I jolted awake, heart hammering against my ribs. Something was wrong. The darkness pressed around me, but I wasn't alone.
A warm hand brushed my cheek.
I screamed, scrambling backward until my back hit the wall. A figure loomed over my thin mattress.
"Shh, it's just me."
That voice. Julian.
My terror didn't subside. If anything, it intensified.
"What are you doing here?" I whispered, pulling my threadbare blanket up to my chin. "You can't be in the omega lodge."
Moonlight filtered through the cracked window, illuminating his familiar features. His honey-brown eyes, once so warm when they looked at me, now held an unhinged gleam.
"I had to see you," he said, reaching for me again.
I flinched away. "Don't touch me."
He ignored me, fingers grazing my arm. "I miss you, Hazel."
Was this some kind of sick joke? After weeks of allowing his pack to torment me? After finding his mate?
"Where's Selena?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
Julian's jaw tightened. "Sleeping. It doesn't matter."
"It doesn't matter?" I echoed in disbelief. "She's your mate."
His face contorted with frustration. "I didn't choose her. The bond chose her."
"And you chose to throw me away like garbage," I hissed, newfound courage surging through me. "You chose to watch while they beat me, starved me, worked me half to death."
"I never wanted that." He had the audacity to look wounded. "Father insisted. Pack law—"
"Pack law doesn't demand cruelty," I cut him off. "You're the future Alpha. You could have stopped it."
Julian moved closer, his weight making the thin mattress dip. His familiar scent—pine and leather—brought unwelcome memories flooding back.
"I'm here now," he whispered, reaching for my face again. "I can make it better."
I slapped his hand away. "How? By sneaking into my bed while your mate sleeps? By betraying her?"
"You don't understand," he growled, frustration flashing in his eyes. "The mate bond is... it's not what I expected. It's not like what we had."
"What we had was a lie." My voice cracked. "You promised me forever, and you threw me away in seconds."
His fingers wrapped around my wrist, too tight. "I still want you."
Horror crashed over me like a wave. "You have a mate."
"I can have both." His eyes darkened with something possessive and wrong. "Many Alphas have harems alongside their Lunas. It's tradition."
Bile rose in my throat. "Is that what you want me to be? Your dirty little secret? Your human toy?"
"You'd have protection again," he urged, as if offering me a gift. "Food. Comfort."
"At what cost?" I yanked my arm from his grip. "My dignity? My self-respect?"
Julian's expression hardened. "You don't have much of either left, do you?"
The casual cruelty of his words stole my breath. This wasn't my Jules. This was someone I didn't recognize.
"Get out," I whispered.
"Hazel—"
"Get. Out." I wrapped my arms around myself. "Before I scream loud enough to wake Selena."
His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
We stared at each other in the darkness. The sleeping forms of the other omegas surrounded us, oblivious to the standoff.
Finally, Julian stood. "This isn't over. You'll see reason eventually."
"The only thing I see is that you were never who I thought you were."
His jaw clenched. "You'll come to me. When you're tired of starving. When winter sets in and you're freezing in this shack."
"I'd rather die," I spat.
Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "Be careful what you wish for."
He stalked toward the door, pausing at the threshold. "By the way, Selena's asked that you specifically serve at tomorrow's reception for the Lycan King. Wear something... presentable."
The door closed behind him, leaving me trembling in the darkness.
I knew what "presentable" meant in Selena's vocabulary. Something revealing. Something humiliating. A chance to parade me before the visiting royalty as the pathetic human who thought she could be Luna.
And now, the Lycan King would see me.
I couldn't stay. Not another day. Not another hour.
The decision crystallized in my mind, sudden but absolute. I had to leave. Tonight.
I glanced around the dark lodge. The other omegas slept deeply, exhausted from their day's labor. No one had stirred during Julian's visit.
Moving silently, I slipped from my bed. Under my mattress was a small backpack I'd stolen from the garbage behind the Beta's house. Over the past two weeks, I'd been squirreling away supplies—a water bottle, a small first aid kit, a lighter.
I pulled it out, heart racing. This was it. My one chance.
From beneath a loose floorboard, I retrieved the shoes I'd managed to hide when they'd taken mine away. They were worn, but they were sturdy.
Next, I crept to the kitchen. The lock on the pantry was flimsy; I'd discovered I could jiggle it open weeks ago but had never dared to steal food until now. I filled my backpack with non-perishables—energy bars, dried fruit, nuts. Anything small and calorie-dense.
Last, I took the small machete used for cutting herbs from the kitchen drawer. Not much of a weapon, but better than nothing.
