"So, youwillinglyengaged in inappropriate contact with an unknown Alpha." Alpha Graves' pen scratches across the paper. "In violation of the terms of this outing."
"I'm sorry," I whisper, the words tasting like ash on my tongue. No part of me wants to apologize for what happened. "It won't happen again."
"You're right. It won't." Alpha Graves snaps her clipboard shut. "Alpha Marcus, escort Solana back to the bus. She'll be returning to Harmony House immediately. Her outside privileges are revoked indefinitely."
The words make my heart drop into my stomach. No more outings. No more chances to see the outside world. No more horses or fresh air or moments that feel real instead of manufactured.
No more chance of seeing Dustin again.
"Please," I start, but Alpha Graves holds up a hand.
"This is not a discussion. You knew the rules. You chose to break them. Now you face the consequences." She turns to the rest of the Omegas, who are all watching with varying expressions of pity and fear. "Let this be a lesson. This is what happens when you allow yourself to be led by base instincts instead of reason. Solana will spend tonight reflecting on her choices."
Alpha Marcus' grip tightens on my arm as he pulls me back down the grandstand steps. There's no point in resisting. That only makes things worse.
The walk back to the bus feels endless. People stare as we pass, some with curiosity, others with judgment. After all, I’m a fully grown woman being manhandled by an Alpha back to theHarmonybus. I keep my eyes on the ground, watching my feet move one in front of the other, but my mind keeps circling back to Dustin. The taste of his lips. The warmth of his hand cupping my face. The way he said my name like it meant something.
I climb onto the bus and make my way to the back row, sinking into a seat by the window, knowing that whatever future and freedoms I thought I had are now gone. In less than 30 minutes, the vibrant outside world will be nothing more than a distant memory.
However, it feels a lot shorter than 30 minutes by the time we got back toHarmony.The gates clink open as the bus rumbles through and pulls up to the entrance, Alpha Marcus standing up from the driver’s seat and gesturing me toward the door. "Let's go."
I follow him off the bus and into the building, Alpha Marcus steering me down a corridor I know too well, toward the isolation wing. I knew this was coming, but it doesn't make it any easier.
He stops in front of a door marked Room Seven and takes out his key card, swiping it through the reader as the lock disengages with a heavy click. "Inside," he points to the darkness greeting from the doorway.
I step through the arch into the small room with its gray walls and gray floor. A cot with a thin blanket sits against one wall, a toilet in the corner with no privacy screen sitting a few spaces away from that. There’s nothing else but empty space designed to break you down until we’re ready to be obedient and compliant.
"You'll remain here until tomorrow morning," Alpha Marcus states from the doorway. "There will be no dinner. You'll have time to think about your choices and their consequences. If you need to use the facilities, you know where they are."
He starts to close the door, but I can't help myself. "The Alpha. Is he okay?"
Alpha Marcus' expression doesn't change. "That's not your concern. He was warned to stay away from Harmony House property. What happens to him now is between him and his pack."
The door closes with a finality that echoes in my chest, signaling that I'm now alone.
I stand in the center of the room for a long moment, just breathing. The walls seem to press in closer with each passing second. I've been in here before. Twice in my first year at Harmony, when I still had fight in me. Both times broke something inside me and taught me that resistance only brings pain.
But this time feels different because this time I have something to hold onto.
I sink down onto the cot and pull my knees up to my chest, the thin blanket scratching against my skin as I wrap it around my shoulders. My stomach is already starting to growl, protesting the several missed meals from this morning. By tomorrow, I'll be a little shaky, just like I always am. The staff knows exactly how to measure punishment for maximum effect without causing permanent damage.
Voices drift through the door, muffled but audible.
"...could have jeopardized everything..."
"...funding review coming up next month..."
I press my face against my knees. They talk about us like we can't hear them. Like we're furniture that might affect their bottom line.
I press my face against my knees and let the tears I’ve been holding back fall. Silent sobs shake my shoulders as I cry for the unfairness of it all. For being trapped in a system that treats me like property instead of a person. For the life I'll never have outside these walls.
But underneath the tears and underneath the fear and the shame and the anger, something else burns brighter than all the other emotions. Hope.
Because I kissed an Alpha today. A beautiful Alpha with dimples and warm brown eyes who looked at me like I mattered.
I roll his name over my tongue several times, loving the way it moves around in my mouth. His scent still clings to me despite how briefly we touched, Alpha Marcus too focused on locking me in here to demand I take a shower. I breathe it in, holding it in my lungs as long as I can before releasing it slowly.
Alpha Graves said that my instincts were wrong, thatIwas bad.
