The words pulse with each heartbeat, driving me forward even as my body fights the chemical weight in my veins. I manage to free my legs, to swing them over the side of the table.

The room tilts and spins when I try to stand. I crash to the floor, limbs uncoordinated, vision swimming. The cold tile against my cheek is almost a relief.

“You stupid, stubborn bitch,” Veyra snarls, grabbing my hair, yanking my head back. Blood trickles from the scratches onher cheek, ruining her perfect composure. “You think you can escape? There’s nowhere to go. No is one coming to save you.”

Through the drugs and pain, something bubbles up from deep inside me. Something that surprises us both.

Laughter.

“You still don’t get it,” I slur, the words thick on my tongue. “Not running from you. Running…to them.”

Veyra’s grip tightens painfully. “They can’t save you.”

My smile feels wrong on my face, too wide, too feral. Too certain. “Don’t…need saving. We save…each other.”

For a heartbeat, something flickers in her eyes. Then her jaw sets, determination hardening her features. “Enough of this. Sedate her. Maximum dose.”

The beta hesitates. “Alpha Heath, the risk of permanent damage?—”

“Do it,” she snaps, alpha command affecting even the beta. “Now.”

He reaches for a new syringe. My vision blurs, darkness creeping in at the edges. Too many drugs already in my system. Too much weight pulling me down.

But I can’t give up. Can’t let them win. Can’t forget…

Pack. Home. Mine.

The words are fainter now, harder to hold on to. The beta approaches with the syringe, his expression grim but determined.

I close my eyes, gathering what little strength I have left for one last effort. One last defiance.

Finn. Stone. Jax. Ren.

Their names form a prayer, an anchor in the storm of chemicals washing through my brain.

Finn. Stone. Jax. Ren.

The beta’s hand closes around my arm, holding it steady for the injection.

Finn. Stone. Jax. Ren.

Finn…

Stone…

Jax…

Ren…

Chapter 8

Jax

The hospital lights are too bright.

They stab into my skull like hot needles, making my swollen eyes water. I blink against the pain, my breath coming in ragged pulls through my split lip. Blood has dried stiff on my shirt—some mine, most not. My knuckles are raw, my right arm hanging at an awkward angle where a beta stabbed me before I snapped his fucking neck.

The nurse at the reception desk looks up, her smile dying when she sees me. Her hand creeps toward the panic button. Smart woman.