“I’m taking you back to where you belong,” she snarled back in my face. “To Scarlet Ridge, which you cowardly escaped from!”
Shock hit me like a lightning strike. I stared at her in horror.
“It’s you,” I murmured. “You’re the traitor he warned us about.”
“If anyone’s a traitor, it’s you,” Beth growled deeply. “You thought you could just slink away from Gunner and live in harmony here?” she said sarcastically. “You’re delusional. I hope you enjoyed your little vacation while you could, because you’re going straight back to him, and this time he’ll make sure your collar is permanent.”
I clawed her across the face. While she was growling and checking her wound, I screamed for Jericho. When Beth realized what I was doing, she slapped a hand down over my mouth.
“Be quiet, you cur!” she snapped.
But it was too late. Jericho had heard me. With blazing eyes, he rushed into the hall and instantly saw what was going on. Within a split second he shifted. A massive wolf shot through the air like a golden bullet and slammed into Beth, knocking her to the ground.
“What are you doing to him?” Jericho snarled.
But Beth wasn’t going down without a fight. She shifted instantly and slipped out from underneath him before swatting at his muzzle with her claws. Jericho dodged and snapped at her paw, catching it with his teeth. She yelped and retracted it like she’d been burned.
In a flash, Jericho was by my side, growling protectively. “What’s going on?” he asked me.
“I don’t know,” I said, still in a daze from all that was happening. “She just went nuts and started trying to kidnap me!”
“It’s not kidnapping if I’m taking you back to where you belong,” Beth growled. “Jericho, move out of the way.”
“You’re crazy if you think you’re leaving here with my mate,” Jericho snarled, deep and threatening.
A moment later everyone rushed into the hallway, including the nurse from earlier. She gasped. “What is going on here?”
“Mason, are you okay?” Charlie cried as he came to my side.
He helped me out of my awkward fallen position. Pain shoot through me at the movement and I grimaced.
“Jericho, she’s the traitor,” I managed to say through gritted teeth.
He growled. “I can’t believe you. You pretended to be Mason’s friend for so long, and for what? What’s your MO?”
Beth’s narrowed piercing eyes snapped to Charlie. “Do you really think your stunt went unnoticed? That Gunner would let more fertile omegas escape after what you did? You’re all naive. After Charlie’s so-called escape, he sent me to infiltrate this pack after Hector’s horrendous failure. One loss was something he could deal with, but not two.” Her eyes flitted to me now, fiery and hungry. “Especially not an omega who experiences a double heat.”
Jericho let out a humorless laugh. “So that’s why you’re doing this. Because you and Gunner and the rest of Scarlet Ridge just see Mason as a baby machine.”
“It’s just nature,” Beth growled. “It’s nothing personal.”
“And what doyouhave to gain from all this?” Charlie cried, his eyes rimmed with furious tears. “You’re not even an alpha. Why are you working with Gunner?”
“You really think life is easy for betas? You really are stupid,” she growled at him. “We’re just backup baby machines in case you omegas don’t work out. And with the way you keep escaping, who do you think the burden falls to? Us.”
I was shocked. I didn’t know any of that took place. Despite everything, I felt bad for Beth - but more than that, I felt furious anger towards Gunner and his barbaric pack.
“Beth,” I said, looking her in the eye. “You don’t have to do this. You can stay here in Indigo Mountain and forget about Gunner.”
She laughed coldly. “I’m just one beta. There are countless others. I would be selfish for only saving myself like you did.”
Her words stung and hit me with a horrible sense of guilt. Was I really selfish for leaving the other Scarlet Ridge omegas behind?
Jericho growled loudly. “That’s enough. I’m sure the nurse has already called security, and if not - well, there are more than enough of us here to get rid of you ourselves.”
“Beth, please,” I cried. “Don’t do this! I don’t want you to die! What about all the time we spent together? What about your life here?”
She snorted. “Typical sentimental omega. Don’t compare yourself to me. I’m nothing like you.”
