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I jerked my arm out of Reed’s grasp, careful not to impale myself on Huck’s knife.
“Of course not,” I scoffed. “I’m not an idiot, Anton. Iwantedyou to know I was here.”
Right, Demi. Poke the bear, why don’t you?
It wasn’t smart, but damn if his attitude didn’t chafe in the worst way. Besides, if I could keep him talking, it would stall whatever horror he had planned for me, giving my men time to catch up.
I may have lost the earpiece, but that wasn’t my only trick. I kept my hands loose and ready, though I wanted to reach up and grip the locket to remind myself I wasn’t alone. Not truly.
I just needed to last a few more minutes, and this nightmare would be over.
“By all means,” Anton threw his hands out by his sides, “you have my attention. But before you spin lies, perhapsthiswill help you think twice.” With a snap of his fingers, another door farther down the side alley opened.
Two goons appeared, dragging something between them.
No.
Not something.
Someone.
“Thane!” I breathed, lurching forward before Reed stopped me with a condescending tsk and a brutal grip on my arm. All the blood rushed from my face and fingers until I was as chilled as the Alaskan tundra in the height of winter.
Bruised and battered, Thane’s cheek was red and swollen. His lip was split open with blood pouring down his chin, and he winced like they had kicked his abdomen. Repeatedly. He hung between the two guards, barely staying on his feet as they dragged him down the asphalt, stopping off to our side.
They dropped him before Anton, who waved the men away with a dismissive, “That will be all.”
“What have you done?” The usually sweet tone of my voice had dropped an octave, deep and angry.
Thane barely made it to his knees, his sorrowful gaze instantly finding mine. “Demi. Run!” he rasped, spitting blood out of his mouth as he tried to talk.
“It’s far too late for that.” Anton reached behind him and drew a gun out from beneath his jacket where he’d concealed it. Cocking it, he aimed it at Thane. “Think carefully before you answer,pet. Or yourfuck toywill pay the price. What did you plan to do this evening?”
My eyes narrowed. If it was honesty, he wanted…
“I planned to give you one last chance to renounce your office and turn yourself in for your crimes against Omegas. And againstme.”
Anton had the audacity to chuckle. “You were my property, free to do with as I pleased. As for your other accusation, why would I ever concede to any wrongdoing?” His head cocked to the side. “They’ve cleared me of all charges, not that I can say the same for your dear ol’ dad. The fool, signing documents that implicated him in the auctions without question. The man only had dollar signs in his eyes. He couldn’t see the bigger picture.”
“Turn. Yourselves. In.” I demanded.
“Omegasdo not issue orders toAlphas. Perhaps you need a reminder of who’s in control, Demi Leigh.” Anton’s gaze hardened, and I quailed.
I knew the extent of his cruelty and didn’t want to experience it ever again.
With a wry twist of a smile, Anton shifted his grip on his gun and slammed it against the side of Thane’s head.
A startled, distressed cry broke from my lips as my mate crumpled to the ground. I lurched forward to go to him, only to be yanked back and restrained by Reed. The muscles in my arm screamed while I growled like a caged animal, trying to break free. Thick, potent anger mixed with the sharp bite of distress while my gaze stayed glued to Thane’s groaning, writhing body. He dragged himself onto his hands and knees, trying to make it back to his feet. And failed.
My heart plummeted and the icy chill spread inward as I faced an unnerving reality. Anton would never stop hunting me. He’d never stand to see me happy and thriving, free of oppression. His inane need for power had morphed into madness, and I’d become his fixation.
Omegas weren’t people to him. We were objects to own and manipulate. To be used. To serve and enslave. I threatened his authority just by existing beyond the boundaries he’d set for me.
My attempt at freedom directly opposed the fundamentals of his beliefs and the foundation on which he’d built his campaign. And he didn’t plan to stop at the governorship.
Reed and Huck may have wanted to keep me, to hide me away and use me for their own sick, twisted pleasure, but Anton would never allow it.
I embodied everything he hated, and he’d sooner snuff me out in an effort to regain his authority than let me live even a tortured existence at the hands of his pack. There were plenty of other Omegas to sate his lust with. He didn’t need me.
