Chapter 1
Lyra
“So, we’re keeping our expectations low, right?” Dr. Cleo pushes the door shut behind her, speaking slowly to me like I’m a skittish animal she’s trying to keep calm.
But when she looks up from her clipboard and sees me perched on the hospital bed, fingers of both of my hands crossed and lips pressed tight together, she sighs.
“Lyra.” She walks to me and pets her hand over my hair. “Come on. You know that a positive pregnancy test today is a long shot—”
“But possible?” I look hopefully into my doctor’s big brown eyes. “It couldhappen—in the lab, you got the egg and the sperm to create an embryo! That’s basicallya baby!”
“Yes,” Cleo says. Her mouth twists to one side as she tucks my hair behind my ear. “But there’s a big difference between a lab embryo and a successful pregnancy. Nobody in this entire nation has gotten pregnant in five years—”
“But you’re the best,” I whisper, my lips turning down. “And Jace has all the money in the world…”
Cleo nods slowly, regarding me with a faint trace of pity. I look her over, stunned again that the best fertility doctor in the city is a twenty-two-year-old prodigy with freckles dotting her nose. Youth aside, I trust her. But her expression tells me all I need to know.
I sigh, shoulders slumping.
“Look, miracles happen.” Cleo pats my knee. “Let’s just wait for the results. We’ll go from there.”
I nod and close my eyes, my shoulders hunching slightly, my wolf wearing an anxious track in my soul as she paces back and forth. It makes sense that Cleo remains calm—she doesn’t have the stakes in this that I do.
I’m Alpha Jace’s thirteenth Luna, and this is our third time here at the fertility clinic, trying for a baby. If it doesn’t work this time, I’ll go the way of his first twelve Lunas. And…nobody knows what happened to them.
I gulp, trying to settle my frazzled nerves.
So many people in the nation root for me to fail because they don’t want me, a Beta-born, to be the one to have Jace’s child. But Jace’s advisors talked him into arranging our match with the argument that he’d tried conceiving withtwelve Alpha-born girls without success. Why not vary the gene pool with someone from sturdy Beta stock? The case in my favor was further supported by the fact that I was raised in an Alpha household, so I’ve got the manners. I’m only technically a Beta.
At least, that’s what I keep telling myself. Everyone will change their minds! Everyone will acceptme as soon as I give Jace a child.
The door opens, and my head lifts. A smile breaks over my lips when Jace comes into the room with his two male secretaries in tow. I move my hands to my hair and ensure that my unruly strawberry-blonde waves are tucked away in their bun, just how Jace likes them.
“Lyra,” Jace murmurs, crossing to me. He takes my hands and presses a chaste kiss to my cheek. “I hope you’re well.”
“I—I’m great!” I beam up at my Alpha, my cheeks flushed. We’ve only been mated for three months, and things are still a little stilted between us. And, I mean, it makes sense! I’m not his first Luna, and he doesn’t want to get attached to me if our union doesn’t produce a child.
Which is why he hasn’t touched me, not really—just a sweet kiss on the day of our small, private mating ceremony. All of our fertility attempts have been made fully in the lab. In the end, it’s all about the baby, and our chances are higher with this fertility clinic than with a traditional conception.
After all, Cleo madean embryo with my egg and his sperm, and thathasn’t happened since this fertility blight began. Jace needs an heir, and I’m going to give it to him. And once I do, we’re going to be…
So, so happy.
I smile at Jace, my gaze moving over his strong jaw and his pretty hazel eyes. He’s handsome, smart, and important. How did I get so lucky?
“Doctor,” Jace says, turning to Cleo, still holding my hands. “I assume everything is well with my Luna?”
“Yup!” Cleo gives him a big smile. “She’s healthy as a horse. Doesn’t change the fact that no one’s gotten pregnant in five years—”
Jace growls at Cleo, a frown taking his lips. Cleo has the audacity to roll her eyes, and I go still.
