“It wasn’t what I expected,” I murmur.Understatement of the fucking century.
Appeased, she pats my hand and continues pulling me upward.
“Well, these things don’t always go to plan,” she confides, her voice dropping to a whisper.
“And why is that?” I ask. We reach the top, and Alicia pulls me down towards the end of the corridor. An older-looking door is tucked away in the corner, and she opens it with a flourish. I glance inside, trying not to shrink back at the thick strands of cobwebs hanging from the ceiling.
Incredulous, I glance at her, and the vapid smile slides from her lips as she takes a step forward.
“Listen to me,” she hisses, her finger reaching up to jab into my chest, sharp red nails catching on my thin dress. I move to take a step back, but she grabs my arm.
“The Cohen pack is mine. Do you understand? They belong to me. I don’t care what some ridiculous law says. You will stay away from them.”
I yank myself back, my breathing harsh in the small space between us. “I could be home right now,” I say in frustration. “I didn’t have to be here, Alicia. So, you tell me. Why the fuck am I here?”
She snarls, that stunning face changing in an instant. “Because I said so.”
I stumble back, shock filling me. “What?” I demand. My voice fills the hallway around us. “What do you mean?”
She throws her head back and laughs, and I eye her carefully. This girl is definitely not right.
“I mean,” she says triumphantly, “that you’re here because I want you to be. And you’d better remember that, omega, if you want to make it out of these Trials.”
Taking a step, she waves her hand towards the stairs. “After you.”
I really don’t want to go up there. But I don’t have much of a choice. I can’t withdraw from the Trials now. I can’t go home. Not unless I give up everything I ever wanted.
So, I take a step. And then another. Trying to avoid the inches of dust lining the rails, I lift up my dress as best I can and climb until we reach… what is definitely not a bedroom.
Old boxes and various pieces of furniture dot around the room, covered in sheets and more fucking dust. There’s a tiny mattress in the corner with a blanket folded on top, and I turn to Alicia with a raised brow.
She looks back at me, impassive. “What did you expect? Some bedroom decked out for a queen? You’re not wanted here. You’d best get used to it.”
Turning, she flounces back down the stairs. I dart to the door after her, sighing in relief when the doorknob turns under my hand. I really don’t want to be locked in here.
I test the switch and a small amount of light flickers to life in the bare lightbulb overhead. It swings back and forth lightly, sending shadows bouncing across the floor.
Making my way to the mattress, I check it gingerly for any left-behind critters before sinking down, my dress pillowing around me in clouds of ash-streaked white. Sighing, I lie back, hands reaching up to cover my face.
The ache in my belly pulses again, a constant reminder that I am very much alpha-less.
And the men who I’m pretty sure are my soulmates are downstairs, staring starry-eyed at a scarlet-haired bitch who apparently has a screw or ten loose.
The best day of my life?
I don’t think so.
22
GRAYSON
Jax snarls at me as the door clicks shut behind Sienna.
“What thefuck, Gray?”
Leaning back, I shrug. “The best way to get her to pull out is to make sure she knows we don’t want her, Jax. Kinda have to tell her for that to happen.”
Even if it feels like someone yanking a knife from my side.
