AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I want to save them because they’re people,” I say firmly. “I don’t understand why no one else is interested in saving them.”
“Are any of them your friends?”
I hum and consider her question. Most everyone I know is here—Colleen and the Cypress House betas, as well as Cleo, Beth, Nancy, and all the males from Sage House—Lou, Don, Beck, and Oli.
That’s everyone I know, I realize. All the other Goldenrod betas were simply faces that would flash by on Dogwood Street as I made my way through the crowd. We’d communicate with knowing glances and nods. But I didn’t know any of them. Not their names or jobs. Min’s face flashes in my mind. Is she my friend?
“Not really,” I finally answer, “but I can’t leave them there, Stella. Do they deserve to die? Just because they’re betas? They’re not less than any alpha or omega.”
Stella sighs again, dark and heavy this time. It’s as if she’s come to terms with something she was hoping to avoid. “What do you need to get before we leave?” she asks casually. “We should probably head out before it gets dark.”
“What? Leave for where?”
She levels a knowing look at me, her light green eyes sharp and her brows lifted. She doesn’t need to say anything. I know exactly what she’s thinking.
“You want to go to Goldenrod? Just us?”
She nods.
“How would we even do that?” I glance around nervously. “Aren’t they watching us now?”
“Hetty, please,” she admonishes me, rising to her feet. “You know me better than anyone. What do I do best?”
A familiar excitement flutters inside me. Stella’s never scared, I’ll say that much for her.
“You sneak out,” I whisper, smiling despite myself. “That’s what you do best.”
She smiles slyly, nodding. “And I very rarely get caught.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not true. You almost always get caught.”
She waves her hand dismissively. “A minor quibble.”
“What about Nick? And Noah?” I press. “Won’t they know?”
She shrugs. “They’re already gone. Besides, mate or no, there’s no way I’m just going to sit here like some good little omega.” She reaches to pull me to my feet. “C’mon, let’s go get your beta friends.”
42
A Civilized Alpha
Noah
I’ve never run so fast.
The wind blows past my ears in a high-pitched whirr, and my feet pound the mud. When we’re about halfway to Goldenrod, fat, warm drops of rain began to fall, soaking my face and seeping through my thin shirt.
Running in such conditions is cleansing. Like something I was built to do. The entire time, there’s a slight itch in the back of my brain, though, nagging me that I shouldn’t leave Hetty behind, or at least should make amends before doing so. But I push it down deep.
This is bigger than us. Eventually, she’ll come to understand why we’re doing it this way. She has to.
It feels like only minutes pass after we leave camp before Rill and I are standing outside the fence, the heavy rainfall pounding the ground around us.
Pike mutters something in Rill’s ear before he and Nick lead a larger group of alphas to circle the fence and take position outside of the gate. After he leaves, Rill motions me forward, along with a smaller group, and we file through the gap in the fence.
Once we’re inside, Rill yells something indecipherable at his alphas—I can’t hear him over the sound of the rain—before turning to me. He moves close, grabbing ahold of my shoulder and yelling into my ear so I can hear him.
“You do what you gotta do, Administrator!” he yells, his voice rough and raw. “But I wanna see you next to me as soon as daylight hits.”
