Page 24 of Hunt

“You are running out of time, Bella , and I am running out of patience. You should have been mated off like a good little bitch and been done with it,” he snaps. “But since you’ve decided to suppress your own heat, you’ve brought embarrassment down on this pack.”

I blink at him, my mouth opening and closing, but no words come out.

He scoffs, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips. “You thought we didn’t know about the pills? You’re even dumber than I thought you were.”

In a flash of movement, Liam's hand connects with my cheek in a resounding smack that sends me sprawling to the floor. Pain blooms across my face as I catch myself on my hands, stunned by the sudden violence.

"You stupid girl," Liam snarls above me. "Did you really think you could defy the laws of nature forever?"

I push myself up slowly, fingertips brushing the tender, reddened skin of my cheek. I grind my teeth against the need to spit blood at Alpha Liam. My fingers twitch with the urge to grab a weapon and solve this little problem here and now.

"Your little act of rebellion is over," he continues coldly. "Your heat has finally presented itself, and you WILL be mated as the pack demands. We've already begun preparations for the auction next week."

My blood runs cold at his words. An auction. Exactly what happened to Rosa.

"Alphas from packs across the country will be arriving to place their bids. And you WILL accept whichever alpha pack we choose for you. For the good of the De Lucas." Liam's eyes are hard and pitiless as he stares down at me.

“You can’t force me to mate, Liam,” I spit out. My mouth is full of blood. The blow to my face landed harder that I originally thought.

Liam smiles cruelly. "Oh, but I can, and I will." He steps closer, looming over me. "You belong to this pack. To me. And you will do as you're told."

I glare at him defiantly even as I sway slightly from the blow. "I don't belong to anyone," I growl. "Especially not a monster like you."

Rage flashes in Liam's eyes and he backhands me viciously, sending me crashing into the dresser. I cry out as pain explodes through my skull. Trinkets and perfume bottles shatter around me.

"You ungrateful bitch," he seethes. "After everything this pack has done for you, this is how you repay us? By fighting your very nature?"

I push myself up on shaking arms, blood dripping from my split lip. "My nature is my own," I rasp out. "It's not for you or anyone else to decide."

Liam scoffs. "Your nature is to be claimed and bred. To serve your alpha, whoever we deem worthy of you." He grips my chin roughly, forcing me to meet his gaze. "And in one week's time, that's exactly what will happen. Alphas will come from far and wide to inspect you, to bid on you like cattle. And the highest bidder will mount you and fill your belly with more alphas to feed our fucking empire, as is your purpose. We are gods, Belladonna."

Liam releases my chin roughly and steps back, his cruel eyes still boring into mine. "One week, Bella. One week until you fulfill your destiny and secure the future of this pack."

He turns to leave but pauses at the door, glancing back at me with a malicious smirk. "And just to ensure your cooperation, know this—if you try to defy us, if you make any attempt to escape or disrupt the auction, it won't be you who suffers the consequences. It will be your mother."

My heart seizes in my chest at his words. "You wouldn't," I whisper hoarsely. "She has nothing to do with this."

"Oh, but I would," Liam says coldly. "Your mother's fate rests entirely in your hands now, Bella. Her continued safety and comfort depends on your obedience. Defy us, and she will pay dearly for your insolence."

With that final, chilling threat, Alpha Liam wrenches open the door and strides out, slamming it shut behind him with a resounding bang that echoes through the room.

Cold water rushes overme as I swim my tenth lap. Theres a small indoor pool just outside the gym in one of the many buildings on the property, barely big enough to call it a real lap. My jaw still stings from the force of Liam’s hand, but my pride is even more wounded.

Anger simmers inside me as I slice through the cool water, each stroke a futile attempt to outpace the rage and helplessness clawing at my throat. The chlorine stings my eyes but it's nothing compared to the bitter sting of Liam's words echoing in my head.

An auction. Like a piece of meat to be sold off to the highest bidder. The very thought makes bile rise in my throat even as asmall, traitorous part of me trembles with something shamefully close to anticipation. I viciously crush that flicker of weakness. I won't let my biology, my omega nature, turn me into a willing slave. A broodmare to pump out alpha spawn.

But as much as every fiber of my being rails against Liam's decree, as much as I long to fight, to lash out... I can't. Not with my mother's safety hanging in the balance. Liam's threat was clear—any resistance from me would result in dire consequences for her. And I can't let that happen. I won't be the reason she suffers.

So I swim. I pour all my fury, all my fear, into each powerful stroke, pushing my body past the point of exhaustion. Physical pain is a welcome distraction from the emotional turmoil raging inside me.

I don't know how long I swim for—minutes—hours. Time blurs as I lose myself in the mindless repetition, in the burn of my muscles. But eventually, I have to surface.

I break the surface with a gasp, sucking in heaving breaths as water streams down my face. My arms tremble as I grip the edge of the pool, the adrenaline of my furious swim finally ebbing away and leaving behind only a heavy, leaden fatigue.

I allow myself a moment to just hang there, eyes closed, cheek pressed against the cool tile. The sting of chlorine in my nose and throat is grounding.

Damn the alphas. Damn this whole twisted pack and their archaic notions of an omega's "purpose." I want to scream, to rage, to tear this whole rotten empire down brick by brick until nothing remains but rubble and ash.

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