“Look, Alpha, I’ll take as much money as you want to throw at me,” she says with a shrug. “And I am your best shot at this. But I want to make it clear from the start that if Lyra isn’t pregnant today, it’s not herfault.”
Jace’s growl deepens. “Watch your tongue, doctor.”
Cleo huffs and turns toward the door. “Bringing new women in here like some kind of bizarre revolving mate door isn’tgoing to get you a son and heir, Senator.”
“What are you trying to say?” Jace snaps.
Cleo turns back to him, brows furrowed. “I’m sayingthat there’s something largerat play here, Alpha, and youknow it. But you’re going to blame her for it.” Cleo gestures at me with her thumb. “And quite frankly, I think that’s bullshit.”
A rough snarl slips from between Jace’s teeth, but the door opens and all of our attention snaps to the white-clad nurse who steps into the room with a very important clipboard in her hand.
We all fall silent. The nurse’s heels click on the floor as she carries the paperwork to Cleo, who thanks her and tells her she can go.
The door snicks shut after the nurse. Cleo flips through the pages.
I’m barely breathing, my hands clasped in Jace’s, when she lifts her eyes again to mine.
“I’m sorry, Lyra.” Cleo presses her lips together, shaking her head.
I inhale a shaky breath.
“It looks like this round was unsuccessful as well.”
A strangled cry breaks from my throat as Jace sighs and starts to pull his hands away.
I burst into tears, my whole world feeling like it’s splintering apart. I bury my face in my hands, soaking my palms in an instant.
“We have plenty of options,” Cleo says hastily, and I look up as Jace nods to his secretaries. One pulls out a pen and a notebook, the other a recording device. “We can try a more experimental method—”
“Thank you, doctor, that won’t be necessary,” Jace says, his words clipped and formal.
Cleo clenches her jaw and stares at Jace with such hatred that shock courses through me, immediate and searing.
“Lyra,” Jace says. I look up at him, my throat tight, my breath hitching in my chest. He grimaces, shrugging one shoulder. “I’m sorry, my dear. But we tried, and we had a good run. It didn’t work. This is where we end.”
“No!” I whisper, my whole body starting to tremble.
“I, Alpha Jace Reid, First Senator of this fine Capital, reject you.”
I stare at him in shock and horror, tears streaming down my cheeks.
Jace sighs and glances at his secretaries. “Did you get that?”
They nod, one writing quickly on the notebook, the other ending the recording and saving it carefully for posterity.
Jace turns back to me and gives me a soft pat on the shoulder. “Some guards will come in a few minutes to escort you to your next station. Until then, just relax. And have a nice day.”
He goes to the door and pulls it open, his secretaries following as I continue to cry.
I stare after Jace. Did…
Did he just fucking tell me to have a nice day?
Jace steps into the hall and reaches out, taking the hand of a young woman waiting there. I sit up straighter, my breath catching in my throat, because—
But no, it can’t be…
Horror floods me from head to toe as the woman glances through the shrinking space of the closing doorway, a slow, cruel smile on her lips. As the door slams shut, the truth smacks me in the face like a blow: that’s my fucking step-sister, Eloise. Jace’s experiment with taking a Beta mate has ended, and he’s gone backto Alpha-born girls.
My stepsister, who has never been anything butcruel to me, will take my place. She’s going to be Jace’s fourteenth Luna.
My life is over.
“Come here, girl,” Cleo says, wrapping me up in her arms the moment Jace and Eloise disappear from sight. She rocks me softly and lets me cry into her shoulder. I’m rigid with shock even as I sob, my mind scrambling to make sense of this, my wolf howling with grief.
How could it all go so wrong, so fast? My whole life—my dream—in pieces.
No Alpha, no baby…
And god… god did I want that baby, to hold it in my arms, kiss those little cheeks…
“Listen to me,” Cleo whispers, speaking fast.
My muscles stiffen at her urgent tone.
Cleo pulls back a bit, her expression grave. “I’ve seen this before, okay? You’re not the first Luna he’s rejected in my office, so I know what happens next.”
