Sarah POV:
I sat huddled in the backseat of my car, parked three miles away from the pack house, hidden under the canopy of an old oak tree. My hands were shaking so badly I couldn't get the key into the ignition to drive further.
Sarah? Where are you?
The voice echoed in my head via the Mind-Link. It felt like oil slicking over my thoughts.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block him out.
I heard you were at the office, David's voice continued, smooth and calm. Why didn't you come in? I missed you.
I gagged. A wave of nausea rolled through me.
I... I felt sick, I projected back, building a mental wall as best I could. I went home.
Good girl, he replied. Rest. Take your medicine. The doctor says you need it to strengthen your wolf.
The medicine.
My blood ran cold. Every morning, David personally handed me a small vial of blue liquid. He said it was vitamins.
I remembered the conversation. "The doctor sees to that."
It wasn't vitamins. It was Wolfsbane. He was micro-dosing me. Keeping me weak, suppressing my wolf, ensuring I remained infertile and docile.
I watched through the windshield as a sleek black SUV drove past on the main road. It was David's car.
I needed to run. Now. I scrambled into the front seat and jammed the key into the ignition. I turned it.
Click. Click. Click.
Nothing. The engine didn't even sputter.
"No," I whispered, hitting the steering wheel. "Not now."
I looked at the dashboard. The security light was blinking rapidly. Remote immobilization. As the Alpha, David had access to disable any vehicle registered to the pack fleet.
He didn't know I was running, but he was controlling. He probably locked the car simply because I wasn't where I was supposed to be.
I was trapped.
Through the gaps in the trees, I saw the SUV pull over in a secluded clearing nearby.
I crept out of my useless car and moved through the brush, downwind.
David stepped out. A moment later, the passenger door opened.
A woman stepped out. She looked like she was carved from gold and arrogance. Rebecca.
"Are you sure she didn't hear anything?" Rebecca asked. Her voice was sharp.
"She's an Omega, Rebecca. She's slow," David said, leaning against the car. "Even if she heard, she wouldn't understand the politics."
Rebecca walked up to him. She didn't hug him like a lover. She grabbed his chin, inspecting his neck.
"The mark is fading," she criticized.
"I'll refresh it," David said.
I watched in horror as David tilted his head. Rebecca leaned in and scraped her teeth against the junction of his shoulder and neck. A Marking. A claiming.
"Do you feel bad?" Rebecca asked, wiping her mouth. "Lying to your little pet?"
David shrugged. "She has a roof over her head. She has my protection. It's more than a weakling like her deserves."
"True," Rebecca laughed. "Just make sure she stays taking the Wolfsbane. If she ever shifted... well, we can't have her realizing she has teeth, can we?"
They kissed. It was hungry and aggressive.
My inner wolf let out a sound I had never heard before. A low, vibrating growl that rattled my bones.
My phone buzzed. A text from David.
"Emergency at the border. Won't be home for dinner. Love you."
I looked at the phone. Then I looked at the two of them.
There was no way out tonight. The car was dead. The perimeter guards would be on high alert if there was a "border emergency." If I tried to run on foot now, pregnant and weak from Wolfsbane, they'd catch me as a rogue and kill me.
I had to go back. I had to play the part of the dumb pet until I could find a real opening.
I turned around and crept back to my car. My hands were steady now. The shock had passed, replaced by cold, jagged resolve.
I wasn't just Sarah the Omega anymore. I was a mother fighting for her pup. And if I had to walk through hell to get us out, I would.
