A stitch pulled across my side, but I didn't slow, let alone stop.
A distant rumble of noise coming from behind me. Oh, lord—a growl? Betas like me weren't as susceptible to an alpha growl as omegas, but we could still be taken down by a particularly powerful one. We could still be growled into submission; it just took an extra determined alpha.
"Keep going," Astrid urged shakily. "Just keep running, Luna."
I raced closer to the mill, but—what if they followed me inside? There was a back exit, but I wasn't a hundred percent surewhereit was. What if I led myself into a trap? What if I caged myself with an alpha bold enough to stalk me to work? What would he do to me?
I veered to the right at the last minute and burst through the black scrolling gates of a big, grassy park that stretched between two grey warehouses. The chances of losing my stalker in here was low, but at least I knew where the exits were.
And if my pursuer wasn't local, they might not know where to find the gates. I could get out, run back to the main road, and disappear into the warren of streets on the other side. I vaguely thought there might be a new, trendy coffee shop there. It wouldn't be open, but there might be someone baking pastries? Maybe?
Oh, please.
"Luna?" Astrid demanded.
"Running," I choked out, racing down the park’s thin path, open grass on either side of me. Trees would have been better; I could have hidden. Could have climbed one.
The gate creaked, and I gave in to the frantic need to look behind and see who followed me.
Fuck, there were two of them—a man and a woman—and one glimpse of their faces told me enough about what they planned for me. Nothing good. The same as the Hunters who'd grabbed Astrid and tried to abduct her.
I whipped my head back around, facing the park as I pushed my body to breaking point. My feet slid on a patch of dew-slick grass at the same moment one of the alphas released a devastating growl.
I felt it in every bone, like the epicentre of an earthquake.
My knees buckled, dropping me to the ground hard. My phone shot out of my hand, sliding through the grass, and I choked on a cry, tasting early morning air, damp grass, and burnt meat—one of the alpha's scents.
No, no,no—I needed my phone, needed the lifeline.
I fumbled in the wet grass, dew soaking my knees, but the savage growl came again from behind me, and this time my arms buckled, sending me face-first into the ground.
It wasn't a singular growl; it was both of them at once. And it took me down completely.
I shook, struggling to breathe, fighting to push-up from the cold grass, but I’d lost every bit of strength.
A rough hand grabbed the collar of my red coat and it was the woman who dragged me up, pressing her cold nose to my throat to draw a long, sickening breath.
I realised all at once why they wanted me.
"This is definitely the scent on the omega, Anatoly," she said to her partner in crime. "I could smell her even from the back of the bank. Finally found the bitch."
The other one laughed—and laughed deeper, harsher when I struggled to escape the alpha holding the collar of my coat.
"Get the fuck off me," I growled, but a beta growl was worthless against an alpha—powerless. Even the omegas they saw as submissive toys had more power in their growl than me.
"Aw, come on now, beta," the bitch holding me purred, making me shiver and pant for breath as she pulled me off the ground with immense strength. "We'll take good care of you."
They wouldn't. Every instinct in my body screamed I was in danger.
"How about you tell us where to find that omega," the man said, getting in my face. All I saw was baby blue eyes and a glimmering smile. "And we'll have no use for you, so we'll let you go."
They wanted me to lead them to Astrid?
Rage gave me the strength to spit in the alpha's face. But when a matching fury filled his blue eyes, I began to shake. I struggled against the other alpha's hold, but his hands moved from my coat to my arms, helping her pin me in place.
"Fine, have it your way," the blue-eyed alpha growled, leaning forward until shaggy blond hair covered half his face. It made him even more menacing. I was going to be sick. "I'm sure we can find some use for you."
I shrank away as he lifted his hand to my face, stroking when I expected a slap.