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Noah
“What is wrong with you, Noah?” Stella cries, pacing back and forth. “Has all that power in Goldenrod gone to your head or something?”
“Hetty’s my mate,” I grunt, pulling at the chains around my wrists and ankles.
I’m lying prone and chained on a narrow twin bed in a small bedroom, fruitlessly pulling and yanking my weakened limbs as candlelight flickers on the room’s rough wooden walls, low ceiling, and dark, curtained window.
I was conscious the entire time that Rill dragged me here from the beach. I woke up to the sound of his grunting and complaining about my weight and wayward limbs as he lifted me from the ground.
I couldn’t talk or move, but from what I could ascertain, he brought me to the same cabin that Hetty and I had stood in front of earlier.
He immediately shackled me to this bed and summoned Elizabeth, who in turn must have had the brilliant idea to drag Stella into this. I’m not sure why Wyatt wasn’t included, but I’m happy to avoid him.
My sister’s been railing at me in a singular Stella fashion for the past fifteen minutes as I slowly start to feel more like myself. Blood pumps through my limbs, my muscles loosen, and my head clears as I lie here, awaiting the moment I finally have enough strength to break free.
“I have no choice but to agree with Stella,” Elizabeth adds, wrapping an arm around my sister’s shoulders and frowning down at me in disgust. “Did you really come all this way to take advantage of Hetty? She’s a beta, Noah. Really. That’s … disturbing, to say the least.”
“She’s not a beta,” I grit out, pulling on the chains again. “Or at least she’s not only that. She must be something different… She called to me.”
“She can’t call to anyone,” Stella sneers, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. “We may not be in Goldenrod right now, but it doesn’t mean that certain parts of the Order shouldn’t be maintained. You, of all people, should know alphas aren’t supposed to touch betas.”
My face is hot and my muscles are tight as I clench my fists and glare at her. “You’re starting to sound a lot like Mother, you know that?” She flinches, obviously not happy with the comparison. So, I keep going. “The Order doesn’t matter, we’re not in Goldenrod, and Hetty’s my mate. Now tell me where she is.”
I roar the last words, shaking my arms and legs with so much power that the bed frame cracks, the posts splintering. Stella and Elizabeth’s anger fades, and they gasp and take two giant steps back in tandem.
Stella recovers quickly, though. We’ve had too many arguments in our lives for her to let me get away with something like that.
“You’re the one who’s acting like Mother!” she accuses wildly, her expression filled with shock and revulsion. “Crazy!”
A growl burgeons in my chest as I pull my chains tight, the bed frame splintering loudly.
Finally, Rill releases a deep, resigned sigh as he steps out of the corner that he’s been loitering in since we arrived.
“All right now,” he groans. “That’s enough bickering out of you two.” He turns to his mate. “Liz, why don’t you take Stella to Wyatt and Cami’s, and let them know what’s going on? I’ll come for you when I’m done here.”
She nods as he rests his hand on her pregnant belly, kissing her on the forehead. “I think that’s a good idea,” she agrees in a dulcet voice. “Try not to hurt him too badly.” She smiles up at him tightly like she means the exact opposite before turning to glare at me. “Come, Stella.”
Mercifully, Stella doesn’t argue or look at me again as she allows Elizabeth to lead her from the room.
Rill and I are quiet as we listen to their fervent whispers and muted footsteps make their way through the cabin. It’s not until we hear the slam of the front door that he turns, studying me like I’m something curious he’s never seen before.
“You know I hate your guts, right?” he finally asks, stepping toward me and hooking his thumbs through his belt loops.
I raise my brows, surprised even though I shouldn’t be. “Sure.”
“Not because of this beta business, mind you. I could care less who you fuck…” He considers me again, sucking his teeth. “No, I don’t know what it is exactly. You’re so uptight and holier-than-thou. It’s really annoying. I was kinda hoping to just let you die in Goldenrod.”
“Well, rest assured, the feeling’s mutual,” I mutter, pulling at the chains. I grit my teeth and summon my pressure—now that I’ve found it, it’s easier to identify. But when I pull at the thread inside me, nothing happens. It just fizzles into nothing.
Vaguely, I remember Rill sticking me with something earlier—a needle—that zapped my strength and left me useless.
“What did you do to me?” I ask. “On the beach? Why am I so weak?”
He dismisses me with a wave of his scarred hand. “I injected you with a little something. Not a lot, but enough to slow you down. Beebalm used to give it to me in the old days. You won’t be yourself for a few hours.”
“You drugged me?” I pull at the chains, the splintered bed frame wobbling slightly. “Why would you do that?”
“To control you, obviously.” He pauses and considers me. “Why do you think it is anyway?”
