Then the final step, struggling through the event.
I waited as patiently as I could, put on the show they expected, and paid attention to my surroundings.
Then we were running.
I’d imagined this first taste of freedom so many times that it was hard to make sense of it. Icy wind whipped through my hair,the flimsy dress clinging to me as I ignored it all and pushed my body to its limits.
There was no looking back. We had one shot to make this work.
Just as we made it off the property, strong hands wrapped around me, yanking me backward and slamming me to the ground.
My screams were cut off, and I watched in horror as my world fell apart.
The rest of the omegas were gone, making the escape just like we planned, while I was pinned under one of Gideon’s men.
“You thought you could leave that easy? You’re going to tell us everything before you go with your alpha,” he demanded, picking me up and roughly carrying me inside. His huge hands bruised my arms until they ached, his scent sour and angry.
Waiting by the entrance to the mansion, watching the show unfold, a group of alphas waited.
The party was officially over. They’d paid their money, and now they were waiting for their prizes.
Yet I was the only one left.
An alpha stepped forward, strong and broad with a scowl that had my blood running cold. His tongue darted out as he licked his lips like a wolf staring down at its prey.
“I finally have you,” he said in a voice that was familiar, yet distorted somehow, as if time had twisted it into something grotesque.
A shiver ran through me as I finally looked up into the eyes of the waiting alpha.
“Nikolai…” The name fell from my lips as horror washed through me.
“I had to make sure they could turn you into the perfect omega for me,” he said. “You’re finally ready.”
No. This was wrong. My Nikolai wouldneverdo this to me. He’d never send me here.
My true alpha was my one safe space in a world that was far too harsh for an omega like me.
“Come on. You don’t remember me? What kind of greeting is this?” he demanded, his voice harsh now. It still held that quality that made my omega want to obey, but now it was laced in venom.
My insides twisted, my chest and stomach tightening into an angry ball. The devastation that crashed into me stole my breath away.
Not only had I failed to escape, but my alpha found me and was even worse than the monsters I expected to buy me tonight.
“No. You would never,” I growled.
Someone grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, a harsh voice whispering in my ear. Gideon.
“Don’t embarrass me.”
He held me tight as Nikolai stepped forward, his eyes narrowing into something I couldn’t recognize. My stomach recoiled as my body physically rejected what my mind was watching unfold.
As his scent hit me, my soul died a little more. It was him.
I wouldalwaysrecognize that scent.
This wasmyNikolai.
My gaze flickered to the horizon, where the others had escaped. I was glad they were out, but a pit of despair settled in my stomach that I didn’t have the same fate.