Dressed in my only spare clothes, backpack secured, I hesitated at the back door. The moment I stepped outside, I'd be a fugitive. If they caught me...
I shuddered, remembering the public punishment of the last omega who'd tried to run. They'd broken both his legs before forcing him to crawl back to the lodge. He'd died from infection three days later.
But staying meant facing Julian's twisted desires, Selena's escalating cruelty, and tomorrow, the piercing gaze of the Lycan King.
I pushed the door open and slipped into the night.
The compound was eerily quiet. Most wolves had excellent hearing, so I stuck to the shadows, moving as silently as possible. My heart thundered so loudly I was certain it would wake someone.
The perimeter fence loomed ahead. During my gardening duties, I'd discovered a spot where the metal had rusted through near the ground. It was tight, but I could squeeze through.
I dropped to my stomach, pushing my backpack through first. The jagged metal scraped my back as I wriggled through, tearing my shirt and skin. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.
Then I was through. Outside pack boundaries for the first time in six years.
I grabbed my backpack and ran.
The forest swallowed me. Dark trees loomed on all sides, branches reaching like grasping fingers. I had no plan beyond "get away." East, I decided. Toward the river. Water would mask my scent.
Every snapping twig made me flinch. Every rustling leaf sounded like pursuit. The night was alive with noises, and each one sent fresh terror through me.
How long before they discovered I was missing? Hours, if I was lucky. Minutes, if someone checked the omega lodge.
The ground sloped downward. I stumbled over roots and rocks, barely catching myself from falling. My lungs burned. My muscles screamed. But I pushed on.
Julian's words echoed in my mind: "You'll come to me. When you're tired of starving."
Never. I'd rather take my chances in the wilderness.
A howl split the night. My blood froze.
No. Not already.
I forced my trembling legs to move faster. The howl had come from behind me, but wolves could cover ground with terrifying speed.
The sound of rushing water reached my ears. The river! I changed direction, heading toward the noise.
Branches whipped my face. Thorns tore at my clothes. None of it mattered. Only distance mattered.
The forest floor suddenly dropped away. I barely managed to stop myself from tumbling down a steep embankment. Below, the river glinted silver in the moonlight, wider and faster than I'd expected.
I half-climbed, half-slid down the slope, sending small avalanches of pebbles ahead of me. At the bottom, I waded into the water, gasping as the icy current hit my legs.
The water was deeper than it looked. By the time I reached the middle, it surged around my waist, threatening to sweep me downstream.
Another howl pierced the night. Closer. Much closer.
Panic clawed at my throat. I forced myself to keep moving, fighting the current with every step. My feet slipped on slick stones, nearly sending me under.
Finally, I reached the far bank, drenched and shivering. I'd bought myself some time. Not much, but some.
I pushed on into the forest, my wet clothes clinging to my skin. The temperature was dropping. Hypothermia was a real danger, but I couldn't stop to change or dry off. Not yet.
Hours passed in a blur of fear and exhaustion. Dawn streaked the eastern sky with pale light when I finally allowed myself to collapse beneath a fallen log.
My muscles spasmed with fatigue. My lungs felt raw. But for the first time in weeks, I felt something besides fear and despair.
Hope.
I'd done it. I'd escaped.
Now I just had to stay free.
I pulled a dry shirt from my backpack, changing quickly. My wet clothes I spread over branches to dry. I allowed myself two small sips of water and half an energy bar.
As the forest awakened around me, birds calling in the trees, I leaned back against the log and closed my eyes. Just a short rest. Then I'd keep moving.
The snap of a branch jerked me back to consciousness. How long had I been asleep? The sun had risen fully, warming my face.
Another snap, closer this time.
I froze, hardly daring to breathe. Had they found me? After all this?
Something moved in the underbrush ahead. I reached for the machete with trembling hands.
A deer stepped into the small clearing, its large eyes regarding me with cautious curiosity. It sniffed the air, then bounded away.
Just a deer. Not a wolf. Not Julian.
Relief made me lightheaded. I packed my still-damp clothes and prepared to move on.
As I shouldered my backpack, a chill ran down my spine. The forest had gone silent. No birdsong. No rustling leaves.
The silence of prey sensing a predator.
I turned slowly, scanning the trees. Nothing moved, but the hair on my arms stood on end.
Something was watching me. I could feel it.
Fight or flight instinct screamed through my veins. Flight won. I ran.
Behind me, the forest erupted with sound—paws pounding the earth, branches breaking under powerful bodies.
The hunt was on.
And I was the prey.