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My hands start to shake.

When I close my eyes, I see Aurora in her room, backing away from me. Afraid.

Stuck in that castle, meeting her for the first time, I thought she was courageous. When she gave me that book, I thought she was brave. That she was the boldest omega I had ever met.

That turned out to be an act.

She’s nothing but a coward.

And now, seeing this scene from the outside, I start to think that I’m just a coward, too. I’m terrified. Stuck, tied up, with no way to get out.

Whatever happens to me now, I could have avoided it by being smarter.

How did they know I was going to get out? How did they know how to find me? Have they been waiting for me?

I don’t know the answers to any of those questions.

But what I do know is that I thought, somehow, I was going to escape and find a new life. That I was going to get away from all this and find a place that would be accepting of omegas. That would allow me to build a life all my own.

Instead, all I’ve managed to do is get one hour away from the castle and find myself under another alpha’s thumb.

I’m not smart. I’m not capable of doing this on my own.

A single tear slides down my cheek as I stop struggling, breathing hard against my restraints, really feeling like I might get sick against my gag.

Gavyn leans forward, grins, and swipes the tear right from my cheek, rubbing it between his thumb and finger with a satisfied expression on his face.

Chapter 36 - Augustus

Gavyn has Mylah.

Technically, according to pack law, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with him taking her. She was an unaccompanied omega outside of pack territories—according to pack law, Mylah would be the one to face punishment.

It doesn’t matter.

I don’t need pack law on my side—Gavyn is from no pack. He might be gallivanting around like he and his little outskirts shifters are a formal pack, but they’re not. This is the perfect time to show them exactly what a real alpha leader can do.

Without a word, I turn, letting out a growl that slips from me like steam from a kettle. I’m blind, deaf, numb to everything except the need to get her back. I start to run along the tire tracks, following them, knowing full well that they lead further into the outlands around Kault territory. I’m only lucky that the snow has stopped falling up here, so the tracks aren’t becoming more concealed.

But it’s only a matter of time before the wind brushes over them, or something else makes it hard to follow. There’s no time to waste.

I run for only a few seconds before Brack, Zade, and Denvil circle around in front of me, stopping me before I can go any further. Without thinking, I growl at them, a warning sound—move. Get out of my way.

It is time to save my mate.

The three of them stand strong.

Brack shifts back. In his human form, he’s wearing a massive fur coat that rolls off his shoulders and over his broad back.

“Augustus,” he says, holding his hands up, palm out, as Denvil and Zade shift as well. The other two shoot worried glances at me. “We can’t go running in there.”

“It’s likely a trap,” Zade follows, eyes intent on me. I’m still in my wolf form. Still thinking about blowing past them and going for her. Saving her.

“Gavyn made it clear that he was onto how much she means to you,” Denvil adds, his jaw tight. Mentioning the fact that Mylah is my fated mate so casually, when I’ve been worried about them finding out this entire time. “At that fucking meeting—it was like the one thing he wanted to focus on. I bet the fucker has been cooking this up since that day.”

“And if you run in there, into an ambush,” Brack crosses his arms, “not good.”

“I know you want to save her, but if he’s using her as bait, he’s not going to…” Zade pauses, swallows, glances at Denvil before going on. “It’s like when we took the baby.”