Trey was just one man, but he was a shifter. Five women were no match for him. It was April who tried to fight, but I saw the fury in Lena’s eyes and I went to her.

“Don’t!” I shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders. Lena was there and not there. It was if a movie played behind her eyes. She seemed hypnotized by whatever horrors her past held. I put a cool hand to the back of her neck. Like Nikki, the scar from her mark was jagged and brutal because it didn’t belong there.

Something about my touch brought Lena back. Her eyes flicked to mine and a muscle jumped in her jaw. She gave me a nod and we turned to face Trey, shoulder to shoulder.

He had April well in hand by now. Before he bound her wrists with zip ties behind her back, she’d managed to rake her nails across his cheek. Blood flowed freely, but the skin was already starting to heal. He cuffed Jasmine and Kat next and sat them on the sidewalk. When he came for us, I took a protective stance in front of Lena. I have no idea what I thought I could do for her, but it mattered that she knew someone was there to fight for her.

With calm, cold efficiency, Trey bound Lena’s hands, then mine. The plastic ties cut into my skin, but I’d be damned if I’d give Trey the satisfaction of seeing me wince.

He pointed with his nightstick toward the open doors of the white police van down the street. The five of us climbed inside and Trey slammed the double doors shut. Kat jumped at the sound, then silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

“He won’t hurt us,” I said. “That’s not his call.”

Lena knocked her head against the wall of the van. “No, you’re right. He’s taking us to someone who can.”

I wanted to tell them all not to worry. Kat was the youngest, the most vulnerable. She’d only been in Birch Haven for a few weeks. For most of the rest of us, the truth of this place was something we’d had a chance to uncover, layer by awful layer. The burn was slower, but still just as hot.

It only took a few minutes for Trey to drive us back to campus. He parked at the service entrance to the physical plant. When he opened the doors, my heart grew stone cold. Someone was here. Someone important. A huge black SUV was parked beside us. It looked expensive and lethal, like what they drive the president around in.

Lena had been so hard, so stoic. When she saw that car, even she started to shiver.

“You,” Trey said to me, his voice hard. “Just you.” He didn’t give me the chance to come willingly. Instead, he curled his hand around my arm and jerked me out of the van. Then, he slammed the van doors shut once again and locked them from the outside.

“Stop it!” I shouted as he dragged me forward, nearly making me lose my balance. He led me inside. We stood in a long corridor. There were voices coming from the other end and a door slammed. “Where the hell do you think I’m going to go? I know if I tried to run you’d catch me. I’m not yours, Trey. You hurt me, you’ll get hurt worse when the Alpha finds out.”

It was a gamble, but my words made Trey’s eyes widen with fear. For an instant, I thought I’d played it just right. Then, I realized he was reacting to something else. The voices down the hall rose and I recognized one of them.

Joel Wisher.

“Sir, I’ve tried to explain how things work. Chris is still young. He needs more training,” Joel said.

“You son of a bitch,” Chris Woods’s voice was bitter and full of rage.

Sir? Who were they talking to? Trey’s frozen posture beside me made my own blood run cold. He turned to me.

“Don’t make a sound,” he said, his voice so low I had to strain to hear it. He pressed his back to the wall, shielding himself in shadow. On instinct, I followed suit. My heart raced.

Hard footsteps clicked against the marble floors. It was an awkward, shuffling gait. The owner of it must walk with a limp.

“You are owed nothing, son.” The third voice made Trey break into a sweat. He squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, for a split second, they went from gold to red. Then, he came back into himself, gasping for air.

A thud hit the ground down the hall. I strained to see through the open doorway. I could only make out shadowy shapes, but there were four men inside. Joel stood to the left, beside him, a figure knelt on the ground. It was Chris. Another man stood over him, with the bent posture of advanced age. Beside him, a behemoth of a man stood tall and straight in a military posture with his legs slightly parted and his hands clasped at the small of his back.

With cold clarity, I realized who this was.

“The Alpha?” I whispered. I asked it more of myself, but Trey’s slow, terrified nod confirmed it. He raised a single finger to his lips, gesturing for my silence. My heart hammered, nearly drowning out all other sound.

The Alpha was here. God. If Mac and the others got close...if that old bastard gave Chris Woods permission to mark me…

“He’s right, you’re young,” the Alpha said, his voice creaking. As scared as I was, the urge to get closer, to see him, burned strong through me. This man....this creature...he had the power to ruin so many lives. I wanted to stare into his face and learn something about the man inside. “You’ve yet to prove yourself. There are so many others in line before you. This girl you want, I don’t know her.”

“Sir,” Chris said. I didn’t know Pack politics, but even I had the sense the Alpha was someone you didn’t speak to without his solicitation. “This girl is nothing to you. This is her second year here. No other wolf has shown any interest in her. Plus, she’s got an attitude. The sooner she’s marked and brought under Pack control, the better it will be for everyone. She’ll start trouble otherwise. I can feel it.”

This girl. He was talking about me. This asshole actually thought I was going to let him mark me and bring me under Pack control. I didn’t realize I’d moved. Trey’s firm hand on my shoulder brought me back into the shadows. His eyes were wide with fear and he shook his head in warning.

“Let go of me,” I whispered. It was probably foolish, but I railed against any attempts to control me, even Trey’s.

