Page 103 of The Alpha King's Fate

The Hunter had a small catchpole and hooked it around the girl’s neck. Like a stray dog. A wild animal they wanted to get rid of.

Fury rose within her, taking over all her thoughts and actions. It filled every cell in her body, awakening her bruised and broken body even though it was futile. Her palms slammed against the silver bars, and a sound that sounded alien yet familiar filled the warehouse. A growl. A growl so deep and loud it made the hair on the back of her neck stand.

The Hunters paused while pulling the girl out and turned to face her.

“I said take me,” she snarled.

She knew the words came out of her mouth, but her voice didn’t sound familiar. It was deeper and raspier.

The guards released the girl and approached her cage. Their eyes were still emotionless; they didn’t look fazed by the rage she knew they could sense. Her body trembled with the effort it took to hold it in as if it was going to burst from her body.

“Take me!” she screamed.

Her vision cleared. She could see the smallest pores on their faces, the pulse thumping at the bases of their throats. The very spot she wanted to sink her teeth in. She had never wanted to ripanyone apart like she wanted to tear them to pieces. Like she had done Hailey the witch.

One of the guards cocked his head to the side as if trying to understand what he was looking at. She knew what they could see. She mastered her emotions long before discovering she was a wolf, but they were overwhelming now. She knew her eyes were glowing. She knew her face was changing, stretching as it accommodated the beast that should have stayed hidden.

She had not shifted since the night of the last attack on the pack. She had not felt her wolf until her recent trouble with the Circle. But now she sensed her other half, rising and filling her, feeding all the destructive emotions inside her.

Her fingers tightened around the silver bars the way they itched to tighten around their necks. They would pay for this—all of them.

A radio echoed, breaking the silence before a disembodied voice echoed around them.

“Bring that one back to the lab.”

‘No...’ Faith cried.

But Faith’s words and anguish didn’t dent her rage. It did nothing but fuel it.

Jax wasn’t there to help them, but she was positive he would not have taken any of this lying down. He would have fought them as the Alpha King. And she would have fought beside him as their Queen.

Perhaps it was their fate to die like that.

Something sharp hit her still-injured stomach. The air got sucked out of her lungs as pain cleared some of her anger. When she looked down, she saw a dart sticking out of her. Another sharp pain. Another dart.

She released the bars and fell to her ass. The rage completely disappeared as the smell of her blood filled the air.

And her wolf—the wolf that challenged them, the wolf that craved their blood—was gone.

What the hell was she thinking? She was injured and had only ever shifted once. She wasn’t strong enough. If her mother couldn’t save herself, what chance would she have?

She should have kept her mouth shut until she healed. Until she had a plan.

Her head started to swim. Images of Hope and Jax filled her head even as Faith began to sob behind her.

‘What did you do? What did you do?’ Faith repeated.

The strength drained from her body even as she fought to stay conscious. But she still crashed to the floor of the cage. The sound of her cell being unlocked echoed in her ears, and then the silver noose of the catchpole landed around her neck. It cut the air from her body as they pulled her out with it, and once again, she landed hard on the floor.

The bright lights above her were blinding, but she didn’t dare close her eyes. What if she didn’t wake up?

‘Do everything you can to come back. Please,’ Faith cried. ‘You need to stay alive so the Alpha can find us.’

But the words reverberated in her head, making no sense. She couldn’t even answer back.

The Hunters didn’t bother to lift her by her shoulders this time. They pulled her with her arms, ripping the useless gown as they dragged her along the concrete floor. The wounds that stopped bleeding started to bleed again. The pain was excruciating.

But still, she fought to stay conscious.

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