Not even when my omega is at risk? I don’t know.
The vision of her crumpling on the steps, supported by White Mine and Cal-ee, burns behind my eyes. Without her in my arms, I’d think she was created from my head. But the raging feelings burning through my chest remind me she’s real. I pressone hand to my breast, breathing deep. She’s still here inside me; my Red.
I must return to Mine and White Mine. They need me. Belong to me.
I bury my hand deeper into my skin until it leaves marks, searching for two individual threads. They exist deep within, tangled and faint.
No matter how much I work through what happened, I can’t calm down with the scent of dangerous alphas clinging to my skin. My hands are trapped in front of my body, metal loops locked tight like collars around my wrists. A short metal chain dangles between them.
I open my trapped hand, noting a sticky liquid clinging to my fingers. Hesitantly, I lift my arms together and sniff. Foreign alpha scent, full of challenge, burns my nose. I roar in response and throw myself against the wall, desperate to run back to my omega. She’s in danger.
And yet, a strange whisper in my head sends a chill down my arms, making my hair rise. Why didn’t I find the alphas in the crowd? The owners of this unbearable scent weren’t there. It was clearly a challenge, so why didn’t anyone fight back when I accepted?
The cold shock steadies me.
This is like alphas holding objects in their hands and shaping voices into words. Or White Mine’s mysterious magic. It’s something I haven’t learned yet. I lift my hand close to my nose once more, forcing back the instinctive rage—I can do that now, if I try hard.
Enough walks on my leash taught me I don’t have to react wildly to everything. Mine got nervous if I raged. I stare at my stinking hand, listening for her voice.Shh. Stop, Zack. Sit.White Mine would offer me cake pieces that smelled like him.
Cautiously, I sit down on the padded bench seat, bracing myself on the wall. Traces of the scent cling to the metal wherever I touch. The alpha challenge is . . . transferable?
I lurch as the vehicle jerks to a halt, shadows replacing the light pouring through the back window slit. Not wide enough to shove my body through, or I’d already have done it.
The back doors swing open. My first instinct says to bolt through that opening and find my omega, but all I can see are brick walls in every direction. And a closed doorway ahead. It’s like we’re inside an elevator big enough to fit a few cars, minus the bouncy motion. Fighting energy quivers through my body, and I tense, holding my position as if an arena gate will slide open before me any second.
Men wearing identical dark blue-black clothing cluster in the opening, watching me warily.
“Come out,” an alpha orders, lacing his words with an oppressive tone designed to force my actions.
My lips peel back with a warning snarl. That kind of weak power doesn’t work on me, and I’m no longer a mindless fighter. “Why?” I grind out.
The man’s bushy eyebrows rise, and a nearby beta whistles. “Well, knock me over with a feather. A feral who can talk. That’s not what we heard.”
I keep my gaze locked on the alpha, who presents slightly more of a danger than anyone else in sight. “Why?” I ask again.
His hands linger near his belt. “Because you attacked the journalists.”
I don’t know what he means byjourn-liss, but I know whatattackmeans. I hunch my shoulders protectively. “They attacked me.”
He snorts. “How did anyone attack you?”
I roll his question over in my mind, studying him. I clench one fist, the oily residue slippery in my palm. Holding my hand out, I offer it to him. “With scent.”
The man scoffs. “You can’t attack with just a scent. If anything stinks around here, it’s you.”
I press my teeth together, sealing my lips around my argument. This alpha is not wise and clever like White Mine. He can’t understand me and explain things like my mates.
He puffs out his lips and takes a step closer. “Are you coming out, or do we have to force you again?”
A painful sensation floods through me. I want my pack. I want to understand. For a long time now, I haven’t been alone even once, but now I’m facing strangers and I don’t know what to do—or how long I can keep myself from silencing their infuriating presences.
“Wh-where we go?” I stutter, impulse and training colliding. Heat replaces the chill on my skin, and a trickle of sweat slicks my shoulder blades.
“Into the police cell,” the alpha tells me, pointing to the brick wall behind him.
I freeze. “Cell?” I jump to my feet. “Did I kill law?” I shake my head, more sweat running down my temples. That didn’t sound right. How did White Mine say it? “Break law?” I mutter, searching for words.
“Yes.” The man nods. “You attacked people.”
