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***
I jolted awake as fluorescent lights flooded my cell. A loud buzzer echoed through the building, and I reminded myself that the feeling of sticky, warm blood on my hands was nothing more than the remnant of a dream. Slowly, my surroundings—the lumpy mattress, the cold furniture, the scents of bleach and male—came into focus.
Taking deep breaths, I slowed my racing heart.
I stood and waited for the guards to take me to the collaring room. When the heavy door opened, a sour-faced crew greeted me.
“Not going to cause any trouble today, are you?” Frank, the beady-eyed guard, asked.
“No more than usual,” I replied, holding my head high.
Frank snorted. “You’re an Omega. You should start acting like it.”
“What does that mean?” I challenged.
Alister, who looked like a juiced-up version of Prince Charming minus the charm, wrapped his hand around my forearm and led me down the hall.
“It means it’s better to bend than break.” Alister’s voice cut through the air like a knife. “But I’m sure your unit will have fun either way.”
I hated that his words affected me. A cold fist clenched around my heart at the thought of being caught.
“And I’ll enjoy giving them a big middle finger when I win again,” I hissed, angrier at my fear than his words.
Alister laughed, the sound like metal against rocks. “You’re at the end of your rope, Brielle. I can’t wait to see your face when you finally realize it.”
Frank fell into step with me, leering as if he had the power to undress me with his eyes. He noticed me looking and licked his lips. “You know a dignitary watches your claiming, right?”
“Better tell them not to hold their breath.”
“I won’t,” he purred.
A shudder ran through me. Creep. “On second thought, you should start right now.”
He laughed like the sleazeball he was, and I did my best to ignore him.
When we reached the door to the collaring room, I straightened my shoulders. It was time to focus.
All the lessons my father taught me flooded my brain. My wolf rose, melding with me until there was no telling where I ended, and she began.
I was going to win this.
Follow the birds west.
They were the last words of the wolf who tried to save me. When the Council’s shifter opened fire at the free raiders, one free raider had broken through their line in a final attempt to save me. He delivered the message with his dying breath.
I clung to my memories of Blythe.
She had to be alive. I knew it.
And after I won this Goddess-damned Hunt, I’d find her.
Chapter 2
Ezra
The sizzling energy that always accompanied change intensified as I analyzed the competing units.
A firm hand came down on my shoulder and dragged me into a familiar chest. “Maybe a little softer on the glare.”