I stare at her, too grief-stricken and scared to know how to respond.
My doctor holds my gaze evenly. “The guards come, Lyra, and they take the Lunas away. They’re never seen again. Which means before they get here?” Her eyebrows rise, and I suck in a breath. “You need to run.”
Chapter 2
Lyra
Cleo takes my hands and pulls me off the bed, glancing at the door. “Seriously, Lyra, you need to leave right now.” She grabs my purse from the table in the corner and pulls out my phone and credit cards, tossing both onto the polished surface. “Don’t take anything they can trace—”
“Huh?” I watch her in a panicked daze, a state I’m not sure I’ve felt before.
“Lyra,” Cleo snaps, her eyes locking with mine. “Don’t you see? He can’t take another Luna while his previous Luna is living and capable. You know the rules of Alpha mating and marriages—there’s no such thing as divorce, even after a rejection!”
I do know that—the whereabouts of Jace’s previous twelve Lunas has been a source of great mystery and speculation on social media. But it wasn’t supposed to happen with me! It was supposed to work! We were supposed to have a baby—
“Lyra!”
I flinch and blink, focusing again on Cleo.
She steps close, looking seriously into my eyes. “I don’t know what he’s done with his previous Lunas, but I—I fucking like you, okay? You’re not a stuck-up bitch like they were—”
I take big, deep gulps of air as my mind comes back to me through the shock. I wipe at the few tears left on my cheeks with my wrist, pushing my panic away.
“I don’t want you to die,” Cleo whispers, shaking her head. “And I can help you.”
She shoves my purse at me, and I hold it in my shaking hands as she bends low and starts to tug off her shoes.
“Wha—what are you doing?”
“I’m swapping shoes with you,” Cleo murmurs, jerking her chin toward my fancy heels. “You can’t move fast enough in those.”
I look down and kick off the insanely expensive heels that Jace bought me. Shoes fit for a Luna. But I’m not that anymore. I slip Cleo’s sneakers on and quickly tie the laces. As I do, more awareness comes to me, and I realize that Cleo’s right. If Jace doesn’t want me as his Luna anymore, and he’s going to take my sister instead, then he’s got to do something with me.
Dispose of me, somehow.
I can’t let that happen.
“Where do I go?” I whisper.
“The window, the fire escape!” Cleo pulls a wallet from her pocket and removes a fistful of cash, which she holds out to me. “Look, it’s not a lot, but it will—”
“Thank you,” I whisper, taking the money with both hands. Jace doesn’t let me carry cash, and Cleo’s right—he’ll track me if I use my cards.
“Get as far away as you can, okay?” Cleo steps close and helps me shove the money into my purse. “Take menial jobs, change your name, whatever you need to do to stay off the grid.”
“Do you think he kills them?” Horror tightens my throat.
Cleo’s mouth presses again into a doubtful line. “I don’t think he takes the risk of letting them live, Lyra.”
Shock pulses through me, leaving my chest tight and hands trembling.
Cleo pulls me into a lightning-fast hug. “Good luck. Go down the fire escape and get in some sort of vehicle headed out of the city. Try not to be seen.”
“Okay,” I whisper, nodding. I stare at her, wanting to thank her again, but a shadow crosses the pebbled window of the exam room door.
My eyes fly wide. Cleo gasps and turns toward the knock that sounds.
I’m already on the move, throwing my handbag over my shoulder as I run to the window. I grab the frame and shove the window up, climbing out. I allow one final glance back at Cleo, who nods to me, before I scramble away and crawl over the fire escape to the ladder at the other end. I climb down to the next level, and then the next, my heart slamming against my chest and my hands shaking with every inch that I gain, moving ever downward.
As I go, something unexpected comes alive in me.
I don’t know precisely how to describe it, but it’s a fierce, vicious thing—a long-denied survival instinct, I think, that my training as an Alpha’s mate taught me to push down and away.
