Bikes?
Alotof them.
No. No, no, no—not a whole pack. Not like this. I’m not going to survive being passed around. I’ll die first.
The alpha snarls, turning his head. “Who the fuck is here?” he growls, voice no longer confident. “Did she share your info with more?”
I can barely keep my eyes open, the world swimming in molasses. I’m vaguely aware of the room, as if looking through fogged glass. A heavythud against wood sounds, then I jolt assomething crashes hard onto the floor, loud and splitting. “What areyou—“the one pinning me down begins.
There’s shouting.
Boots.
My ears ring.
I slump to the floor, cheek pressed to the cool boards as I realize somewhere in my mind he let go of me. I manage to roll onto my back as I hear a wet, gurgling noise.
More sounds of something disgusting, and I roll my head around until I see someone larger than that asshole who tried to rape me approach where I am. Blood stains his hands and is splattered across his face, that stupidfaceas cruel as I remember. “You’re a rather difficult omega, you know that?”
Judge.
I try to crawl. Try to move. But that struggle gets me nowhere. He scoops me up like I weigh nothing, holding me in his arms like he’s done it before, my head bobbing backward as I refuse to lay it on him. I can feel his breath on my skin, the sound of him breathing me in—like he’s identifying me. A grumble emanates in his chest, his alpha presence mixing with my impending heat. Estrus coils inside, greedy and aching. My body doesn’t care who he is; it justwants, and I have no idea why it seems to react more to Judge than the other. ButIam still in here, still screaming inside. I haven’t fully entered my heat yet, which meanssomesanity prevails.
Anxiety doesn’t course through like normal when, upside down, I see the first alpha is slumped against a wall, his head completely severed and in his lap.
My eyes widen as a sound of horror escapes me.
Holy fuck.
I can’t concentrate as I try to piece together any picture this is trying to form. I’m then aware we’re outside, the sky above darkening, the air cooler than earlier, just like Selene said. “Find the one running this place,” Judge says with not a drop ofwarmth in his voice. It’s weird being this close to him while he’s talking, giving orders, feeling his voice rumble in his chest against my arm. “String her up by her feet. Tell her however many hours it takes for her to die is how many of her family will be spared. Give her an incentive tosuffer.”
I hear laughter, like this is a joke that will never grow old to them.
I writhe more, the threat of people I don’t know making me nervous. What if Evans’s family aren’t bad people? As if sensing that, the fucker carrying mepurrs. It vibrates through his chest and into mine, syncing with something primal I can’t control. The panic fades enough to let unconsciousness drag at me like a tide.
The next thing I know, I’m being laid in the back of a car, vaguely aware of his massive silhouette at the door. “Not a single alpha, other than me, is to be near Diana until she is out of her heat,” he commands as he shuts the door.
There’s more talking outside, but it tangles with the hum of bikes and is muffled through the car. I press my back to the leather seat, like a small creature hiding within a bush. Nothing filters through clearly. I can’t tell if they’re arguing or laughing, or planning what to do with me next. The front door opens and closes, shifting slightly with his weight as he enters. Then the car—what looks like a jeep of… the Enclave? No, that can’t be right. It has all the hanging hooks, but the equipment is all removed. I lie there, aware that the vehicle begins to move. Trees pass by in the windows as the remnants of the sun barely color the sky.
Selene.
My heart races faster.
Do I say something? What if they don’t know about her? What if saying something alerts them to her location?
At some point, coherence truly returns without any real trigger, allowing me to sit up. It still feels so weird, and I wonderwhat the hell that alpha used on me. I peer at Judge, who drives in the front, tightly gripping the wheel.
Blank.
My system blanks out. My mind is wiped. Thoughts are paper burned at the edges.
Judge watches me through the rearview mirror, something I can only see from the headlights behind us. “Do you know how dangerous it is to be an omega without an alpha in this terrain?” There’s more reprimand than care.
I blink once, slowly. Words are hard to articulate. “No,” I slur out, voice dry. “Iloved…being ambushed.” I cough, looking for any container of water.
“What was your plan, exactly? Let that cabin marinate in your scent?” he asks, then almost soundsangry. “There’s a small canteen on the right.”
Son of a bitch, there is. Maybe he doesn’t want me to die yet because he has plans for me. “I have to ride it outsomewhere,” I defensively mutter, pulling my legs closer as if it can somehow hide the heat. “The suppressants help. It would have worked.” The words leave my mouth as if they’re heavy.
