“Stuart. What is going on?”
Alpha Mark rises from his seat and steps closer. My wolf whimpers, trying to make herself smaller.
“I made a promise to your sister,” he says. His fingers grip my chin, forcing me to look at him. His nails dig into my jaw. “That I wouldn’t touch you until you were eighteen.”
His eyes sweep the crowd, then come back to me.
“But word is you spread those legs for Stuart here. If you’re so keen for cock already, we’ll put you on rotation, omega.”
Rotation.
My breathing goes wrong. Short, fast, too fast, and I can’t slow it down. My chest won’t expand. I’m gulping air, but none of it reaches my lungs.
I look at Stuart. Waiting for him to defend me. To tell the alpha it wasn’t like that. That he loves me. That what happened between us was real. That he wants to be my mate.
He’ll save me.
Instead, he winks.
“Stuart,” I say, my voice breaking. “Tell him.”
“Tell him what?” Stuart says to the room. “That she’s so desperate for attention, she’ll believe anything? Tell her she’s pretty, tell her she’s special, and she’ll do whatever you want.”
My legs give out. The guards are the only thing holding me upright. A sound comes out of me that I don’t recognize. Not a scream. Not a word. Just something breaking.
I look at him. The boy who held me while I told him about my mother. Who kissed me and said I was beautiful. The boy who said he loved me in a clearing full of wildflowers.
He’s already looking away. Already bored.
I gave him everything I had, and it wasn’t even worth his attention.
He shrugs. “The boys and I had a wager,” he continues, turning to his friends, who nod and grin. “To see who could make the omega spread her legs first.” He pauses. “And I won.”
Sophie pushes to the front of the crowd. Her face is streaked with tears, her eyes wide with terror.
The head alpha doesn’t look at her. “Strip her,” he commands.
“NO!” I scream, thrashing against the guards’ grip.
“No, please, Alpha,” Sophie begs. “She didn’t—”
“Silence.” His voice echoes through the hall. “I will not be disobeyed.”
Rough hands rip at my clothes. Cold air hits my bare skin, and every eye in the room is on me. I try to cover myself, but they yank my arms apart and hold them there.
Nobody helps me. Nobody moves.
I look at Stuart. “You said you loved me.”
“How could I love something this… feral?” He looks at his friends. They laugh. He doesn’t even have the decency to look ashamed.
The head alpha circles me. The stone floor is freezing against my bare feet, and I can feel him behind me before he speaks, his breath on the back of my neck.
“Did you enjoy it?” he asks, so quiet only I can hear. “Did you like having him inside you?”
His hand is in my hair now, yanking my head back. “Stupid girl. Did you really think he wanted you? Omegas are for breeding, not for loving.”
Bile rises in my throat. I swallow it down because I will not give him the satisfaction of watching me throw up on his floor.