Too long I’ve been petted, obedient, and good—the perfect put-down Beta girl in a world of Alphas who sneer at me. But now I’ve lost that world, whatever wolf instincts I was born with that urge me to stay alive at all costs come roaring to life.
By the time I jump the final few feet to the ground, I’ve stopped shaking. My breath pants over my lips, but I bare my teeth at the world as I look up and down the alley behind the fertility clinic, deciding which way to go. It’s a false kind of courage, I know—the cornered she-wolf baring her teeth at a foe she can’t possibly beat.
But damn it, I’ll take the adrenaline that’s pumping through my veins.
“Over there!” someone shouts.
I spin away from the noise and start to run.
***
Six hours later, the pickup truck slows, sending me sliding across the plastic bed until my shoulder comes to a stop against a sharp-edged, cold toolbox. I wince and hiss as quietly as I can. As the vehicle begins to turn, my hands fly out and smack into the side and base of the truck bed. I anxiously eye the tailgate, not wanting to slam into it again. It is…very dirty.
Not that I have anything to stay clean for, but my mom worked as a laundress. We didn’t always have much when I was a kid, but my clothes were always clean. Even if I am fleeing my Alpha in the back of some farmer’s truck, a part of me still hates to get my clothes muddy.
I got lucky, jumping into the back of this truck in the drive-through of a fast-food restaurant. I crouched in the bushes for about fifteen terrifying minutes, picking my target carefully. I’d seen this truck’s muddy side as well as the rodeo bumper stickers and took a bet that this driver would head out to the country after a day in the Capital. That bet sure as hell paid off—he drove for hours.
The truck pulls into a parking spot. I crawl as quietly as I can to the front of the bed and move the edges of a blue tarp over myself, praying that I remain unseen. A click sounds as a door opens. Footsteps move along the side of the truck and fade away, leaving me alone in the dark. I push the tarp off and sit up just enough to peek over the truck’s high side, looking over the fields all around me and the black sky above, spotted with stars.
Even though I’m completely without a plan and fully freaking out about it, I stare out at the landscape, noting with surprise that it’s a very pretty night. I tilt my head back, studying the little specks of white in all that velvety darkness. We don’t get to see sights like this in the Capital.
Cheerful music begins to play behind me, and I turn toward the sound. I see, of all things… God, I don’t know what I’d call it. A honky-tonk? A juke joint? A…a roadhouse? I grimace, embarrassed that I don’t know the right word, but it’s certainly the kind of place I’ve only seen in movies. Wooden walls slapped together, a neon sign in the window, a screen door that slams shut after whoever just stepped inside.
My stomach growls, and my sensitive wolf-born nose twitches at the delicious scent of barbecue drifting through the air. I press my hand to my grumbling stomach. I haven’t eaten in hours, and I’m thirsty, and if this place has food and drinks—
God. Drinks. Yes. Yes, I definitely want a drink after all of this.
I grab my money out of my purse and shove it into the pocket of my fancy white pants, which are now quite grimy. I look at them with a grimace but force myself to get over it, pushing my purse under the tarp. It’s not wise to walk into a place like this with a bag like that.
I take a deep breath and hop out of the truck bed. Shoulders back, I stride toward that screen door with as much false bravado as I can muster.
The moment I press through the door, every head in the place turns directly to me.
My whole body stills. The bar has far more customers than I expected, most of them men. Men sitting at rickety, mismatched tables, men standing at the bar, men wearing a lot of leather with more tattoos on display than I’ve ever seen in my life.
And all of them look right at me.
I gulp down a breath that sticks in my throat.
“Come on in, honey!” The sweet country voice makes me turn to see a gorgeouswoman with dark, curling hair behind the bar, a friendly smile on her lips. She beckons to me, and as I scurry over, I realize that she’s wearing leather too—a sexy bustier that shows off her ample chest and hourglass figure. My eyes widen at the sight of the outfit—something else you don’t see in the Capital every day.
