“Are we close enough to theborder?”
“Must be. Doesn’t smell like Scarlet Ridgeanymore.”
“What if he dies here? Gunner willkillus.”
“He won’t die. Look, he’s wakingupnow.”
A tiny groan escaped my lips as I came to. I was disoriented and confused. The world was sideways. The scent of rich soil and leaves flooded my nose. I blinked dried blood out ofmyeyes.
The alphas stood above me. Not all of the ones who attacked me were here, but I did recognize the handful that were. My heart rate instantly increased as I remembered what happened. They had turned on me. Attacked me until I wasnearlydead.
And now they had left me here on the forest floor and were discussing what to do with me, as if I was a child or an inanimateobject.
Instinctively, I wanted to get away, but I was in no condition to move. I tried to crawl once and it immediately sent shockwaves of pain throughout my whole body. I gasped and stopped, letting myself collapse back on the ground, panting andexhausted.
The alphas ignored me. One growled, “Just leave him. They’ll find him eventually. I know they’re a bunch of pussies, but they must check the border once in awhile.”
“Iguess.”
“We should leave before our scents get any more noticeable,” another muttered. “Let’sgo.”
Before they left, one alpha stopped and turned to glare down at me. “You better pull off this mission, omega. You know Gunner won’t accept failure.” He smiled cruelly. “And besides, we’re all rootingforyou.”
He left without another word. I didn’t move. I could only listen as their footsteps faded until finally I was alone in thesilence.
My pack had attacked me until I was too weak to even move, and abandoned me on the enemy pack’sdoorstep.
But I had a mission, given to me by the top alpha himself. A glimmer of hope sparked inside me. If I could complete this task, I would be revered in Scarlet Ridge pack. Maybe even Gunner himself would award me with some kind of higherstatus.
Even though the mission included seducing the enemy… and eventually,killingthem.
I would do it. Ihadto. There was no other choice now. It was too late to back out, and even though my whole body screamed in agony, the worst of it was over now. At least, that’s what I had to keep telling myself as I laid there, completely alone and broken on the forestfloor.
I closed my eyes. Even though Gunner had snuffed out spirituality in Scarlet Ridge, that didn’t mean I couldn’t still pray to the Moon in privacy. That was all I could do right now. So I prayed - that someone would find me, that I would complete my mission, and that I would returnhomesafe.
