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My knees buckle slightly. My thighs clench. My breath shudders out of me.

No.

I shove backward.Hard.

“Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me.”

Lucian halts, mid-step; but not because he’s cowed - because he’s choosing not to move.

I can see it in his eyes: the calculation, possession. This isn’t about instinct, this is aboutdecision.

He wants me, and he also wants Ash gone.

The realization slides cold through the molten chaos of my body: they’re not just competing - they’re preparing to fight.

And if I stay between them, there’s only one way it ends.

My instincts scream at me, raw and desperate.

So.

I bolt.

Again.

I shove past Lucian, a whiff of cologne and hubris, and nearly take Ash down in the process. Neither stops me, but I can feel them tracking me with their eyes - the kind of attention that sears.

The heels were a mistake. I’m all panic, sweat, and fury, skidding down marble floors.

I only make it a few more seconds before a shrill voice slices through the air, cutting directly through the chaos, all sharp and horrified.

“RHEA?!”

Lexi.

She rounds the corner like she’s preparing to fight god, and her shoulders sag the moment she locks eyes with me.

“There you are - what the hell?! I thought maybe you’d been kidnapped or decided to elope with a suspiciously tall waiter -”

“I don’t have time to explain,” I say as I grab her wrist. “You need to run with me.”

“Run?! Fromwhat?”

“From heat. From instincts. From alphas. Fromlife.Just -run!”

We stumble together, heels clacking, lipstick sweating, like two drunk bridesmaids fleeing a cursed wedding. Honestly, we really are a sight.

My scent is full-blown chaos now - sweet, thick, impossible to ignore - and Lexi chokes on air beside me.

“Oh my god,” she says, her eyes widening. “Are you...?No.You’re not. You can’t be. Rhea," she slows down, then comes to an abrupt halt when I continue to try and drag her along. “RHEA.”

I sigh, stopping for a moment so that I can look right back at her. “I know.”

“You’re an OMEGA?!”

“I saidI know!”

“You told me your biggest secret was once crying during a toothpaste commercial -”

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