The guard’s confident posture wavers for a second. “We’ve got one with a pretty bad wound on her neck,” he admits, gesturing ahead.
It’s me.
I know it before they even move.
“Wounded?” Angelica’s tone has a bite to it. “Why didn’t you send her to the boarding house?”
“We didn’t think it was that bad at first.” The beta’s voice pitches higher, like he’s scared. “I guess we were hoping it would clear up on its own.” Their footsteps echo down the aisle, the sound growing closer.
Please don’t be me.
I turn my head, looking anywhere but at them—at the metal shelves along the back wall, the rows of empty crates, even the anxious guards near the front door.
But then Angelica’s shiny black heels stop right in front of me. The pointed tips are metal. Like they’ve been dipped in chrome.
“Omega,” she says and my head immediately turns to her. Her cool eyes sweep over my face, landing on my neck, then they narrow.
Slowly, she leans in a little closer. Instinct makes me scoot back, but my shoulders hit freezing metal, reminding me there’s nowhere to go.
“Head up,” Angelica commands, and my head flings back, popping the top of my skull against the bars. A sharp whine jumps from my throat before I can stop it.
Don’t cry,I tell myself.Don’t let them know how upset you are.
“I can’t see,” Angelica huffs, clearly annoyed. “Pull her out.”
Before I can process what she’s said, keys jingle and my cage door flings open with a mechanical click. Roughfingers curl around my upper arm, and I’m pulled forward. I want to fight, but I can’t. I’m still stuck in her alpha command, head tipped back and mouth clamped shut.
I wobble as I’m forced onto my feet. Icy fingers with long nails touch my face, tilting my head one way then another.
Angelica exhales slowly, and I risk cracking my eyes open.
She’s so close. Her face is right in front of mine.
Her skin is pale, lashes long and dark as she stares down at my neck with a tight, unreadable expression. I can’t tell if it’s concern or disgust twisting her features—but then, like someone flipping a switch, her face shifts.
She straightens with a smile. Calm. Controlled.
And I finally draw a shaky breath.
“This isn’t that bad,” Angelica says, waving a perfectly manicured hand like she’s brushing away a smudge. But I can tell she doesn’t mean it. And the beta next to her knows it, too. I see it in his jaw, the way it clenches like he’s trying not to say something.
“You’re fine, aren’t you?” Angelica says, her eyes snapping to mine. Her gaze hits like a slap.
I freeze as fear coils in my chest. I don't know how to answer—what would be therightanswer?
Before I can decide how to respond, the she-alpha turns away, already speaking. “Any other issues?” she asks the guard, brisk and businesslike.
The beta straightens quickly. “No, ma’am.”
Angelica smiles, like that’s exactly what she wanted to hear. She inhales deeply, then shoves the list at the beta. “Okay, omegas.” She claps her hands together, then turns, her glossy lips catching the light as she addresses the room. “I know it’s been a rough few days. But you don’t have to be scared anymore.”
She pivots slowly, letting her gaze sweep over every cage, every corner, like she’s surveying property—not people. “You’ve been lost. Hurt. Rejected.” Her smile sharpens. “But I promise you—your lives are about to change for the better.”
Dread bubbles low in my stomach, and my palms begin to sweat.
Behind me, a few omegas shift restlessly, the silence scraping at already raw nerves.
Angelica keeps smiling—bright and predatory, like a hunter who’s cornered her prey. “You’re being taken to a special place,” she says, her voice syrupy sweet but thrumming with power underneath. Her eyes find mine, and I flinch as her focus locks on. “A place where you’ll finally get what you need—to thrive. To survive.” The pause that follows is unbearable. Her gaze doesn’t move. Doesn’t blink. “We’re going to find each and every one of you a pack of alphas who will love you forever.”
