Page 102 of Unhinged Alphas

A bitter laugh escapes me. "You didn't even want to set me free, did you? You just wanted me for yourself."

"Not true, little omega." His voice is sharp, cutting through the darkness. "Idowant to set you free. That does not mean my instincts will let me, or that I am a good enough man to do it. But I do want to."

I turn my head toward his voice, wishing I could see his face. "And that makes it better?"

"It makes it honest," he says, a hint of frustration coloring his words. "You make me want to do the right thing. Perhaps I resent you for it."

His admission catches me off guard. I've never heard Valek speak so candidly before. It's unsettling,like the ground beneath my feet has suddenly shifted.

"But your chances of getting away are much higher with me, if that is what you choose," he continues. "And if you stay by my side when all this is over, I can show you all that remains in this world. There are places?—"

"I'm not interested," I cut him off, my voice hard. "I want the Ghosts."

The words surprise me as much as they seem to surprise him. Valek goes very still beside me, his breathing the only sound besides the constant rumble of the train.

"You want... the Ghosts?" he repeats slowly, as if tasting the words. "After everything?"

I swallow hard, fighting against the emotions threatening to choke me.

"Yes," I whisper. "I want my pack."

Valek's hand suddenly grips my arm, his fingers digging into my skin. "They are not your pack," he growls. "They may have prettier words to whisper to you, but they are still your captors."

I try to jerk away from him, but the zipties and his grip hold me in place. "And what are you?" I snarl back. "My savior? My knight in blood-stained armor?"

His grip tightens for a moment before he abruptly lets go. I hear him take a deep breath, like he's trying to calm himself.

"I am offering you a chance at real freedom," he says, his voice low and controlled. "Not the illusion of choice in a gilded cage."

"Real freedom?" I scoff. "You drugged me and kidnapped me. How is that freedom?"

"It is the start," he insists. "First step on a long road."

"If it's a start," I say slowly, "take off these ties and this hood."

The zipties are snipped away, followed by the hood. I blink rapidly, my eyes struggling to adjust after the prolonged darkness. Valek's face swims into focus, his silver eyes glinting in the dim light of the train car.

He's holding out his knife, handle first.

"Take it," he says, his accent thicker than ever. "You want your choice. You want to kill me? Do it. Freight train stops at the Reinmich outpost closest to the border with Vrissia, just west of a safe zone in the Outer Reaches. If you get off the train when the outpost is within sight and head directly east, you will reach it. You kill me, you are free. Right here, right now."

I stare at the knife, my mind reeling. Is this another trick? Another test?

"Or," Valek continues, "we burn the world together."

My fingers twitch, itching to grab the blade. But I hesitate, searching his face for any sign of deception. His expression is unreadable, a mask of calm determination.

"Choose, little omega," he growls. "But you must make your choice."

Before I can even begin to process his words, a deafening crash echoes above us. The roof of the train car buckles inward, metal screeching as the car is torn open like a fucking sardine can.

A massive silhouette blocks out the moonlight streaming through the new opening. My nose fills with the familiar scent of leather and a forest after rainfall, but my heart recognizes him before anything else.

Wraith.

My heart leaps into my throat.

In a blur of motion, Wraith's arm shoots down, fingers digging into Valek's skull and gripping it like a bowling ball, a finger in each eye socket. Valek doesn't hesitate even as Wraith hauls him off hisfeet. He swings up with a snarl, burying his blade deep into Wraith's forearm.