Bilba's mind blanked. The young prince was far too close, his presence looming over her like some sort of avenging angel. He took another step and she backed up instinctively, only to bump into the man behind her. A small sound escaped her throat and, from behind her, the older blond man sighed.

"That's enough."

The prince snarled, a sound closer to animal than human, and Bilba jumped. "Are you kidding me? Can't you smell it? She's drenched in his blood!"

That was a tad melodramatic, Bilba thought, not that she was stupid enough to say it. She'd showered, and while she'd made the clear mistake of putting her old clothes back on there weren't any noticeable blood stains on them that she could see.

Not like the inside of her car…

The thought sent a new jolt of fear through her, and she wound her hands into the hem of her shirt, twisting the fabric into a tight knot.

"Terrorizing her isn't going to get us any closer to him." The blond shot back.

Behind them, the mall door was shoved open. Light spilled out from the interior, washing over the blond and causing his eyes to, momentarily, flash a brilliant, blood red.

An image of Lotho flashed through Bilba's mind, so intense and vivid it caused a physical shudder. That image was then followed by a single crystalline thought that emblazoned itself across her brain.

What if Fili hadn't been calling out the name of a savior, but the name of his attacker?

He'd been confused, and half delirious. He'd said Kili's name and that he had to go, but that was all. For all she knew he'd been trying to say he needed to get away from his brother, or that he wanted to go confront his brother. She'd assumed she knew what he meant but, in the end, what if she'd been wrong? She knew nothing about his family, other than that they were royals, and wasn't history just full of royals assassinating each other?

If there was one thing she knew better than anyone, it was how having someone close often just meant they were better placed to stab you in the back.

A group of laughing teenagers stumbled out the open door of the mall, chattering excitedly and rough housing as they headed toward their cars.

A beat of hope surged through Bilba. If they noticed her being surrounded by a group of large men then surely they would -

Her thoughts trailed off as she realized the prince was no longer in front of her. The two near the exit were gone as well, which simply left a young woman and a middle-aged man standing near a car in an underground parking garage.

She made eye contact with him, knowing she probably looked like a deer in headlights. He had his arms crossed and was idly watching the teenagers but, as she continued to stare at him, he shifted his gaze toward her and raised an eyebrow.

She looked past him, to where the sliver of light was still open as the teenagers goofed around, and made a decision that, in the long run, was probably unwise.

She'd spent years living in a constant state of fight or flight. Mostly flight because fighting only ever ended in suffering. So, when she saw the barest hint of an escape route, her body simply reacted.

She'd moved four steps before her mind fully processed it, hand already raised in the air. "Hey! Wait up!"

The teens turned to her, still smiling and laughing. One of them, a young man around her age, lunged and grabbed the door before it could slam closed.

"Thanks," Bilba said, slowing to a stop as she reached them. She forced a smile and tried to act as normal as possible. She didn't dare look behind her but couldn't help crossing her arms tightly across her chest at the thought of the multiple werewolves glaring at her from the darkness. "I was just about to give up. I didn't realize they were locked after the mall closed."

"Oh, yeah," one of the girls, a short brunette with a bright smile, piped up. "Everyone gets caught by it at least once. Is it your first time?"

Bilba nodded. "Yeah." She ran a hand through her hair nervously. "The entertainment complex, it's downstairs, right? Do I just take any elevator or is there a specific one I need?"

"There's a specific one," the brunette piped up before anyone else could speak. "They lock the rest down after closing, only one for the bottom level and one for Arkenstone, lets them keep an eye on who's coming and going after the mall closes." She bounced over and wrapped an arm around Bilba's arm. "I'll show you real quick!"

"Oh," Bilba said, surprised. "Ok, thank you."

"Sure!" the girl said brightly. She waved at the others in her group. "I'll meet you guys at the car!"

Bilba didn't resist as the girl pulled her back into the mall, the door clanging shut behind them. "Thanks for helping me out. I'm Bilba, by the way."

"Abby!" The other girl stopped and dramatically grabbed Bilba by the arms. "Okay, so who the heck was that guy you were talking to? He looked just like the crown prince! I mean, I know he wasn't because there's no way a prince would be wandering around a parking garage, but he looked like him, you know?" She clasped her hands together and bounced on her toes. "He wouldn't happen to be single, would he? Do you have his number?"

Bilba didn't know about the older blond guy, but her mind went to the dark-haired prince. Abby might be surprised to find just who was willing to wander around a parking garage. "Sorry, he was just asking for directions. He was quite a bit older too." That guy had looked a lot like an older version of Prince Filian. His father?

Abby's shoulders slumped. "Awww, that sucks. They say every person has like six or seven twins out there. I was hoping I'd found one that looked like the prince!"

And that he was single and had an interest in perky brunettes, Bilba thought with amusement. "You know," she said slowly, as they reached the elevators. "I saw a second guy with him. He was a lot younger, and, I could be wrong, but he kind of looked just one of the princes. The younger one, I think?"

Abby's eyes went wide, and she clasped her hands together. "Prince Kilian?" she almost shrieked. They'd arrived at a bank of elevators and the other girl slapped the button for the one on the far left. It opened silently and she reached in to hit a button inside. "There you go!" She bounced backwards, ran her hands through her hair and tugged on her clothes to straighten them. "How do I look?" she asked with a little twirl.

