That's a good battle technique. I'll have to remember that one for the future. Go for the limbs. Stomp, stomp, stomp.
Yes, but they were sloppy. Uncontrolled.
A bitter laugh escapes me. "Thanks, Beep. I'm sure they'd appreciate your critique."
She doesn't respond, resuming her attention to our surroundings.
A few moments pass when finally the door rattles and creaks open. Andrea holds a cell phone to her ear.
"Yes, we're in the holding cell. No. Yes, we had to subdue her, she fought back. She was sneaking around in the office. Orion," she hisses, eyes darting around the room before landing on me. "There's something wrong with this one. She smells different. I think she's a witch."
There's a pause on the other end. I can just barely make out the voice and a heavy intake of breath, then they hang up. This wolf, Orion, is on his way.
I start shivering. I can't take another beating.
Yes, you can.
Be quiet, Beep. Unless you want to take over,I snarl back.
Gladly. Shift now, please. We have at least five minutes. It won't take that long.
It will, but I don't remind her she takes forever. I groan and attempt to sit up again, leaning my weight into my other hand, the slightly less mangled one. Andrea smirks at my pain. She tries to laugh with her conspirator, but when she notices Stance is still staring at me in a way that makes my skin crawl, she shifts in front of him to block me from his view.
"Orion is the second highest-ranking alpha in this clan, and you will show him some fucking respect when he gets here if you have any hope at all of making it out of this alive. We Silent Peak wolves do not tolerate rogues who creep uninvited onto our lands. Orwitches," she spits, "who mask their scent to reduce the unmated into blubbering idiots." She kicks at Stance's leg, but he barely acknowledges her.
I close my eyes and inhale. My omega feels off—she's restless, yet strangely composed. I'm not panicking like I should be. Not with those threats.
I need to heal. I need to survive. And then I'll high-tail it out of here and never look back, instincts be damned.
All these months, and this was the only plan we came up with. My future, however pathetic it may have been, is in shambles thanks to my change. My previous life is over, has been for a while now. And I've made peace with that. Kinda. But now, this one tenuous, last-ditch plan—head north—has gone up in flames.
But I know what happens when you reach rock bottom. When your will and everything you thought you were, everything you thought you had, has been stripped away, and the only thing that remains is your still beating heart. I will get out of this. And I will thrive. Fuck these people. Fuck these wolves.
My adrenaline spikes, but that's not a good thing. I can't concentrate enough to let Beep take over, and we haven't mastered the balance of her taking the reins without my help. She says I have trust issues and that I'm blocking her.
I wonder where I got trust issues from?
It doesn't matter. Even if we magically healed whatever she claims is wrong with us, this brief spike of adrenaline is going to crash soon, and then we'll both be useless.
The door rattles outside the building. Andrea straightens, feet planted wide, clasping her hands behind her back like agood little soldier. Stance follows suit, and we listen as a lone shifter ambles down the hallway, footsteps echoing closer and closer. The rusted hinges of the door groan as it swings open, revealing a towering figure silhouetted in the shadows. Despite his imposing frame, he moves gracefully. There's an intelligent, observant way his gaze sweeps the room. Slowly, calmly. He's not agitated or riled up like Andrea and Stance. But I won't be fooled. He's still a predator, just like the rest of them.
But then his lightning-strike blue eyes—simmering and wild—lock onto mine, and the rest of the shitty, blood-soaked world falls away. I swear I can hear his wolf attempting to claw his way toward the surface, while his human form takes slow, measured steps toward me. Rich chocolate and hazelnuts fill my senses, an intoxicating scent that makes my mouth water and my knees go weak. His nostrils flare, teeth snarling in rage, distorting his otherwise beautiful face.
Orion, she called him. The second highest-ranking wolf in this merciless clan. His eyes widen, teeth-gritting, jaw tensing with an audible click. He whips his gaze to the two shifters standing guard and spits out, "What did youdo?" with such horror that they both flinch backward.
He storms forward, losing some of his earlier grace, powerful hands gripping the bars of the cell. The acrid smell of burnt flesh fills the stagnant, coppery air as his skin connects with the poisonous silver, but he barely reacts, instead shouting at Andrea to hand him the keys.
It freaks me out, the feral intensity wafting off of him, and for a moment, I'm transported back to that night six months ago. His rage sends ice through my veins, while I stumble and try to crawl away from them all. But my omega keens, tries to inch me closer.
His movements are uncontrolled, jerky. Stance shifts from foot to foot behind the woman as if to run, but somehow, thoughthey're standing behind him, Orion notices. He turns to shoot them both a punishing glare. "Do notfuckingmove or I swear to god, I'll tie you up by your entrails and leave you for the bears."
Andrea's bravery cracks, and she protests, shoulders dropping. "She can't be an omega—"
"Shut your mouth. Do. Not. Speak." Orion finally gets the key in the lock and turns it, opening the creaking metal door. "You will stand there, you will shut the fuck up and you will wait." There's power in his words. They weren't even directed at me, but I can feel his order reverberate through me.
He takes a step toward me and I try to crawl back, but it's the largest movement I've made since Andrea tossed me on the floor. My ribs scream in protest, and my ankle collapses, eliciting a sharp hiss. Orion's expression is furious. I don't know what is going on or why he's so pissed. I mean, I didn't do anything except sneak into their office. It's not like I stole something. I was just looking around.
Mate, my omega purrs.
