My best friend, Jamie, sat on my bed as he watched me pack my duffle bag. With furrowed brows and a frown on his handsome face, he said nothing to break the thick silence in my room. I avoided his piercing gaze as I shoved clothes into the bag and zipped it up.
"You're really doing this then?" Jamie demanded finally.
I glanced up at him. "I can't stay here," I protested. "Father will kill me, or worse, sell me off. I overheard him talking to Damien about increasing security around me. Soon I won't be able to leave the compound at all. This is my only chance."
"I'm coming with you then."
"No, you can't. You have a life here." I sighed and tossed my bag on the bed. "I've never fit in with this pack, Jamie. I was always an outcast."
"Because your father made you that way!" he burst out, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Ava, please. Don't leave. Not like this."
I shook my head at him. "I have no choice," I muttered. "If I stay then I forfeit my life. Why would you ask me to do that?"
Jamie had the decency to look ashamed. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'm just going to miss you so much."
"I'll miss you too," I said firmly. "I love you, Jamie, but I have to go." I threw my arms around his neck and embraced him firmly before ripping myself away and grabbing my duffle. I strolled to my window and opened it wide, throwing my bag to the ground. I was grateful that I lived on the first floor on my father's mansion. It made my escape easier. Glancing back quickly, I frowned at the uneasiness and guilt that flashed across Jamie's expression, but I didn't have time to analyze it. I had to run.
Gracefully, I leaped out of the window, landing on my feet. Snatching the bag up, I crouched low and ran across the freshly cut grass. I barely made it to the wall of the compound before rough hands grasped my shoulders, pulling me to a stop and throwing me to the ground. There was no gentleness in the touch and it burned my skin. I yelped as I rolled on the asphalt, scraping the skin of my knees and arms. I pushed myself to my feet, dropping my bag and instantly dropping into a fighting stance, facing off against Damien, my father's head of security. He sneered at me.
"Where are you running off to, little birdy?" he growled.
"None of your business," I growled back. "Just let me go, Damien. We don't have to fight."
"You're right," he replied with a smirk. "You could just surrender and come back with me. No need to hurt your pretty little face." His lips curled into a condescending smile.
A low growl slipped past my lips as my wolf rose to the surface. I was an omega, but that didn't mean I was useless. I still had claws that could do some damage. Speed was also my advantage. He lunged for me, but I ducked under his outstretched hands. My nails turned into claws and I slashed at his face, satisfied when my claws met resistance and he howled in pain, pulling away from me.
"You'll regret that, bitch," he snarled, coming for me again. This time, he managed to grab the back of my shirt and lift me off the ground with his surprising strength. He flung me around like a rag doll and I hit the ground with enough force to crack my bones and knock the wind out of me. I laid there, dazed and in pain, gasping for breath. He grabbed my throat and squeezed, cutting off my oxygen. "You're going to listen like a good little omega," he said calmly. "We're going back to the house where you're going to explain to your father that you tried to run and instead of coming back willingly, decided to fight me for your freedom as if you have a right to be free. You have no rights, Avalon Winters. We own you." He released my throat right before I passed out from lack of oxygen.
I didn't fight as he roughly dragged me to my feet and pulled me after him with a tight grip on my arm. I winced in pain but made no sound as we got closer to the house. How did they know I was making a run for it? How did Damien get the jump on me? I suddenly knew the answer as soon as I was dragged through the front door of the house. Jamie. My best friend. He sat on a couch in the living room, drinking a glass of whiskey and chatting with my father as if they were best friends. He avoided my eyes as I was dragged before my father.
Father eyed me with distaste as he gulped down the amber liquid in his whiskey glass. "I see you found her," he addressed Damien.
"Yes, sir, it wasn't hard to follow her scent, thanks to Jamie," Damien answered, shoving me to my knees in the middle of the room.
"Good," Father said. "You can go. I have it from here."
"Yes, sir." Damien left the house quickly, and I was alone with my father and my backstabbing best friend.
"What?" I finally demanded when the silence became too much. "If you're going to beat me for trying to escape, can we just get on with it?" I tried to go for a bored tone, but there was no missing the elevated beating of my heart in my chest.
Father rolled his eyes. "Always so dramatic," he said. He glanced at Jamie. "Thank you for your help, dear boy. You can go home."
Jamie hesitated, finally turning to me, but I refused to look at him. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" he asked, boldly disregarding my father's orders.
Father narrowed his eyes. "Go home, Jamie, I won't tell you again," he said firmly.
Jamie finally caught my eye. I'm sorry, he mouthed. I ignored him, quickly turning my attention back to my father. I pretended like the sound of the front door slamming behind my best friend wasn't the final nail in my coffin.
Father silently stared at me for a moment before letting out a sigh and rising to his feet. The slap came before I had the chance to defend myself. My head snapped to the side and pain exploded across my cheek. Tears burned in my eyes but I refused to let them fall.
"Hello, Frankie, we're ready for you," Father said in a low tone.
I glanced at him to find him speaking into his cellphone. He murmured a few more words that didn't make sense to me before hanging up and pocketing the device. I didn't dare speak, my heart racing in my chest as the sense of impending doom filled me.
Silence filled the room and the tension was rising thick. Minutes passed with me on my knees, not daring to move a muscle as my father paced in front of me, wearing a hole in the navy blue carpet.
Finally, a beep at the front door sounded before it swung open and in strolled a huge, hulking man, surrounded by a security detail full of muscular men laden with tattoos and scars. I hated that I found the large alpha attractive. His presence couldn't mean anything good.
Father forced a smile and stretched an arm out that the alpha shook firmly. "Thanks for coming," he said sharply. "This is her. My omega daughter."
The alpha eyed me up and down, his expression not giving anything away, before he turned back to my father. There was a certain blankness in his eyes that had me feeling uneasy about this whole situation. "She'll do," he said gruffly. "We'll be going now."
My eyebrows shot up and I forgot to be the meek, submissive omega for a moment, shooting to my feet. "What's going on?" I demanded harshly.
The alpha paused, shooting me a surprised look. He glanced at my father. "Did you not tell her anything?" he asked.
Father sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If I had said something, she would have run," he answered. "As it is, she's already done a runner so you'll probably have to keep an eye on her."
"What's going on?" I repeated.
"Silence, Avalon," Father's sharp voice cracked through the stale air. He sighed again. "You should be thanking me for making this arrangement."
"What arrangement?"
"Meet your new alpha, Dominik King," Father said. "He's offered a nice sum of money in exchange for you. I couldn't refuse the offer. As of right now, you belong to this man. And good riddance."