I’m not giving up; Jarek is here. I have to get up. He’s running; he’s coming to me. I have to reach him.
“You’re going to behave yourself now, you little omega whore.”
He drags me up the road by the wire. It cuts into my ankle, and despite me clawing at the road, I’m helpless.
“Hold this and do not let her go.”
And then he stalks past me, going to meet Jarek in battle.
No!
I stand up and look back when the wire on my ankle tightens. A faceless beta is holding my life in his hands, leering at me, its blank mask revealing only his gleeful, dead eyes and the happy smirk giving me no illusions over what will happen if I even attempt to escape. There are thirty more behind him.
A small army of them. My heart leaps and crashes as I realise we’re not escaping.
“Keres, run!” Jarek shouts.
He can’t see the wire. He doesn’t know I’m trapped.
I stare at the alpha and beta as they collide. The Fang has a sword, and he meets Jarek’s metal rod and slides along it, sending out sparks.
“Let her go!” Jarek hisses.
He won’t win this. I can’t bear to see him hurt. Not for me. I’m not worth it.
“Run, Jarek!” I shout, though it breaks me to do it.
They both ignore me, circling each other like sharks. Jarek lifts his free arm and wipes his hair out of his face and manages to just dodge a sneaky blow that would have cut off his arm.
Jarek gets a hit on the beta because of his nimble feet. It’s just a glancing blow, and as he spins away, I can see how elegant he is. How skilled. The clash of metal on metal continues as they dance together.
Maybe he can win.
I know the Fang doesn’t play fair, and, sure enough, just like my worst fears have painted, he throws a vial of liquid at Jarek, who roars and wipes frantically at his eyes.
“She’s cost you your sight, but don’t worry, it’s temporary, not that you’ll live to know. What else are you willing to give up for her, Alpha scum?” he mocks. “I had her first. I took her body apart and created what you see before you.”
I shudder, bile filling my mouth.
Jarek roars in rage that makes me shiver. I’ve never seen an alpha so angry before.
“Jarek, run!” I repeat my plea, begging him to listen. My throat aches, and I swipe my wet hair out of my eyes.
“She’s mine,” Jarek says strongly.
Those words break and remake me. He doesn’t care what happened before. The Beta’s Fang was wrong, I’m not his, and there is someone who wants me.
Jarek can’t see; even from here, I can see the red burns on and around his eyes. I hobble as far as I can and almost fall when the wire holds me back.
I call out a warning when the Beta’s Fang moves, showing all his skill and training. Jarek dances back, putting space between them, but it’s not enough.
I focus on the wire, tugging and pulling. I get it loose and dive just in time to evade the blow that cuts through the air.
I turn and let out a tiny squeal of pain as I’m punched hard in the stomach, doubling over, my eyes watering.
“Keres!” Jarek howls. I look towards him. He’s trying to get to me, so he doesn’t see the way the Beta’s Fang spins his sword, how it catches the light and how, in slow motion, it slides deep into his stomach.
The world goes silent, still.
