1
Wesley
It was cold and dark.A sense of overbearing dread came over me as I stepped inside the warehouse. A hole in the ceiling provided a window to the night sky, and the moon’s rays shone gloomily across the bare cement floor. Across from me, sitting in a makeshift throne, was the alpha who hadsummonedme.
“Come closer,” hegrowled.
His words were a hook in my chest. Without thinking, I immediately heeded his command and steppedforward.
All around me were other shifters - alphas from my pack. But the man in front of me was no ordinary alpha. He held more power than any of the others put together. And for whatever reason, he wantedmehere tonight. In the grand scheme of things, I was nothing - just a mateless omega. Although, I supposed that made me valuable in a different way. I swallowed hard, thinking of the possibilities he had in storeforme.
One in particular crossed my mind, making my chest flicker with both hope and dread. What ifhewanted me for himself? As far as anyone in the pack knew, he hadn’t chosen an omega for himself yet. At least, not romantically. Logically, I knew he must have sired many pups in the pack - ones who were destined to join his growing alpha army. But there was never an omega by his side, and he never spoke of a mate. Not afatedmate.
I shivered in anticipation. Was he going tochooseme?
“You,” he growled again. His face was covered in shadow, and I couldn’t get a good look at him. “What isyourname?”
His aura was overwhelming, and I forced myself not to shudder. “WesleyFawkes.”
He fell silent again. Then, extending out a hand, he beckoned me closer. Unable to resist an alpha’s demand, I shuffled closer to him. I tried not to gasp as he picked up my arms and let them drop back to my sides, like a ragdoll. He turned me around with one hand and kept examining the rest of me. His nails were long and dug into the bare skin at the nape of my neck, and this time I couldn’t help but shudder. I had never been in the presence of such power before. To tell the truth, I was frightened. But omegas wereneversummoned to the top alpha. If I was here, there had to be an importantreason.
Just as if to assert his power further, he dug his claws deeper into the sensitive skin at the base of my neck. I stood dead still. Only a single bead of sweat trickled downmybrow.
“He’ll do, at least physically,” he finally said, turning me back around towards him. I still couldn’t see his face properly in thedarkness.
At least physically?I thought.What doesthatmean?
“Remind me of his profile,” he said to one of thealphas.
A different man spoke. He had less raw power in his voice than the top alpha. “Nineteen, still yet to have his first heat, but judging from our clinic’s fertility trajectory program, it should occur sometime in the next fewmonths,sir.”
“Good,” the top alpha growled. He tilted his head and asked me, “Are youloyal,boy?”
“Me?” I said, although it came out hoarse and weak-sounding.
He drummed his long nails on the armrest of his throne. “Yes,you.”
“I am… sir,” I added, hearing that the other alpha had done the same. The last thing I wanted was for the top alpha to think I wasdisrespectinghim.
“Howloyal?” hepressed.
I stared at him, blinkingstupidly. “I- “
“Would you die for ScarletRidgepack?”
His words felt like a blow across the face. What were you supposed to say to something like that? No, more importantly - what would happen if I said no? I was a single omega in a room full of powerful alphas who could tear me apart as easily as snapping their fingers. It crossed my mind that I could be dead in an instant if I said the wronganswer.
Would Ireallydie for the pack? I guess I had no choice but to find out thehardway.
“I would,” I finallysaid. “Sir.”
In the darkness, a cold yellow-white grin stretched over the top alpha’smouth. “Good.”
He suddenly rose from his seat and slowly descended the concrete platform until he stood before me. The breath escaped from my lungs. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and surprisingly young. His face was a strange combination of unnerving ugliness and sinister beauty. I couldn’t take my eyesoffhim.
So this wasGunner.
I was frozen to the spot. His alpha aura radiated like electricity in the air. I felt like I couldn’t even twitch a muscle. I was powerless in frontofhim.
