Page 121 of Unhinged Alphas

They all should.

"Now, now, 9633," another lab coat says, patting my arm like I'm some docile pet. "Just relax. This will all be over soon."

Liar. It's never over. Not for me. Not since theyfirst strapped me to a table like this one, back in Vytoskyk. I was just a boy then, screaming for my mother as they cut me open and stitched me back together.

Now, I'm their monster.

Their perfect killing machine.

But something's changed. As the drugs pull me under, dragging me into a haze of half-formed memories and fever dreams, I don't see the usual parade of violence and gore.

Instead, I see her.

Ivy.

Her wild auburn hair, those fierce eyes that burn with defiance the very color of the sea. The curve of her lips, the softness of her skin. Her summery honeysuckle scent. The way she looks at me like a rabbit caught in a wolf's jaws. For a moment, that's how I envision us in the flesh. She's a rabbit, a doe, a wildcat, everything wild and fierce and beautiful.

And now she's here because of me.

Here, trapped in this hellhole.

The drugs drag me deeper, but I fight against the undertow. I need to stay lucid. Need to remember why I'm here.

Whyshe'shere.

A chuckle bubbles up from my throat, tasting ofcopper and regret. Ivy. My little wildcat. She must despise me now. How could she not? She's been dragged here into this pit of vipers and lab coats, and it's my fucking fault.

I gave her a gift.

The chance to burn it all down.

To remake the world. To be truly free.

And she chose captivity.

If I'd thought she would choose that, I wouldn't have given her the choice to begin with. It wasn't supposed to be a choice at all. Offer a feral omega a red pill and a blue pill and she goes for the balls.

I don't fuck up much.

But when I do, Ireallyfuck up.

My muscles spasm, fighting against the restraints. One of the scientists jumps back, eyes flashing with fear behind safety goggles that make him look like a fucking dumbass.

Smart man.

He's seen what happens when I break loose.

"Increase the dosage," someone barks. "We can't risk another incident."

I snort a laugh. What an understatement. What he really means is they can't risk another top-level scientist gone because I twisted him up like a pretzel and choked him to death with his own legs.

Another needle. More fire in my veins. But it doesn't matter. Nothing they do to me matters anymore. I've endured far worse than this.

Iamfar worse than this.

A scalpel bites into my flesh and my back arches off the table as a scream tears from my throat, raw and primal. But even with the pain ripping through me, my mind clings to the image of Ivy.

Her scent.