The inside of Jeremiah’s cottage was a contradictory mess. The building itself had obviously once been an administrative one – the office of the motel manager most likely – but had been converted to the home of the pack leader, who obviously had quite the ego.

His bed was an enormous frame of dark hardwood, with gold sheets and a thick maroon comforter. There was a standing lamp made to look like solid gold, a throne-like chair at the head of a long table and even a painting of Jeremiah hanging from the wall. I glanced around and saw an attached bathroom through a half-cracked door. The whole place gave off a real Norman Bates vibe.

“Welcome to your new home,” Jeremiah told me, taking a seat in the throne at the head of the table. I was sitting in a simple wooden chair with thin slats that were uncomfortable against my back.

“Of course, this won’t be your home,” he said, gesturing to the building that was his kingdom. “You’ll stay here until your heat. I’ll knock you up and then you’ll move to the motel with the rest of my brood.”

“Booty Wing,” one of the betas said softly behind me. I turned to look at him and saw him licking his teeth like they tasted good.

“You may be a little hesitant to call this your home,” Jeremiah said, stretching his arms above his head with a sigh. “But I think in time you’ll come to realize just how lucky you are to be here. You’re small, and you could easily have been taken by an alpha that just didn’t care about his pack. But that’s not me, is it, boys?”

The betas behind me chuckled.

“Sure ain’t,” one of them replied.

“Nope,” the other chimed in.

“See?” Jeremiah grinned, holding his hands out in front of him, palms up to the ceiling. “I’m a great guy. You’ll see. And with these genes, our pups will be prime.”

I was basically frozen in my chair. On the ride here in the truck, I’d realized he’d taken my cell phone somehow when he was lifting me into the back, and I had no way of getting ahold of my fathers, who must have been terrified right now.

They’d dropped me off to work with the thought that everything would be fine, and then they must have come to pick me up at the end of the day and been unable to find me. Maybe they’d even filed a police report.

Jeremiah reached out, wrapped his hand around the leg of my chair and pulled me right up next to him. The warmth of his body felt invasive against my skin, and his slicked-back blond hair looked greasy – slimy.

He licked his chops as he looked at me. His eyes made me feel like I wasn’t a person – I was just a thing to him – another omega for his breeding pack that he would use and discard as he pleased.

“Listen, fellas,” he said slyly. “Why don’t you beat it for a bit? The new boy and I have some quality time to spend with one another.”

He eyed the two betas, looked back at me, then flicked his eyes toward the bed in the corner of the room. I felt myself start to sweat as I realized what was about to happen to me.

“Sure, boss,” one of them chuckled.

“Have a good time,” the other said.

“Oh, I think that’s a guarantee,” Jeremiah grinned, running his hand up the inside of my thigh. My mind was screaming at my body to move, run, thrash out or fight – do something!

But my body was frozen by fear. It was like being in prison. I was stuck in this cottage with him, and even if I managed to make it out the door, where would I go?

The motel was on the outskirts of town, and the entire place was filled with members of his pack. And how would Jeremiah react to me trying to escape? It would only make things worse.

I heard the door crack open behind me as the betas headed outside, but as the door swung shut, and a breeze shuffled into the room, my heart almost leapt out of my throat.

The scent!

It was the scent of my fated mate!

My mind spun in circles as I fought to maintain whatever composure I had left. Of course, I’d smell him – he was part of Jeremiah’s pack. But that only made things ten times worse.

He was an alpha, sure, but he wasn’t the alpha. That was Jeremiah, the pack leader. That meant his word was gospel around here, and no matter what either of us wanted, it was Jeremiah’s wishes that took precedence.

“Listen, sweet cheeks,” Jeremiah said, twisting my chair so I was facing him straight on. He placed both hands on my thighs, just above my knees. “I know what you’re thinking right now. You’re thinking, what is he gonna do to me? Am I gonna enjoy it? And you know what? I’ve got your answers.”

He smiled, and somehow I got the sense that he’d given this speech before.

“I’m not gonna tell ya what I’m gonna do to you,” he went on. “That would ruin the surprise. But I am gonna guarantee you something. You will enjoy yourself. I ain’t no slouch, and I been around the block enough to know what I’m doing by now. And if you just relax and don’t fight me on it, you’ll have an even better time. A lot of omegas wish they were in your place right now, believe me. But you, you’re the lucky one.”

His hands inched closer – he was heading right for my crotch. But just as he was about to take hold of me, I heard something from outside.

A scream. A bloodcurdling scream like someone being attacked by something. Jeremiah’s eyes snapped to the door as something slammed into it.

It burst open – no, it burst into splinters as an enormous wolf crashed right through it and into the room.

He was black and shaggy, like Padfoot from Harry Potter, and as his scent hit my nose, I knew instantly who he was.

My fated mate!