“Hi, cutie!” The woman leans over the bar and smiles indulgently at me. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
I laugh softly, tucking a stray wave of my hair back behind my ear. “That wasn’t hard to guess, was it?”
She laughs, wrinkling her nose and raising her chin to a barstool on my right. “Take a load off, sugar. It looks like you’ve had one hell of a day.”
“Um…” I ease myself onto the stool and glance around the room, which fills with music and conversation now that the novelty of my presence has worn off. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be rude…”
“Oh, be as rude as you want to.” The woman winks at me as she starts to mix a cocktail. “This isn’t really a polite sort of place.”
A smile flickers over my lips. “Thanks,” I say softly. “But, um, am I…safe here?”
The bartender shrugs. “You are if you mind your business.” She grabs a bottle of whiskey and holds it high as she pours a stream of brown liquor into an iced glass. “But if you’re looking for trouble, you’ll find it.”
I grimace. “I am…not looking for trouble.”
“Look, sweetheart.” The woman finishes mixing the drink and sets one elbow on the bar, bending close, conspiratorial. “I’ll keep an eye on you, all right? Nobody will mess with you unless you want to be messed with. You take a minute to think about what you do want, and I’ll be right back to take your order.”
The woman strides away, delivering the drink somewhere down the bar. I exhale, letting my shoulders relax. Even if I feel safe for the moment, I have no idea what I’m going to do. And it’s not like I didn’thave hours to think about my predicament in the truck bed, but a whole lot of thinking doesn’t change the fact that I’m alone, without resources, without a plan, without…anything.
Tears come to my eyes as I realize that I’m afraid.
“So, what can I get for you, angel?”
I jump at the words, my head whipping up.
The bartender’s face falls when she sees my surprise, or maybe the tears that spill over my lashes. “Oh, baby.” She reaches out and cups my cheek in her palm. “It can’t be that bad! You just put your trust in Wanda for a bit. I’ll take care of you.”
“I don’t have anywhere to go,” I say, my voice creaky.
“We’ll worry about that in a second.” She grins at me, all cheer. “Let’s get some food and a stiff drink in you first. Then we’ll tackle the big stuff.”
I smile tremulously. “Okay.”
Wanda nods and then moves away, calling something into the kitchen before moving down the bar, starting to mix me a drink. I concentrate on her movements, declining to think about my problems for a few peaceful moments.
When she’s finished, Wanda heads back in my direction with a vivid purple drink in her hand. I raise my eyebrows. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a drink that color. She pauses by the kitchen to grab a plate as well. “Here you go, sugar.” Wanda slips the drink and a steaming plate of barbecued meat and vegetables before me.
It all smells delicious, and I take a deep breath as I stare at the food and drink, amazedby this woman’s kindness. I reach for the drink, but as my fingers wrap around the glass, my wolf growls at me to put it right back down. I’m not supposedto drink—Jace forbade it. He wanted my body in the best condition so that I could conceive. I haven’t had a drink since before our mating ceremony—not even champagne to celebrate.
My fingers tighten on the glass, and I snarl softly. All of thatwas a waste, wasn’t it?
There’s no more Alpha mate, no more promise of a bright future.
No baby.
And that hits the worst because I really…I really want to be a mom.
I suck in a sharp breath as I grab the drink, tossing it back. Sweetness coats my tongue as the liquor burns my throat. I put the glass down, but let my face tilt toward the ceiling, exhaling a long, slow breath as I finally accept the fact that my previous life is…dead.
Wanda laughs kindly. I lift my head to meet her eyes, and she smiles sweetly. “Atta girl. Let me mix you a fresh one.”
I grin and pick up the fork and knife next to my plate. “Wanda, thank you,” I whisper, shaking my head. “This is all so kind.”
She smiles and waves her fingertips at me with a little laugh, beginning to fix my second drink.
***
I moan, pain arcing through my body, bright light making me wince. I press my eyes more tightly shut and gasp for a breath of air. But I cough immediately, dust in my lungs—
My eyes crack open, and I press my hand to the ground, trying to push myself up, gravel under my palm. I stop moving, staring down. Gravel? What—what the fuck am I doing on the ground? Outside?
