pain in my feet. My lungs suck in the oxygen as my muscles work hard to get me through this rough landscape. There’s no roads or familiar tracks in sight, just miles and miles of forest, puddles and rocks.

  “There! A stream,” Emmy says, pointing in the distance.

  I nod and run towards it with her right on my feet. The water is deep, but not too deep that we could possibly drown in it. If we wade through it, maybe we can go upstream and ditch the trackers. It could work.

  Emmy leans over to touch the water down below and immediately retracts her hand. “It’s cold.”

  “Take off your dress,” I growl, as I do the same.

  “What?”

  “You wanted to come with me? You do what I say!”

  She reluctantly peels off her dress.

  “Throw it as far away as you can,” I say.

  When she does, I throw mine in the opposite direction. Hopefully, it’ll confuse the hounds just a bit.

  “Get in,” I say, and I jump in first. The water is frigid and my body instantly erupts into a shivering mess covered in goosebumps, but I ignore it.

  Emmy’s not doing what I say. “C’mon!”

  If she stays, she’ll get caught … and then she might point them in my direction in spite. I can’t take that risk.

  “But—”

  I hold out my hand. “This is the only way.”