I should have…no. No, I did exactly what I needed to do. I regret nothing.
Golden light, and a smile in a window, a whispered vow. He’s coming. They promised.
I drag myself into the corner and collapse on the ground, wondering if I can survive until they get here.
“Wake up, Omega.”
I open my eyes and find I’m in my human form, but there’s no pain, not anywhere.
Angel is crouched next to me, and he reaches out and takes my hand.
“You’re not real.”
He blinks. “No, I’m not.”
“Go away. I don't want to see you.”
“Casey-”
“GO!” I thunder. “You make it too hard. You make me forget.” In my dreams, I collapse to my knees, weeping. “You make me hope, and the hope is what crushes me. So, just go away.”
When I look up, he’s gone.
I wake up at some point and see someone’s thrown down a bone of rotting meat. My stomach clenches. I’ve eaten the tainted food and paid for it. I learned my lesson, better to starve than eat what they offer.
Days pass. Someone comes into the dark thinking that I’m dead. I attack, ripping them apart. They throw bread and meat to get me off him. I abandon my kill for the food, viciously slinking around, growling and snarling.
“She’s fucked up. We should kill her.”
“She’s the mate-”
“She rejected them. Look at her! She’s an omega. She’s feral. Casey has no use to us anymore. Seriously, take a good look at her. What possible worth is she to the pack? She’s a fucking danger to all of us. It’s time.”
Kill me? I guess.
I eat the food and shake out my fur, following the tiny slit of light I can see. They walk off, and I realise something.
They made a mistake.
One huge, massive, crucial error.
They forgot to lock me in. I get up slowly, listening as new voices reach me.
There are people in the arena, standing on my blood-soaked ground. Voices my wolf recognises.
I dart closer, listening intently.
Liz, who gave me the bracelet. She’s the one who made Angel so scared he hugged me.
She hurt my wolves.
My anger and rage fix on her, ignoring all other targets. She won’t escape me.
Liz is standing in the light, laughing; she’s flirting with a wolf who isn’t her mate.
Angel. I remember his pain, such a mirror of mine. They took him from me.
I pad towards the light and gently, silently nose the door open. I watch her intently, stalking slowly forward.
