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Realizing she was plucking at her clothes, Bree clamped her hands together and rested them on her lap. Her eyes strayed back to the clock yet again, as if it would help the time tick by faster. It didn’t.
She’d subtly glanced at her phone a time or two, hoping to see a text message from Alex. So far, there’d been nothing. Hell, they might not even have arrived at the clan’s territory yet.
She’d feel Alex’s pain if he hurt himself, right? For now, all she could sense was a fierce determination. No panic, no anxiety, no discomfort. He’d be fine.
He would. He’d deliver his “message” to the hyenas, return home, and then he and Bree could spend the rest of the day relaxing.
“And that’s pretty much it,” said Dani.
Bree snapped out of her thoughts just as the primary closed her file.
Wearing a faint smile, Dani lifted her head. “Any questions?”
“Not that I can think of right now. I’ll probably think of some later.”
“Well, you can always text or call me if need be. Do you have any concerns?”
At that moment, her only concern was Alex. “I’ll think I’ll be worst at planning pride events than I will be at anything else.”
“You’ll do fine. And I’ve written plenty of notes for you.” Dani capped her pen. “The other omegas will help if you need them to contribute. Let them. They like to feel involved.”
“They’re all bummed that you’re leaving.”
“But not bummed that you’ll be the new primary. They’ll just miss me as a friend. They’d miss you in much the same way if you declared you were switching to another pride.”
Bree highly doubted that, but it wasn’t something she’d lose sleep over—she was used to pride members not being all that warm toward her. The people who were important to her both respected and cared for her. That was enough for Bree. It was just a shame that the person most important to her was on his way to a damn hyena den right now.
Dani tilted her head. “Are you okay? You seem … off.”
Bree forced a smile. “I’m fine.” If Dani was someone who she trusted, Bree would have talked to her about the current goings on. But although she and the primary had reached a sort of … impasse, that wasn’t enough for Bree to feel comfortable sharing her thoughts and feelings with Dani.
“If you’re nervous about taking over, that’s only to be expected. But you don’t need to be. Everything you need to know about the young omegas, the ones in training, and the active omegas are all in these files. Each have their own profile—all you need to do is keep those profiles up to date. It’s the best way to help you monitor their welfare and progress.
“You remember how I taught you to shield and to control your gifts, right? You just need to give those same lessons to the young ones and the trainees. Admittedly, your teachings for how to counsel people will no doubt be different than mine,” Dani added with a smile. “But I’m sure you can simply help them find their own way. Being a primary is hard work, but it’s the kind that leaves you feeling good about yourself afterwards.”
“For what it’s worth, I am sorry that you feel you can’t stay in the pride. It doesn’t seem fair that a primary has to be the most powerful omega. It should be the most competent. Honestly, I’d originally planned to leave the pride.”
“Really? What changed?”
“Alex asked me to stay. He wanted us to try to make a go of things.”
Dani’s mouth curled slightly. “He asked you to stay or sort of ordered you to stay?”
“Maybe a little of both. But that’s just—”
The door swung open and crashed into the wall. Four unfamiliar males silently hurried into the room, guns in hand.
For a moment, Bree didn’t react, caught up in shock. Then she jumped to her feet, feeling a sharp pain hit her chest. A dart. She yanked it out just as more tranquilizers sank into her—one. Two. Three. Four.
Hissing, she leapt across the table and slammed into one of the males. Thick arms wrapped around her from behind, pinning her arms in place. Another male put a cloth over her face. A pungent, sweet smell overloaded her senses.
If the tranqs hadn’t caused wooziness to sweep over her, blurring her vision and fogging her thoughts, she might have been able to battle the effects of the chloroform. Might have been able to shift and fight. But her world tilted. Spun. Dimmed.
She slumped, distantly aware of Dani whimpering in pain as flesh thumped flesh over and over and over. Bree wanted to yell at the bastards to leave the other female alone, but she couldn’t speak or stop her eyes from fluttering shut. Couldn’t let her raging, hissing cat free. Couldn’t stop darkness from falling and swallowing her whole.