God, where was Mac? We were supposed to meet him soon. I wanted desperately to still my heart, close my eyes, and reach out. He hadn’t yet marked me, but I knew I’d be able to sense him when he got close. It was also the very thing that probably put us both in grave danger.

“Do you realize who that is in there?” Trey whispered back.

“You think you’re in a position to tell me what to do?” The Alpha’s craggy voice echoed off the walls. Trey’s eyes went red again and my heart stopped. An instant later, he seemed to come back into himself. Each time he did, it clearly cost him something. His body twitched and sweat now poured freely from his temple.

“I thought I was stronger,” Trey said, shaking his head. I realized he wasn’t talking to me. He was trying desperately to stay in control.

He grabbed me, shoving me forward, and we ducked into an empty room on the other side of the hall. Trey paced the floor, tearing his hand through his hair. Whatever the hell was going on, it seemed Trey hadn’t planned for the Alpha’s presence. If anything, he was just as terrified by it as I was. I knew in the back of my mind that meant something. For now, I was too damn scared myself to figure out what.

“He’s going to find out,” Trey said. He was still talking to himself more than me. “It’ll all be for nothing. All of it.”

A growl cut the air on the other side of the hall. Whatever edict the Alpha handed down, it was swift and violent. Had he killed Chris? Could I be that lucky?

Trey pressed his back against the wall, hiding himself from the window in the door. Anyone peering inside wouldn’t be able to see him. I should have followed suit. I should have done a lot of things.

I wasn’t a shifter. I wasn’t part of this Pack. And yet, the Alpha’s presence drew me too. He was so close. I wanted to get a glimpse of him, as if I needed to stare into the face of evil so that I could better fight against it.

The door opened across the hall. I flattened myself against the wall near Trey, but dared to peer out the window. Joel and Chris filed out. Chris was bleeding from a gash near his temple, but he was otherwise whole, unfortunately. His eyes blazed red as he walked by. He was like a zombie. Whatever the Alpha had done, Chris was now firmly back under his control. What that meant for me, I couldn’t guess.

Standing on my tiptoes, I grew bold, stealing a glance into the room across the hall. What I saw there made my throat run dry, as if I’d swallowed ash.

The Alpha’s general stayed in his military stance. He was grotesque in size with bulging, veiny muscles covering every inch of him. He looked like some sort of twisted, roided-up monster with blood red eyes. There was a man behind them…somewhere. But, whatever this guy was before, he was more beast now. I shuddered, thinking what his wolf must be like when he was allowed to let it out.

Then, there was the Alpha himself. For the power he wielded, the sight of him shocked me even more than his gargantuan companion. The Alpha was an old man. He had coal black eyes and thick wisps of white hair covering his head. His back was straight, but his fingers were gnarled, his skin withered as he pointed at the behemoth beside him.

“Let him think what he wants,” he said. “Mr. Sobel, you understand why I had to let him believe there’s hope?”

Sobel. He had blond hair in a crew cut. His tanned skin bulged even over his temples. Sobel nodded. “As you wish, Mr. Valent.”

Valent. The Alpha’s name was Valent. It seemed important to remember. As if it gave me some sort of power over him.

Valent. He was old. Ancient. I didn’t know how shifters aged, but if he were just a man, he had to be at least eighty. How could someone like that hold so much power? Couldn’t someone younger or stronger easily overtake him? He couldn’t live forever. Could he?

“Sir,” Sobel said. “With respect, you ordered me to protect you here. With my life, you know I will.”

A slow smile curved Valent’s mouth. I saw him in profile, but he turned just enough so I could see the icy stare he gave Sobel. I drank in every detail. Though, I wouldn’t be likely to forget this man’s face. Not ever. His hair might have been brown once. I could still see some sable wisps at the temple. His eyes were so dark, they just looked like two wide pupils, his jaw square and hard.

“You worry too much, Mr. Sobel,” Valent said.

“Yes, sir,” he said. “But, it would be better to have you safe and away before any of it starts. I think we should leave now. Will you allow me to get you home?”

Valent let out a growl, but he nodded. “You’re a good man, Mr. Sobel,” he said. “Though I’d really like to stay and watch the show.”

“Yes, sir,” Sobel said. “If you wish, sir.”

Valent reached up and touched the larger man’s cheek. Sobel stood stone still, his eyes straight ahead. He looked like a statue, or a robot. Valent’s control of him was total and absolute. It sickened me. I turned to Trey. He still had his back pressed against the wall, but he held his head down, fists tightly squeezed as well as his eyes. He was fighting against whatever thrall the Alpha held. At the same time, he’d brought me here like a lamb to the slaughter. Was I for Chris, then? Only I knew I’d die before I let that happen.

Valent and Sobel finally emerged from the room across the hall. I wished I could make myself invisible. But, Valent and Sobel didn’t seem to sense either of us behind the other door. They weren’t looking. I had no intention to give them cause.

I wanted to breathe easier as the Alpha and his general exited the building. When we heard the outer door slam, only then did Trey let the tension out of his shoulders. He grabbed my arm again and pulled me back into the hallway.

“Come on,” he said. “Hurry up. Before they get away.”

I had no idea who they were in Trey’s equation. As he led me outside, the black SUV was gone in a squeal of tires. I wished that could bring me relief. It didn’t. For, as soon as the gravel kicked up behind it, leaving a cloud of dust, disaster came to me in the form of the second pulse behind my own.

Mac.

He was close. He was moving fast. And he was heading straight into the path of the Alpha.