Page 101 of Unhinged Alphas
The way they look at me sometimes, like I'm the most precious thing in the world… It's all fake, of course. It has to be.
But God help me, I want to believe it's real.
The train lurches, and I'm jostled against Valek's side. His scent envelops me—crisp winter air, gunmetal, stone—and my traitorous body relaxes for a split second before I catch myself. I tense, hating myself for finding comfort in his presence.
Especially after what he did. The choice he robbed me of while whispering honeyed words about freedom and choice.
What a fucking joke.
"I know you are awake." His accented voice cuts through the rhythmic clacking of the train. "No point in pretending, little omega."
The pet name sends a jolt of rage through me. I turn my head toward his voice, wishing I could glare daggers through the hood. I settle for growling. "Fuck you."
He doesn't laugh or make a snarky remark like he usually would. Instead, he's silent. That makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle with unease.
The silence stretches, taught as razor wire. My skin crawls with the need to lash out, to hurt him like he's hurt me. But I force myself to stay still, to breathe through the rage. I need answers more than I need revenge right now.
"What do you want from me?" I spit the words out, acid on my tongue.
Valek shifts beside me. The warmth of his body bleeds through my clothes, making my skin prickle. "I want you to listen," he says, his voice low and measured. "You were not making the right choice."
A bark of laughter escapes me, bitter and sharp. "Oh, that's rich coming from you. You didn't give me a choice at all."
"No." His voice hardens. "I gave you a choice you could not make yourself."
My ziptied hands clench into fists in my lap, nails biting into my palms. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
He sighs, a sound so weary it catches me off guard. "You are too bonded with this pack to leave on your own. Even if you ran, part of you would always be looking back. Wondering if you made the right decision."
The truth of his words stings, salt in an open wound. I want to deny it, to scream that he's wrong. But the dream flashes through my mind—the calm that washed over me as I slowed, letting the wolves catch me.
I swallow hard, pushing the memory away.
"So what?" I snap. "You decided to make thechoice for me? Drug me and drag me away like some kind of prize?"
"No." There's an edge to his voice now, sharp as the knives he's so fond of. "I want you to help dismantle this false society. From top down, like I was doing before I was captured and thrown into prison to rot and die."
I freeze, his words sinking in slowly. "What?"
His words hang in the air, heavy with implication. I struggle to process what he's saying, my mind racing to connect the dots.
"Dismantle... the society?" I repeat, my voice barely above a whisper. "You mean?—"
"Yes." Valek's voice is cold, hard. "This system, it cannot be saved. Thane will want to fix things from inside. But some things are too broken to fix."
A chill runs through me, not entirely from fear. "So what's your plan?"
"To burn the world." His breath ghosts across my ear through the thin fabric of the hood, making my skin prickle. "To burn it all down and start over."
My heart pounds in my chest, a mix of excitement and terror coursing through my veins. It's everything I've ever wanted, isn't it? To see this cruel system crumble?
His words hang in the air. A part of me—the partthat's been caged and beaten down for so long—wants to scream "yes" and watch it all go up in flames. But another part says no.
The part that wants the Ghosts.
"And then what?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. "When it's all ashes, what happens to me?"
Valek shifts beside me, the warmth of his body a stark contrast to the chill of his words. I can tell he doesn't know how to reply. Hasn't thought that far ahead.