I moan and get my other hand beneath me as well, pushing myself up on shaky arms, staring blankly at the filthy road beneath me. Nausea hits suddenly, rolling inside me alongside the pain. A breeze blows over my skin, and I shiver as I lift my head, my tongue moving over my cracked lips. A broken, dusty highway runs into the distance, the dawn sun peeking over a haze at the horizon.
My breath starts to come in pants, my heart fluttering as panic rises, but my body hurts too much for the terror to get far. Nausea slams into me again, and I retch, vomit crawling up my throat to pool in my mouth. My arms give out, and I go to my elbows, spitting a tiny puddle of bizarre purple bile into the gravel.
What…what the hell happened to me? Where am I?
My memories come flying back. The doctor’s office yesterday, Jace’s rejection, riding in the truck—
And then, fuzzier, drinks at that crazy bar, and laughing with Wanda for what felt like hours, and then…god, was I dancing?
There’s nothing after that.
I groan and let myself collapse to the ground, rolling onto my back to avoid my bile, staring at the pale blue sky. Streaky white clouds cross it, tinged with dawn light on their eastern edge, a lovely, soft yellow, like butter. My stomach clenches, and I groan, my head tilting to the side. Horror, shame, and pain race through me. What…what did I do? And why?
I ransack my memory for answers, but there’s nothing—just the pounding in my head, my chilly and feverish skin, my twisted stomach. My wolf howls softly in my soul, and my eyes suddenly fly open when I realize that, in addition to these pains, a very particular ache throbs between my thighs. One I’ve felt before.
I mean, Jace and I were never intimate—he said to save that until we were a real family—but I’m twenty-seven! I’m not a virgin! I had two serious boyfriends before Jace, and I know this next-day ache that suggests that I…I got up to something last night.
I groan, lifting my hands to cover my face, my shame only increasing. God, I’m rejected for a few hours, and what, I become a juke-joint bar slut?
Or, worse—did someone assault me?
I start to cry, horrified at myself and my situation, tryingdesperatelyto remember anything. But it’s as if my mind has been completelywiped.
Somewhere in the distance, the ripping, thundering sound of a motorcycle echoes, and I freeze. That sound—we hear it all the time on television in the Capital, on all the shows that talk about the roving Rogue biker gangs that patrol the lawless lands of the Wastes outside of our police force’s reach.
The sound echoes again. Not one motorcycle—several. And…
But…no.
It’s…it’s not coming closer…
Is it?
I haul myself up so that I’m sitting, holding my weight up on shaky arms as I peer toward the growling, popping sound of motorcycles on the horizon.
My heart skitters like a mouse, my chest tightening as I realize that…it’s definitely getting louder.
Panic erases all sense of my aching head and churning stomach. Where the road meets the sky, dark figures start to emerge from the haze. Black helmets, leather jackets, flashing chrome, and guns. Bigguns—rifles and revolvers and—and—god, I don’t knowwhat they’re called! Of course I don’t, guns are illegal! Only the police and the military should have guns!
The rumble and thump of engines fill the air as the bikes fly toward me. More and more crest over the rise—a whole pack of Riders kicking up a cloud of dust. I scramble toward the side of the road, seeking the dry grass that grows alongside the asphalt, wanting to lie flat in it, to hide—
God, but I’ve got to hide. We’ve all heardwhat the men in these motorcycle gangs are like. The news salivates over the violence of the Brotherhoods and the Covenants who wage war out here in the Wastes. These horrible, bloodthirsty criminals who chose anarchy and violence instead of Capital rule, ostracizing themselves rather than helping our people grow and persist in this terrible time.
My panicked breath comes in pants, my ears filledwith the roar of the engines. I reach for the patch of grass, ready to throw myself into it, but a tire rips through the space in front of me, and I scream as dirt sprays in my face. Escape cut off, I twist back to the bikes, but they’re all aroundme now, a hurricane of roaring noise and flashing metal. Shouts and jeers fill the air, mingling with the dust cloud.
