Chapter 3

"Lila," I breathed, relief flooding me for a split second before the reality crashed down. "Lila, tell him. Tell him we're leaving."

Lila stopped three feet away. She didn't step into my space. She stood next to the Alpha, her head bowed in submission.

"Is this satisfactory, Alpha Kieran?" Lila asked. Her voice was steady, but I saw her hands shaking at her sides.

Kieran looked from her to me, a smirk playing on his lips. "She is smaller than I expected. But the scent is pure. Unmarked. You kept her well-hidden, Omega."

"I did," Lila said. "She trusts me."

The room spun. The bass faded into a dull roar.

"Lila?" I stepped forward, reaching for her. "What is he talking about?"

One of the security guards stepped between us, his hand heavy on my chest, pushing me back.

"Don't touch the merchandise," the guard grunted.

"Merchandise?" I looked at my best friend. My sister. The girl I had shared a bed with when the heating broke. "Lila, look at me."

She finally did. Her honey-brown eyes were wet, filled with a mixture of shame and a terrifying, steely resolve.

"I’m sorry, Chloe," she whispered.

Kieran reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a thick, creamy envelope. He tapped it against his palm. "Full residency papers for the High City. A deed to a condo in the Silver District. And immunity from the Omega draft."

He held it out.

Lila reached for it. Her fingers brushed the paper. She grabbed it like a lifeline.

"Thank you, Alpha," she said.

"No," I gasped, the betrayal hitting me harder than a physical blow. It felt like a knife twisting in my gut. "Lila, you can't. You can't sell me. I’m your friend!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Lila snapped, her voice cracking. "I’m an Omega, Chloe! I’m nobody! I was going to be drafted into the labor camps next month. I needed a way out!"

"So you traded me?" I screamed, tears finally spilling over. "For an apartment?"

"For a life!" she shouted back, clutching the envelope to her chest. "You don't understand. You're human. You don't know what it's like to be a wolf at the bottom of the food chain."

"I thought we were a pack of two," I sobbed.

"There is no pack of two," Kieran interrupted, his voice bored. "There is only the eater and the eaten."

He snapped his fingers.

The guard grabbed my arms, pinning them behind my back. I struggled, kicking out, but it was like fighting a statue.

Kieran opened a small velvet box he had been holding. Inside lay a collar. It was leather, lined with soft velvet, and studded with diamonds that glittered under the club lights.

"Stop fighting," Kieran commanded. The Alpha voice rolled over me, forcing my muscles to lock up against my will. My knees hit the floor.

He stepped closer, unclasping the collar. "You are going to be very happy, Chloe. I take excellent care of my things."

I looked up at Lila. She was backing away. She had the envelope. She had her freedom.

"Lila, please," I whispered. "Don't leave me here."

She paused. She looked at me, kneeling on the dirty floor of the club in the red dress she had bought me. A tear slipped down her cheek, but she wiped it away furiously.

"You're safe now," she said, her voice hollow. "He's rich. You won't starve."

"I'd rather starve," I spat.

She flinched, then turned her back.

*Click.*

The lock of the collar snapped shut around my throat. It was heavy. Cold. Final.

"Beautiful," Kieran murmured, running a finger over the diamonds.

I watched Lila walk toward the exit. She moved through the crowd, the wolves parting for her now that she carried the Alpha’s favor. She stepped out of the heavy double doors and into the night, into the life she had bought with my blood.

The doors swung shut, sealing the noise of the world outside.

Kieran took the leash attached to the collar and tugged gently. "Come along, pet. The VIP lounge is soundproof."

I didn't fight. I couldn't. I just watched the space where my best friend used to be, realizing that the monsters weren't just the ones with the glowing eyes.

Sometimes, they were the ones who held your hand while they walked you to the slaughter.