They’d given her a dress that reminded her of what her mother used to wear. Knee length, buttons up the front, black with a tie around the waist to show off how narrow she was there. It was the perfect outfit for a little homemaker, as if it would somehow turn her into what her father thought she needed to be.
Hell, what her father thought shewasdeep down.
And yet his words stung. They stuck with her as they always had. No matter how many times in her lifeshe’d told herself to ignore what he said, that all those jabs delivered without inflection were just his own fuck-ups and not her problem, they’d always managed to dig into her.
And these were no different.
Even as she tried to think about what the alphas had told her, about how different it was to submit to them, of her own free will, she feared her father was right. Was she just like any omega? Something born and made to be trampled? Was it written in her very DNA?
Her heels clicked against the floor, the noise of people floating through it despite her not having seen many. Galen escorted her, and she played her part by following him quietly until she saw an opening. Her hands were cuffed together in front of her, and she hadn’t got a weapon.
Well, the idiot put me in heels. They could be useful.
Through the long hallway, they passed a door that opened into an office. A large window overlooked the main area, and her stomach again lurched. This time ithad nothing to do with the pregnancy.
Cages and other areas to chain up woman were all over the room. Already omegas were bound inside, some quiet, some sobbing, some screaming. Men moved through the space as though shopping at a mall, as if they were picking out furniture rather than living, breathing people.
“You see, you should be thanking me,” her father said. “You could have been down there. Others, they’d have thrown you onto the floor to be bought up by the highest bidder, like the rest of the merchandise here. I didn’t do that—won’t do that. You should show some gratitude.”
She swallowed down the bile in her throat and closed her eyes, not wanting to see it anymore, wishing she could shut out the noise.
For a brief moment, she was almost thankful for Anne not being there, that her suffering was over. Without the alphas coming, Alison was on her own, and she wasn’t confident she could do a damn thing to help anyone.
“She’s beautiful,” a new voice said.
Alison turned to find the man who’d spoken, who was dressed nicely, much like her father. He was younger, perhaps in his thirties, and had blond hair pushed back from his face. No matter how nice he looked on the surface, however, the cruelty in his eyes wasn’t something he could hide.
Geoffrey nodded toward the man. “This is Howard Lostern, your new mate.”
Mate.
She shivered at the word, the immediate denial. Even her nose, able to pick up the scent of the alpha, knew he was all wrong.
That was the moment she accepted that Trent had been right. Even if she fought it, Kyle, Daniel and Trentwereher mates. Her body knew it, even if she hadn’t wanted to admit it.
Howard crooked a finger, similar to what Trent had done. Where with Trent, she’d followed the demand without hesitation, drawn there by a pull she didn’t understand, she didn’t move a muscle for this man.
His expression hardened.
Galen shoved her forward, then hooked a leash to her bound cuffs and handed the end to him.
Howard yanked the leash until she was just in front of him. “You have a lot of learning to do, but I thinkyou’ll be worth it. I’m not sure I’ve seen such a pretty omega before.”He took her chin between his fingers, grasping it tightly. “And I’ll enjoy training you.”
No panic rose with the touch. Instead, anger swelled inside her.Train me?
She swung her face forward, striking him in the nose. The crunch was like music, even if she knew she’d pay for it.
Sure enough, he swung his hand, striking her across the face. With the heels and her mind still fuzzy from them drugging her before, she couldn’t keep her balance and fell to the floor.
Wetness dribbled from her lips, and a red spot appeared below her. She remembered the bright red lipstick the women had put on her, and she had to laugh at how they were the same color.
“Do you think this is funny?” Howard asked.
“Yeah,” she said, still on the ground. “I do.”
Howard came forward as though to get in another strike, but froze before contact. She turned to find her father, his hand lifted, palm out, as a warning to the other alpha.
Howard growled lowly. “She’s mine. You don’t tell me what to do with her.”
