I wasn't going to let that happen.
I wasn't even sure if they were right. It was basically just something I heard in passing when we'd been held captive by Brass. Two of his guards had been talking about it.
Of course, at the time, I had been hanging from a hook in the ceiling and they had assumed I was unconscious after Brass had worked me over with his fists. I doubt they knew I had heard every word they said.
On the other hand, they may not have cared. I was an omega wolf. I was supposed to be submissive, but that trait seemed to have missed me. I would rather tell someone to go fuck themselves than bare my throat to anyone.
Yet another reason staying here was not a good idea. I wasn't sure I had it in me to give my allegiance to an alpha, not after the things I had seen over the years. I had yet to meet an alpha that truly cared for his pack and not himself.
Alpha Ze'ev came close.
Still, giving my allegiance and loyalty to anyone just wasn't something I was comfortable with. It meant being under someone else's control and allowing them to make decisions for me and that just wasn't going to happen. It might have been possible before Brass decided he wanted to toy with me, but not anymore.
Been there, done that, and burned the fucking T-shirt.
And that meant Sy and I had to leave. I seriously doubted they'd let us stay if I didn't give Alpha Ze'ev my oath of allegiance. They'd be smart if they didn't. Having a wolf here that wasn't loyal to the clan was just stupid.
These people didn't strike me as being stupid.
Another wolf howl caught my attention and I searched the shadows of the trees until my sight landed on a lone wolf standing just inside the pool of moonlight.
This was another reason why I had no choice but to leave.
I didn't understand this pull I had toward the beta of the Southern Pacific Pack. Radalf had been at my side almost from the moment I had arrived, and I didn't know why. That made him dangerous. The perplexing—and persistent—desire I had for him to stay at my side made him lethal.
I was very familiar with obsession, and it was never good. It was what had led me to where I was. Brass had become obsessed with me after our first meeting when he had simply been a customer at the bar where I worked. It had ended with me dangling from a hook in the ceiling as he tried to beat me into submission.
I would never allow another to have that kind of control over me again, no matter how much my wolf whined for Rad's gentle touch.
Stupid wolf.
The golden eyes of the black wolf peered up at me with an intensity that unnerved me as nothing else had in quite a while, and that was saying something considering my time held captive by Brass.
It felt almost as if he was trying to peer into my soul.
I dropped the curtain back into place as if it burned my fingertips. I could still see the wolf standing at the edge of the tree line, but I prayed he couldn't see me.
The wolf made a chirping noise that sounded almost like a plea. I dug my fingernails into the palms of my hands to keep from reaching for the curtain again. Nothing good could ever come from the overwhelming desire I had to give in to that plea.
I blew out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding when the wolf finally turned and ran off into the woods. Honestly, I wasn't sure how long I could keep ignoring whatever this thing was between me and Rad, and I had to ignore it.
He wanted more than I could give.
I turned away from the window and started moving about the room, grabbing the shoes they had given me along with Sy's. "Sy, grab your jacket. It's time to go."
"Go?"
"Yes." I hated the sliver of fear I heard in his little voice, but there was no help for it. We had to leave. "Come on, get moving."
"Don't want to go."
Oh, I had no doubt. This was the first time in a long time that he'd had food every day, a warm place to sleep at night, and no one terrorizing him.
I didn't want to leave either.
"I know, but we have to." We needed to leave before the others came back. I didn't think they would try to stop us, but I couldn't depend on that. Escape was our only option.
I sat down on the side of the bed and pulled my shoes on before reaching for the jacket I had been given. It was the middle of summer and I probably didn't need it in this heat, but I would eventually. Better to take it now than to need it later.
