Page 5 of Pack Obsession

A branch snaps in the distance, and I jerk my head toward the sound. "Kayla? Jess? Danica?" There’s no answer. My friends are out there somewhere, possibly hurt, possibly caught, and here I am, gawking at the enemy.

"Your friends can look after themselves. They aren’t of our concern," the first Alpha states, stepping closer. I catch a glimpse of ice-blue eyes through his mask.

"They’re my concern," I state and send a kick at the second Alpha’s shin behind me, but he instantly shifts his grip, spins me to face him, and lifts me off my feet until I’m draped over his shoulder.

Dread consumes me, and I wiggle to slide off.

"Put me down!"

"Feisty little thing, aren’t you?" The amusement in his voice makes me want to scream. Or bite him. Maybe both.

"You really want Nexus on your heels? You know it’s illegal to steal an Omega?" I snap as he adjusts his hold, my shirt riding up. I yank it down, face burning. Growing up with an overprotective brother taught me how to handle pushy Alphas, but nothing prepared me for these two and their overwhelming presence.

The first Alpha moves closer, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I try to jerk away, but there’s nowhere to go.

"You remind me of a kitten that thinks it’s a tiger."

"Yeah? This kitten has claws." I swipe at his hand, but he catches my wrist easily.

"Shhh," the second Alpha insists. "Or do you want Nexus to find you, Omega? Take you to that facility where they treat you like lab rats?"

I freeze. The facility. The real reason we ran from the Nexus bus when we crashed. Everyone knows what happens in those places—they study us, control us, trying to understand why there are so few Omegas compared to Betas and Alphas. Why our heat can only be satisfied by an Alpha’s knot. Why we’re so valuable in a world where population growth is declining.

A month ago, a girl from school disappeared into one of those facilities. They said she was beinghelpedthrough her first heat, but no one’s heard from her since, not even her family.

A cool breeze whips through the trees, carrying the scent of smoke from the crash site. Sirens wail in the distance. More Nexus guards coming, no doubt.

"Who the hell are you?"

I’m between the two Alphas, still balanced on the shoulder of one. Their combined scents make my head spin until I can barely think straight.

Well, screw that.

I start to kick my legs and thrash to be put down. He grunts but doesn’t loosen his hold. Instead, the Alpha in front of me pulls out a syringe, light glinting off the needle.

"And here I thought you were going to behave."

"No!" I thrash against them, memories of my parents’ voices echoing in my head.

But the needle still finds my arm, a sharp sting followed by spreading warmth. The Alpha catches my face between his hands, forcing me to look at him.

"Easy, little one. Just relax."

"Fuck... you..." The words come out slurred. The forest starts to spin, trees dancing like they’re caught in a hurricane. Somewhere in the distance, I hear Kayla calling my name. Or maybe I’m imagining it.

We’re moving. The ground sways beneath me like the deck of a ship in a storm. My limbs feel heavy, useless.

"Sleep," one of them murmurs, a large hand stroking down my back. "You’re with us now. Safe."

Safe?That’s what they told us at the Omega schools, too. That all these rules were for our safety. That Nexus was protecting us. That Alphas would keep us safe.

Look how well that turned out for me and my friends today.

The darkness creeps in from the edges of my vision like spilled ink. My last coherent thought is that my brother is going to go ballistic with worry when he finds me missing. Then again, maybe ending up dead in a ditch would be better than what Nexus had planned for us. At least I’d get to see my parents again...

"Sweet dreams, little Omega," he rumbles.

The darkness takes me completely.

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