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The cages instantly destroyed any sense of tranquility. I gripped the bars, testing their strength even though my arms shook and my muscles refused to work properly. Putting my weight behind the movement, I shoved my shoulder against the bars to bend or break them.
“It’s no use,” a woman spoke from the next cage over. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
I glanced at her, forcing the dizziness to settle enough that I could focus on her hopeless face. Her brown eyes were red and puffy from crying. Black hair hung limply past her shoulders, and like me, she wore nothing but a bra and underwear.
“Everyone tries to break out when they first wake up, but it never works. These cages are so strong they could hold a small elephant.“
I eyed the confines. “Maybe, but they’re sure not big enough to hold one.”
With barely enough space to crouch, standing or stretching was out of the question. Hoping to get more comfortable, I curled into myself, bringing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. The hug helped, and, blinking rapidly, the tears mercifully abated. I couldn't risk starting to cry when I needed to think. Besides, once I started I may not stop, and remaining alert and cataloging my surroundings was pertinent if I was going to get out of this.
You’re a fighter, Demi Leigh. Don’t give up.
I could almost hear Jamison’s voice telling me to be strong; Leo reminding me I was capable; Thane promising me I was theirs; Eli urging me to hold on; Knox vowing they’d find me; and Hades swearing he’d make anyone who hurt me rue the day they were born.
Closing my eyes, I pictured my mates and held onto their memories like a lifeline.
Now get to work.
There were two exits, one on either end of the room. Grates covered wide looking air vents, but they were too high to access without a ladder or stacked furniture. Or maybe a pile of cages. But none of those would be an option unless I could break out of the cage and make it past the guards.
It took ages for me to come to that conclusion, my brain rebelling as I put it to work.
I rolled my head toward the woman next to me. “Were you drugged too?”
My neighboring prisoner nodded, shoving a hand through the dirty strands of her hair with a wince that told me she was trying to piece it all together, the same as I was.
“What do you think they gave us?” I asked, aware that my words were barely discernible. Thick and dry, my tongue seemed like its new goal was to choke me from the inside out.
“I don’t know. Some kind of date rape drug? I feel… disconnected and hazy.”
I nodded. “Like the world is vague and bleary.” Hell, I was still fighting off the exhaustion threatening to drag me under again.
Her eyes watered while I swallowed past the lump in my throat. It was difficult to reconcile that this was actually happening. I was locked in a cage barely bigger than a large dog kennel with the door padlocked shut.
Trying not to draw attention to myself, I squeezed my arms through the slim bars and worked the lock, testing its strength. It wasn’t going to budge. I ran through different combinations next, using any number that might be significant to Pack Silver. I hadn’t seen them since they’d left me in that blasted van, but I knew they were behind this.
Why else would they boast about an ‘event’ they were holding? This was all part of it. Anton said he wanted to see my downfall, and boy, what a fucking show he was getting. My attention immediately scoured the room, looking for any glimpse of cameras. If they were there, they weren’t obvious, but I counted eight guards—all Betas—blocking the exits. They wore black from head to toe, donned Kevlar, and carried large, scary-looking guns. Weaponry was foreign to me, but I knew these were serious assault rifles.
A guard with piercing blue eyes and a mop of brown hair caught me looking and sent me an unsolicited wink. I glanced away quickly and pulled into myself. Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly, noting the sour scents filled with fear and despair.Omegas.
Oh gods.
My mind raced with possibilities.
“Omegas. We’re all Omegas.” I shook my head, pressing my fingers into my temples. I murmured jerky, half-formed sentences, mostly to myself, while I tried to make my lethargic brain hold on to the ideas forming. The answers taunted me, just out of reach. “They’re holding an event. Recoup his investment. See my downfall.”
“What are you mumbling about?” The woman next to me arched a brow, looking at me like I’d gone crazy in two seconds flat.
I didn’t have time to respond because the Beta guards moved off the doors in unison, letting in a group of Beta women who sneered at us. The thoughts that were forming vanished as the Omegas all cried, sobbed, and begged to be let free, but they should’ve saved their breath. None of it was worth it. The women’s hatred was easy to see.
There had always been animosity between Betas and Omegas. We had the one ability they didn’t—we could take an Alpha’s knot. Alphas sought Omegas but often settled for Betas. While that didn’t apply one hundred percent of the time, it was the broad assumption. These women had been classified as second best, and it wasn’t fair. Designations had ruined all our lives. Unfortunately, I doubted they saw it that way.
To them,wewere the problem.
There was a fat chance in hell these women would help us, and trying to convince them to do so would be fruitless.
Besides, as Anton had said, money was a powerful motivator. They were most likely getting paid to be here. Between their prejudice and financial gain, I realized none of them would be swayed by sympathy or bribes.
