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“As long as she doesn’t mark him, you can always remark her. It’s the only way I can get to the control room, shut everything down, and let you in.” He looks at the serum again. I want to snatch it from him, not liking the way he keeps eyeing it. He turns slightly in his seat, looking at all of us. “Why didn’t she take this?” he asks as if he thinks she’s insane.

“I don’t know, but she’s fucking taking it the moment we get her back. And marking me,” I tell him. He nods in agreement, turning the vial in his fingers.

“She’d be able to resist his command if she took this,” Leo says, as if I don’t already know.

“Yeah, fat lot of good that is now.” I shake my head.

“She’ll resist, Thane. Your Omega is stubborn,” Leo tells me.

“I’m not worried about whether or not she fights it. I’m worried that when she does, his command will kill her,” I mumble, knowing it is a possibility. It rarely happens because normally no one would risk their lives when it comes to an Alpha Command, but he’s right, she’s stubborn enough to resist.

“So, I’ll tell him I escaped, get Harlow to take your serum, and you four sweep in to save the day. You’ll get your Omega back, and after, you’ll keep my daughter safe. I’ll keep my promise, but you need to keep yours, Thane. I’m placing a lot of trust in you to protect my girl,” Leo says with confidence.

“Which is exactly why I don’t trust you. You know Harlow won’t let anything happen to your daughter, even if you do betray us. Harlow won’t let me kill her or throw her in rotation.”

“I won’t betray you,” he assures me, but I still don’t believe him.

“So, you’re fine with us killing your mate? Knowing full well you’ll die not too long after.”

“For my daughter? Yes. Wouldn’t you die for yours?” Leo asks me. I press my lips in a line, nodding once at his words. I would give my last breath if it meant Scarlett got to take another.

“So —” he starts, but I shake my head, cutting him off.

“You’re forgetting that Corbin will know you’re lying,” I growl.

“Not if I tell the truth,” Leo says, and I scoff. He pockets my serum and suddenly throws his door open as we go around the next bend. I snarl, and Raidon screams, reaching for him. Leo throws his body out the door as I hit the brakes. The car screeches to a stop thirty feet from where he jumped out.

Tossing the doors open, we all jump out. The car was going too fast, and he’ll be like a skinned rabbit. His body lays motionless as we move toward him. I curse under my breath when I hear him groan. He rummages in his pocket, and I scream as I watch him grab my serum, popping the whole vial into his mouth.

“No!” Rhen shouts. Leo turns his head and smiles before he shifts. We chase after him, but he darts into the woods long before we reach the spot he originally landed.

“Fuck!” I curse, turning back toward the car. Leon is leaning against the trunk with a cigarette between his lips.

“Thanks for your fucking help,” I snarl at him, knowing he could have easily outrun Leo. He just shakes his head and draws back on his cigarette.

“I don’t like Leo. Don’t hate him either, but I gotta give him credit. He is smart,” Leon says.

“He is going to mark our fucking Omega! Our mate!” I snarl at him. Leon just sighs heavily. “He just took my serum!”

“Corbin will kill him when he realizes Leo is lying to him,” Raidon snaps.

“Or he’s lying to us! He took my fucking serum,” I repeat.

“No,” Rhen speaks, and we all turn to look at him. “Leon’s right. Leo said he just had to tell the truth for Corbin to believe him. He did escape. He won’t be lying.”

Leon chuckles, and I can feel his smug satisfaction through the bond. He flicks his cigarette before walking back to the car. I scoff, then blink. Worry still laces me. Corbin could order him to mark Harlow, or he might feel differently once he’s home with his mates.

“Come on, now we have to wait to see if he is telling the truth,” Leon says.

“And if he is lying to us?” I ask.

Rhen shrugs. “We kill him,” he says simply.

Chapter Forty

Harlow

A whimper escapes me when I feel Corbin shift above me. “That was very stupid of you,” he sneers, pressing the weight of his naked body against me. His bares his teeth and uses his hand to sweep my hair away from my neck.