I gasp for air, coughing and hacking, but even as I struggle to breathe, I register that the bikes slow down around me.
Not passing.
Stopping. In a circle. With me at the center.
I look up, trembling all over. The Riders leer at me, revving their engines to see me twitch.
“Someone’s bitch fell off!” The crass voice echoes over the engines. Raucous laughter follows.
“Smoke Cov was just through here,” another sneers. My head twists left and right, trying to locate the speaker. “You think she jumped??”
More of that horrible laughter. Instinct takes over, and my fangs extend from my canines, my nails lengthening to claws that clutch the gravel by the side of the road. A bike roars, pulling up in front of me, and a scream climbs up my throat. I clench my teeth, swallowing it down.
“No, this is a pretty kitty,” the Rider coos, peering at me over the edge of a black-and-white bandana as he plants a foot on the road before me, leaning over to get a better look at my face.
My lips peel back, my fangs warning him to back the fuck off—
He bursts into vicious laughter, tugging down his bandana and grinning at me with a line of straight white teeth, his own fangs on display. “Oh, no!” he shouts, straightening up and calling out to all of his brothers. “This kitty bites!”
Again, that mocking laughter. My heart beats so hard and fast it echoes in my ears.
“Good, I like ‘em nasty,” another man growls, twisting his throttle so that his bike rolls a few feet beyond his friend’s motorcycle. His eyes rove over me, his face and full beard covered in dust. “Wanna come home with me, little pussy? Show me what you can do with those teeth?”
No answer finds my tongue, and every single one of my muscles locks.
They—they had better not fucking touch me—I’ll shred them to ribbons, or die trying—
Another bike roars forward, and both men’s heads snap toward it in surprise. They both curse and lift their feet, their bikes lurching out of the way just in time. The bigger bike doesn’t hesitate, skidding to a stop where the other bikes idled not a split second before.
The bike’s engine hums so loud that I can feel its pulse in my chest. I raise my eyes to the Rider, my mouth falling open as I take him in.
He’s…he’s gigantic, corded with muscle. My eyes move over his powerful arms and his strong, well-defined shoulders, taking in the black and grey lines of tattoos traced over every visible bit of skin as it disappears into his black t-shirt. Only his face—what I can see of it behind the thick, full beard that matches his shoulder-length brown hair—remains unmarked.
Horror streaks through me.
Tattoos…tattoos are a sin against the Goddess, a disgrace to the perfect body she gave to us when we’re born. They’re witch-work, or just as bad.
And this man…he’s got them everywhere.
Outlaw—it’s the only word for this man, except maybe savage. An Alpha who has absolutely no respect for decency and order. He stares down at me, his eyes narrowed, and I’m too terrified to move.
“Move out!” he barks, his deep voice echoing all around, almost preternaturally loud. “I’ll handle this.”
A muttered hum of disappointment fills the air, but not a single Rider hesitates to follow the command. Their engines pop with loud bursts of sound as feet lift and they accelerate, moving down the road.
It takes a long time—the gang is huge—but after a minute or two, the bulk of the crew has moved beyond us. The whole time, the man glares down at me, pinning me to place with his gaze like I’m some kind of inconvenient insect, his face impassive.
My shoulders shake. Is—is he letting me go? Or does he just want to take his time toying with me before I’m left for dead? Dread fills me, and a soft moan slips from my lips.
Movement draws my eyes to the Alpha’s left. I suck in a breath when I find another Rider there, his bike humming. I thought we were alone—
“Grizz.” The second Rider, an older man, shakes his head. “Don’t fucking do this, man. We don’t need another mouth to—”
“Shut up,” the Alpha snarls, his eyes still fastened on me.