"Great." Bilba stepped into the elevator and waved at her. "Good luck."

Abby gave a small shriek and then half sprinted; half walked back toward the exit.

The elevator doors slid shut and Bilba sighed and slumped against the back wall of the car. Here's hoping Kilian was still out there and Abby's presence would delay him a bit. Bilba had done her research before moving to Erebor, and there had been nothing to suggest the prince or anyone in his family would, or had, harmed someone who wasn't a threat to them.

Or someone who didn't have the blood of a family member on them.

She should have just gone with the entire group, she thought in hindsight. Joined up with Abby and the others and used them to get out of the garage and then...what?

Walked?

Away from werewolves?

Bilba sighed and banged her head against the back wall of the elevator. What a stupid idea. What a stupid idea now. Did she really think she was going to get away? From werewolves? Who also happened to rule the damn country? In a building they owned?

All she'd probably managed to do was piss them off.

She wished she'd never met Filian.

Guilt fell over her the second the thought crossed her mind. Fili was the only one so far who'd done nothing wrong. Who'd actually gone out his way to help her, despite being injured. This was how she repaid him?

The elevator dinged and she felt the car slide to a stop. From beyond the doors, she could hear the low thump of music vibrating through the metal.

The doors slid open, and her senses were assaulted by light and sound. The area spread out in front of her was enormous, and dark but for the bright glare of neon lighting up signs and outlining different features. Shadowy figures highlighted in brilliant colors darted about, the low chatter of their voices almost entirely drowned out by the steady thump of music blaring throughout the complex.

Bilba stepped out of the elevator slowly, moving to the side so she was pressed against the wall. It was dark enough to unnerve her, but the lights and music softened it, so it wasn't as bad as say an empty house.

The sooner she could get out of here the better. Get out and then...do...something.

Best to just not think about it. Focus on getting out and then...all the rest later.

She shuffled slowly into the interior of the complex.

Now...what…

A large digital board featuring a map caught her eye and she headed toward it.

The complex was enormous. According to the board it included a movie theater, shopping, several food courts, an arcade, an entire go kart track, a mini golf course, an ice skating rink, a roller coaster that ran along the edge of the complex, a laser tag course, and paintball.

There was no way it all fit under the footprint of the building she'd seen aboveground. It must stretch for miles. Every day, when she was busy working in the bakery, there were probably people racing about in go karts and playing laser tag right beneath her feet.

Bilba chewed on her lip and studied the board critically. It was black, with the mall outlined in bright, neon colors to match the rest of the mall. There was no way the elevator was the only way in or out, not with the sheer size of the place. Most emergency exit signs tended to be red or green in her experience, so she looked for those colors on the board.

She spotted them quickly. They were brighter than the other colors on the board, and larger to make them stand out. As expected, the floor was littered with emergency exits, most of which shouldn't, she hoped, be alarmed? After all, people would leave en masse as they got tired and needed to go home to sleep or to bed, right? So, it'd make sense they'd leave in multiple directions.

Sure, that made sense, she told herself.

Maybe.

She found the nearest exit on the board, noted the path to get to it, and started walking. Her eyes caught on stores as she passed them, most of them lit with normal lighting on the inside, boasting everything from clothes to books to almost anything one could imagine.

Oh, but she'd have loved this place back when she was younger. She could just picture running around with Priscilla, grabbing food when they got hungry only to leave it half empty in their eagerness to get to the next fun thing.

Past the cacophony of light and sound, she spotted the red light of an exit sign. It was posted on the side of a large column. There was a door under the sign, and when Bilba pulled on the handle it opened to reveal a set of wide, carpeted stairs spiraling up to vanish into the ceiling.

Bilba stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind her. The noise immediately cut to a low rumble and the bright neon gave way to a soft, steady light. The stairs were wide enough to fit several people, but shallow enough that it didn't feel strenuous to go up them. A wide rail ran on both sides of the stairwell and the entire structure was rock solid, without so much as a wobble as she jogged upwards.

She hated tight spaces. Even though it was well lit, all she could picture was someone creeping up the stairs behind her or lying in wait for her just around the next curve.

Stop, she ordered herself firmly. She had enough to worry about without adding an overactive imagination to it.

The stairs curved around to a wide landing, and double doors set in the wall. There was no telling where it let out. Hopefully, near the parking garage where she'd find her car alone and ready to be driven back home.

Bilba steeled herself and pushed the doors open. Cold air washed over her in a wave, and her eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden darkness beyond the opening.

Outside. The doors led outside somewhere. Okay. She could work with that.

She hoped.

She stepped out hesitantly. An alleyway, and a narrow one at that. Walls rose in front of her and behind her and ran in straight rows on both sides of her.

A car raced past on her right, barely a blur on the street. Bilba headed toward it, the doors sliding shut behind her with a quiet click.

She'd barely taken two steps when she heard the scuff of a shoe behind her. She turned, heart pounding in her chest, and saw two men moving toward her from the opposite end of the alley, appearing out of the deep shadows she hadn't been able to see into. They were stumbling like they'd had one too many drinks, and both had their eyes fixed on her in a way that could only be described as predatory.

Instinctively, Bilba turned back toward the doors, only to realize there were no handles and they'd closed seamlessly with no way to open them from the outside.

Which meant she was now stuck outside with nowhere to go, and no giant wolf to protect her.