She glanced to her left, then to her right. No one had moved; no one seemed to be attempting to break free from their restraints.
The girl in front of her didnât seem thrilled with her presence, but she wasnât an immediate threat.
What was her wolf attempting to caution her about? What was she supposed to be wary of?
Despite her repeated questioning, she received no response.
âYouâre the one.â The girlâs laughter echoed. âThe omega. The breeding female.â
Oliviaâs lips tightened, her pulse quickening. ~Everyone was aware of the plan~. No guilt. No regret.
She was doing her best to shut out Alexâs words. She had approached this girl with the thought that maybe, just maybe, she could converse with her.
Perhaps she could unravel the web of deceit she had been ensnared in.
That was still her objective, wasnât it?
When Alex first approached her, she didnât register his presence, didnât hear his words.
She had been too engrossed in the false reality that Will had constructed, the illusion he had meticulously crafted over the years while poisoning her mind.
She didnât expect these strangers, to whom she was an unknown entity, to believe her.
âI wanted to have a conversation.â
The girl found her response to be the most amusing.
âTalk? Is that what omegas do? No wonder your kind is dying out. You want to talk?â She yanked at her chains. âDarling, if these werenât restraining me, I would have torn out your throat ages ago.â
âWhy? Because your alpha commanded you to?â
âNo, because I wanted to.â
Her jaw clenched. âWhy?â
âWhatâs it to you?â
âIf itâs not because you were acting as someoneâs obedient servant, then you must have had your own reasons.â
âIâm not anyoneâs servant. Itâs called loyalty. If youâre here, you clearly donât understand what that means.
âLet me break it down for you. ~You~ possess a healthy womb. A healthy womb and a fertile female mean more offspring. More offspring means a stronger pack. You were just a means to an end.â She clicked her tongue.
âThatâs all there is to it. You or any other omegaâyouâre not unique.â
She echoed the monsters that Will had portrayed them to be. She knew they werenât all like this. She knew. ~But~ this girlâshe was a monster.
âSo, if itâs beneficial for the pack, itâs beneficial for you. Nothing more?â
âIs this incessant chatter your idea of torture?â
âNo, Iâmââ
âJust finish us off already, stop wasting time.â
âI donât want to do that.â
The girlâs laughter sent a chill down her spine. She threw her head back, blood spilling from her lips.
âAre you joking?â She shook her head. âWhat kind of wolf are you? You should be snapping my neck, not trying to make friends.â
~She sounded like Alex~. She sounded like everyone else.
Had she deceived herself? She was ~trying~, she was ~hoping~ to save a life.
Hoping that something good could emerge from this fucking disaster. Was it possible that there was nothing redeemable, that nothing good could come from this?
It was all suffering and despair.
Sheâd been naive enough to believe Will once. Maybe not naive. But heâd exploited her desperation, her pain, and then, she hadnât been able to discern the truth. Maybe her ability to discern truth was broken.
Maybe she would be deceived again.
Maybe she was wasting her time.
Sheâd put in so much effort to convince Alex that there might be some people worth saving out there. Had he agreed because he knew she would eventually see the truth?
She was offering these people a chance, a new life, and no one even wanted to ~pretend~ to accept it. Wolves were loyal.
~Always~.
Olivia hadnât been raised in a pack; she hadnât experienced it. Yet, she had witnessed it.
How many pack members had risked their lives to assist her even though they hadnât known her for long? Perhaps death was preferable to betrayalâ¦even if you disagreed with the alphaâ¦
âDo you think youâre superior to us?â
âI donâtââ
âYouâre garbage, your pack is garbage. You should consider yourself fortunate to have survived. Guess your womb isnât getting all used up after all.â
Instinctively, her hand moved to her stomach.
âYouâre not superior to us, youâre just garbage that got lucky,â she added before spitting in Oliviaâs direction.
Sadly, her mouth was too parched and the spit didnât travel far, landing well short of Oliviaâs feet.
âThereâs some justice in the world, at least thatâs what the smell tells me.â
The scent was so strong, Olivia couldnât even complete her thought.
She could feel ~it~. It was warm, thick, and the ~smell~⦠it could only be one thing. Blood was seeping between her legs.
She tried to stay rational, to remain calm. But she couldnât.
Fear washed over her, every nerve in her body on high alert. Her lower lip trembled as she turned her gaze away.
~Jason had left~. Naturally, he had left.
He had detected the scent of blood.
He was aware. He knew what she was attempting to deny.
He had gone to fetch Alex. Alex wouldâAlex would know what to do. He would help.
He wouldâ~he couldnât~.
This was something no one could mend.