Another bike appears from behind the Alpha, crunching through the gravel on my left. My breath hitches as I shriek, twisting toward him, thinking he’s going to run me over—
But he stops, putting his feet on the ground and standing so he can peer at me over the edge of his handlebars. The Rider’s expression is curious on his young, clean-shaven face. My mouth twists with confusion as I stare at him. Why…why would he pretend that he doesn’t want to hurt me? I know what happens next, I’ve seen the news reports—
The Alpha snarls, and I nearly leap out of my skin, my attention snapping back to him. “Who are you?” he barks out, fierce.
Nausea rolls in me alongside my fear, and my eyelids flutter for a second. I press a hand to my stomach. “I—I’m no one.”
“Bullshit.” The second guy lifts his chin at me. “Look how she’s dressed. She’s money. Capital.”
My lip trembles, and I drop my gaze to the ground, remembering what Cleo said. I have to run and disappear. Even if these men don’t kill me, they could take me captive and return me to Jace for a reward. I have to hide.
“Tell me,” the leader growls, leaning closer, his voice thick with Alpha command.
“I’m…Lyra,” I whisper, the words falling from my lips. It’s a common enough name for my birth year; not enough to tie me to Jace.
“I’ll give you one more chance,” the Alpha snarls, cruel and menacing. “Fucking tell me—”
“I said I’m no one!” I snap, my eyes flying up to meet his even as my arms tremble and my stomach churns. Shock runs through me even as the words echo in my ears. Where the hell did that come from?
But my little wolf snarls, prowling back and forth in my soul, her hackles raised. We will not die today, she growls, her eyes aglow with determination. The Goddess did not write this fate for us. We will survive.
The Alpha sits straighter, studying me. He leans forward, sniffing the air around me, and I grimace, my eyes darting to the little puddle of purple vomit to my left. I’m sure that whatever he’s smelling, it’s not nice.
“Let’s just go,” the man next to him snaps. “Leave her here. She’s not our prob—”
“I will give you two choices,” the Alpha grumbles, his eyes focused on me. The older man scoffs, but my gaze rises to the Alpha. My body shakes, my stomach turning over again, fear tightening my chest. “The first is that you stay here by the side of the road, dehydrated and alone, where you’ll probably die or get kidnapped.”
My eyebrows rise. That sounds like a pretty horrific first option.
“Or,” the Alpha extends a broad, calloused hand, “you take your chances with us.”
The younger man snaps his attention to the Alpha. His lips part, and his eyes flare wide.
“Grizz!” the older one shouts, shaking his head vehemently. “Do not fucking—”
But the words fade from my hearing. I keep my eyes fixed on the Alpha, studying his clear, cold gaze. My eyes drop to his palm, my stomach clenching as my wolf howls, urging me to decide. Fast.
Chapter 3
Grizz
I twist the throttle, my jaw clenching as we accelerate down the highway. The girl stays still at my back, not moving anymore. My wolf snarls and paces in my soul, his wide paws kicking up dust as he goes.
Shit.
I should have known it would go like this. She looked alert enough when I offered her the ultimatum to come with me or be left to the road. She stared at my hand for a second, but then she retched, vomiting so hard that blood came up alongside whatever purple gunk curdled in her stomach. And then she coughed and fell to the ground, unconscious and gasping for air.
Which just made her decision for her.
I ordered my Gamma and my Beta to pick her up and strap her to my back, pouring some water over her lips. But she’s dehydrated as hell, which means death out in these Wastes. If I’d left her there, she’d have perished for sure.
And…fuck. Honestly, she should have come around by now. I’m not convinced that I saved her at all.
I lift a hand, signaling to my Gamma behind me, gesturing to the side of the road. I hear the deepening hum of his motorcycle as he slows. I shift my bike and brake slightly, dropping out of the back of the pack. Some of my Riders glance my way, but nobody questions it. They know I’ll run them off the road if they do.
The Pack speeds ahead, and I pull to the side of the road, letting my bike’s engine fall to a purr as my Gamma rides up beside me.
I meet his eyes and tilt my head back toward the girl.