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He glances around. "That doesn't matter right now," he says. "Come on."
"I can't," I reply. "My ankles are chained up, I can't run--"
He has the key.
Thank God, he has the key, and he unlocks my chains.
But if he wanted to keep an eye on me, that was a mistake.
Because now I'm free, and I don't fucking dawdle.
I don't hesitate; I start to run. I dart between the panicked alphas, the hooded attackers, and the screaming onlookers. I'm not sure where I'm going, but I know that anything is better than staying here. I feel like I'm living a dream--one where I'm floating away, my feet barely touching the ground.
And that's how my story begins.
Barefoot and bleeding, sprinting as fast as I can, with escape the only thought in my mind.
Not the two packmates I just met.
Not my oncoming heat.
Only survival.
2
Kendra
Thecitystreetsaredangerous for someone like me.
I'm filthy, barefoot, and still bleeding when I finally reach the fringes of the city, and I fall into the dirty side streets of Solstice Bay. I don't know where I'm going--maybe I'll be able to find the rebels of the Enclave, where I think my friends should be. But I don't know how to contact them, and I don't know how to find the Enclave in the first place.
I don't even know if Jade and Olivia are safe.
All I know is that I'm in horrible danger if I don't find refuge soon.
I've been off suppressants for too long, and I've felt my heat threatening to overtake me for days. The ACB gave me suppressants while I was in their custody, sure, but now I'm in withdrawal...which means I'll lose control soon. I wonder if it was a mistake not going with the ACB agent who unlocked my cuffs, but it's too late to go back now.
I'm an omega on the run, about to go into heat...
...things really couldn't get worse.
I stagger through the city for three days, hiding in corners whenever I see anyone who looks hostile--which is damn near everyone. I get lost in the endless maze of Solstice Bay's alleyways, scrounging up food where I can. I can't believe I went from living like a princess to eating out of dumpsters, but I wantedso badlyto take down the ACB from the inside out. And when my father tried to sell me off to one of his political allies...
...I knew I couldn't go with him. Not that old man and his cronies, who would use me like breeding stock.
This, though? This might be worse.
My eyes are bleary by the time I see something that I think might save me: a neon sign of an apple with a bite out of it, a pin-up girl covering her mouth beside it like she's done something naughty. In other circumstances, it would be just another sign, but a memory comes back to me of my friend Olivia saying Enclave rebels use the code name 'Eve'.
The name under the logo gives me even more confidence:Eve's Apple: Tattoos and Piercings.
There's a back entrance to the tattoo parlor from the alley, and I scuttle toward it to find that the door is unlocked. It's getting late, but for some reason, I can get in here...and I take it as a sign.
If I stay out here much longer, I'll die anyway.
This is really my only hope.
I open the door and step inside, the soft clanging of a bell over the door announcing my arrival. The sound echoes through the empty parlor, and I can feel my heart pounding with a mixture of fear and relief. I glance around, taking in the dimly lit space and the various tattoo designs and piercing options displayed on the walls.
