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Chapter 1
Brielle
Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Dinner!” Jenson yelled.
The slot in the center of the door opened, and I jumped up from my cot. I had about five seconds before the food tray was shoved through the hole, and I’d learned the hard way that if you weren’t ready to grab your meal when it arrived, you’d be eating it off the floor.
I gripped the steel tray as it was unceremoniously shoved through the slot and frowned at the brown, soupy liquid and hunk of stale bread.
“I know you’re holding out on me. Where’s the good stuff?” I asked, looking through the small window.
As far as staff went, Jenson was the nicest. Sure, he was a cantankerous old bastard sometimes, but unlike the others, he didn’t mistreat us because we were Omegas. He had an attitude with everyone, regardless of rank, and I could appreciate that.
The cranky shifter huffed. “What do you think this is, a five-star hotel? Maybe if you spent less time playing hide-and-seek during the Hunt, you’d be eating better.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes at his unwelcome suggestion. Any indication of disrespect would end the only source of interaction I had in this place, so I schooled my expression. I’d already spent nine months staring at the blank walls of my prison cell within the Council’s facility. There was nothing to do but count down the days until I was released into the forest with the other unfortunate Omegas who’d aged out of the boarding houses.
I was something of a mystery, though. It was unheard of for an Omega to beat the Hunt—to avoid getting captured and make it to the end—but I’d done it three times.
“Come on, don’t be like that, Jenny.” My nickname for the guard was half-taunt, half-endearment. “You know I can’t leave you. Who else would provide you with such riveting conversation?”
He snorted and furrowed his thick, graying eyebrows. “Eat up, kid. I have a feeling this is the last time we’ll see each other.”
His words set alarm bells ringing within me.
“Don’t be so dramatic.” I placed the tray on the wooden desk behind me, preferring to take advantage of the temporary company instead of shoveling down the disgusting excuse for nutrition. “You say that every time.”
They kept me separate from the other girls—as if my resistance was contagious. After my second win, the Council guessed what I was up to. They didn’t want news of their little loophole spreading to the other candidates, so they isolated me.
My wolf snorted. As if we have a choice.
“I mean it every time,” Jenson murmured. Something in his face shifted, and he looked at me with pity. The emotion made my hair stand on end. “You’re playing a dangerous game, kid. If you were my daughter . . .” He fell silent, shutting down the thought as he cast his eyes down the hallway.
Part of me wanted to know what put that look of confusion on his face.
I opened my mouth to ask, but then I heard it.
A chill raced down my spine with every dull thud that reached my ears.
The guards were on the prowl earlier than usual.
The Council guards—or dignitaries, as they liked to call themselves—were glorified bullies. They were responsible for collecting Omegas from the boarding houses and overseeing their stay until the Hunt began. The guards were predominantly Alphas and Betas, and they took every opportunity to make our lives more difficult.
You’d think we were criminals or something.
“Time’s up, Jenny,” I said, patting the door with more bravado than I felt. “See you tomorrow.”
As Jenson’s footsteps retreated down the hall, I sat at the desk and made a show of dipping the craggy bread into my soup in case the guards decided to peek through the window.
The Council punished me after each win, hoping to make my stay unbearable. They wanted to break me—to strong-arm me into accepting my fate. They didn’t know that I’d rather starve to death than bind myself to some random unit so I could pop out their pups.
I refused to make it easy for them.
It didn’t matter. I was only two Hunts away from freedom. Then, there was nothing anyone could do to stop me from walking out those doors.
I choked down the rest of the soup, climbed onto my thin cot, and covered myself with the threadbare sheet. Tomorrow would mark my fourth win.
