Page 94 of Unhinged Alphas

Ivy's hand flies to her throat, her fingers tracing the pale strip of skin where the collar once rested. Her eyes widen, a mix of fear and wonder crossing her face.

"How did you?—"

"No time," I cut her off, moving to the kitchen. I crouch down, prying open a loose floorboard to reveal a hidden cache of supplies. Weapons, cash, fake IDs. Everything needed for a quick escape.

Ivy's gaze follows me, realization dawning. "You've been planning this."

I nod, not bothering to deny it. "For weeks."

She takes a step back, shaking her head. "I... I can't go with you."

I pause, looking up at her. Her face is a mask of conflict, but her eyes are resolute. My mind reels. This is not how I expected this to go.

Not at all.

"You... don’t want to leave?" The words feel strange on my tongue, thick with disbelief. "I thought freedom was what you wanted. More than anything."

Ivy looks away, arms wrapping around herself like a shield. Her honeysuckle scent sours with conflict, filling the air between us.

I press on, confusion giving way to frustration. "What? You will let a few knots change the entire course of your future?"

Her head snaps up, eyes blazing. "Isn't that what you're doing, too?" she spits back. "Everyone wants to control me. Even you."

The accusation stings more than it should. I grit my teeth, forcing myself to stay calm. "This is your only chance to escape," I say, my voice low and urgent. "To be free, to taste what the world has to offer."

The words feel foreign on my tongue. I do not beg. Yet here I am, practically on my knees beforethis slip of an omega. To my horror, I find I cannot bring myself to leave, even to save my own neck.

Not without her.

"Please," I add, the word barely above a whisper.

Ivy's face contorts, a war raging behind her sea-green eyes. For a moment, I think I have won. But then her jaw sets, determination hardening her features.

"No."

The word is final and unshakeable.

I feel something inside me crack. This was not part of the plan. I do not have time to convince her, to make her see reason. She is not thinking clearly. This is the biggest mistake of her life. Whiskey will wake soon, and the others will return. If I do not leave now, I will never get another chance.

And neither will she.

I make my decision in an instant.

"Seems I am going to say it twice tonight," I mutter, reaching into my escape kit, my fingers closing around cloth.

Ivy frowns, confusion clouding her features. "What?"

I lunge forward, throwing the black hood over her head in one swift motion. She lets out a muffled scream of sheer indignation and rage,hands flying up to claw uselessly. She knees me in the balls and she almost gets away, but I was expecting that. When I stick her in the neck with a pre-loaded syringe of sedative from my tactical belt, it's all over.

I lean in close, ignoring her nails scratching weakly at my face as the fight leaves her with a soft, angry cry. My lips brush against the shell of her ear through the fabric of the hood.

"Sorry."

And once more, I am surprised to find I mean it.

Chapter

Twenty-One