Through the patio doors. Through the kitchen. Up the stairs, taking them two at a time, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my teeth. Down the hallway. Into my room.
I slam the door. Lock it. Press my back against the wood and slide to the floor, gasping, shaking, burning alive.
What did I just do. What did I just do. What did I—
Footsteps on the stairs. Multiple sets. Heavy. Fast.
"Max." Atlas's voice through the door. Strained. "Max, open the door."
"Go away."
"We can't do that." Bane now. "Please. Let us help."
"I don't need your help!" I'm on my feet, backing away from the door, even though there's nowhere to go. "I don't need anything from any of you!"
"You're in heat." Zero's voice cuts through. Flat. Brutal. "You think we can't smell it? You think we don't know what's happening to you?"
I press my hands over my ears like a child. Like that will make any of this go away.
"Max." Atlas again. Softer now. "If you don't open this door, I'm going to break it down. I'm not leaving you alone like this."
"Then break it down!" I'm crying now. When did I start crying? "I don't care! I don't care what you do! Just—"
I don't get to finish.
The lock gives with a sharp crack. The door swings open.
They fill the doorway—Atlas in front, Bane and Zero flanking him. Three alphas, pupils blown, barely holding onto control. The scent of them hits me like a physical force: cedar, sandalwood, gunpowder. Dominant. Hungry.Mine.
No.Not mine. I can't think like that.
"Stay back." I'm scrambling now, putting the bed between us, hands raised like that will stop them. "I mean it. Stay back."
"We're not going to hurt you." Atlas steps into the room. Slow. Careful. Like approaching a wounded animal. "But we can't leave you like this, Max. You're—"
"I know what I am!" The words rip out of me. "I know exactly what I am, and that's why I have to leave. Before I ruin everything. Before I—"
I turn toward my closet. Grab a bag. Start shoving clothes into it with shaking hands.
"What are you doing?" Bane's voice is rough. Strained.
"What does it look like?" I yank open a drawer. Grab a handful of underwear. "I'm leaving. Tonight. I'll go somewhere—anywhere—I'll find suppressants, I'll ride this out alone, I'll—"
"Like hell you will." Zero moves fast. Too fast. He's across the room before I can react, his hand closing around my wrist, yanking me away from the bag. "You're not going anywhere."
"Let go of me!"
"No." His eyes are wild. His grip is bruising. "You think I'm letting you walk out that door smelling like—likethat? You won't make it a block before some knothead alpha—"
"That's my problem, not yours!"
"It's our problem." Bane is there now, on my other side, boxing me in. "You're our problem, Max. Whether you like it or not."
"I never asked to be your problem!"
"Too bad." Zero's laugh is harsh. Bitter. "Because you are. You've been our problem since the day you walked through that door, and I am so fucking tired of pretending otherwise."
Atlas reaches past them both. Takes my face in his hands. Forces me to look at him.
