Where am I? Oh, god. “Stop!” I claw at the hands tugging on my jeans, wishing I wasn’t so obsessive about keeping my nails short so I’d have something a little more painful to strike out with.

“Shh, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.” The hands at my knees back away as I try to focus my vision. The five men that were just here are gone and the man in front of me is…different. Someone new.

“What happened?” My mind feels cloudy and I can’t quite focus on anything. It takes a second for me to realize my shirt is torn down the middle and hanging from my arms like a vest, and my jeans are wrapped around my ankles. “Oh god. What did you do?”

The guy in front of me takes a step back. “Whoa, now. I didn’t do shit. I just heard a scream and came in to check on things. The guys who did this were gone when I got in.”

With my eyes clenched to try to dull the throbbing in my head, I lean back on the floor and lift my hips high enough to slide my jeans back up. When I clench my ass, pain like I’ve never felt before shoots through me, causing my breath to hitch.

“Are you okay?” The man takes a step forward but isn’t close enough to touch me.

Thankfully. Just because a pride of lions has gone doesn’t mean their king didn’t stay behind to finish the hunt.

I nod and hold my breath as I finish sliding my too-tight jeans up and over my ass. “Fine.”

He glances down as I tuck myself into my jeans and zip up. “You got friends to take you home?”

“No.” I take a few deep breaths before attempting to roll over so I can stand up. “I’ll be fine.”

After two unsuccessful tries to get to my feet, I feel gentle but strong hands close around my waist and lift me up to a standing positon. “You should go to the hospital for a rape kit.”

Oh god. It really did happen. Tears flood my eyes as that word sinks in. I really was raped by one or more strangers. God, I’m so stupid. I totally deserve this. A strangled sob escapes my throat as I realize I got what I came here for. “It’s my fault.”

“What?” The man moves in front of me, holding me in place when I start to sway. “That was all consensual? Because I heard you saying no and asking them to stop.”

Humiliation weighs heavily on me as my knees buckle, dropping me to the ground. “I should have been more careful. I should have…” I can’t even verbalize all the things I should and shouldn’t have done tonight. Namely, coming here in the first place. “I need to go.”

With the help of the stranger, I toss my torn shirt in the trash and walk back out into the crowded club. My senses are heightened and the smells of alpha and sex and alcohol all mingle together, making my stomach roll. I want to be sick, to puke out whatever shit is in my system, but I just need to go. As people brush against my skin, I become more and more tense, completely freaking out at the proximity of so many people.

“Here, I’ll call a ride for you.” The stranger from the back room tucks me against his chest and carves a path in the crowd until we’re standing outside in the cool air.

It’s a nice night, but there’s a slight breeze and with the adrenaline waning from my system, my whole body is shivering as if I’m sitting in an ice bath.

“I’m Jude, by the way.” The man leans me against the building so I stay upright while he pulls his shirt off and slides it over my head. My arms are still wrapped tightly around my torso and I don’t bother pushing them through the arm holes, grateful to be cocooned in his warm shirt while he pulls up a rideshare app.

“What’s your address?” My eyes are closed and my mind is foggy again so it’s not easy to concentrate on what he’s asking.

“On campus. Or…my brother’s…” I stop myself, not sure what is easier. My apartment is a half-mile walk from where the car will drop me off outside the permit-only lot. I’m not sure I’m up for the walk in my current state. I could go to Ethan’s but… No, that’s out of the question. Not only would I die of embarrassment if I had to explain to him or Freddie what I did tonight, but he’d probably want to go after that Brett guy and his friends… I can’t disrupt his family in that way. There’s a twenty-four-hour diner around the block. I can hang out there and have some coffee before I make the trek home. “Actually, I’ll just walk from here. Thanks anyway.”

The man gives me a hard stare before tapping into his phone. “No way. If you won’t go home, I’ll take you to the hospital so they can make sure you’re fine to be alone.”

“No.” I step away and stumble, almost falling on my face since my arms are still locked inside this man’s shirt. “Shit. What’s wrong with me?”

“You’re probably going into shock.” He steadies me again, this time not letting go as he checks his phone and looks out in the street. “I think that’s our car.”

“Our car?” After everything that happened tonight, I know I should be more concerned by his statement, but I don’t have the energy. In some ways, I almost hope he’ll finish me off. Everything hurts and I’m just so tired. And cold. Why can’t I warm up? “Just let me sit here for a few minutes.”

“Nope.” A car pulls up and the back door opens. Before I can protest, Jules…Jude…whatever his name is, scoops me up and slides me inside. “You’re coming with me tonight.”

* * *

Am I dead? I feel dead? Actually, I feel alive but I wish I were dead because everything hurts. My brain is pulsing as if my skull has shrunken and my heart beat has moved about a foot and a half north. I try to pry open my eyes but the sunlight filling the room is too bright. Why didn’t Ryker close the blinds last night. He’s obsessive about that. In the year that we’ve been living together, he’s never forgotten... The delicious aroma of eggs and bacon fills my nostrils and I’m suddenly awake.

And I have no idea where I am.