After My Mate Drugged Me, I Ran with His Beta

The kitchen was empty when I slipped in, the fluorescent lights humming overhead like trapped insects. I'd been avoiding the main areas of the pack house for days now, taking the long routes, keeping my head down. Three more hours until moonrise. Three more hours until Micah and I could disappear into the forest.

I was reaching for a glass when I caught her reflection in the window.

"You've been skipping breakfast." Bria's voice was silk over steel. She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, her dark eyes tracking my every movement. "That's not like you."

I turned slowly, keeping my expression neutral. "Just haven't been hungry."

"Mm." She pushed off the frame and glided closer, circling me like a predator. "You smell different. Stronger. Like something's changed."

My pulse kicked up, but I forced myself to stay still. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't you?" She stopped in front of me, close enough that I could see the gold flecks in her irises. "You know, Cassius was particularly... energetic last night. Kept me up for hours." Her smile was razor-sharp. "He has this thing he does with his tongue that makes me—"

"I don't want to hear this." The words came out harder than I intended.

Her smile widened. "There she is. I was wondering when you'd grow a spine." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Did you really think we wouldn't notice? That we wouldn't smell the change in you?"

My hands clenched at my sides. Every instinct screamed at me to lash out, to finally tell her exactly what I thought of her and her poisoned tea and her fake concern. But that's what she wanted. An excuse.

"I have nothing to say to you." I moved to step around her.

Her hand shot out, gripping my wrist. "You're not going anywhere."

I yanked free, harder than I'd ever dared before. The surprise in her eyes was almost worth it. Almost.

"Touch me again," I said quietly, "and you'll regret it."

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then she laughed, the sound brittle and sharp. "Oh, this is going to be fun."

She turned and walked away, but I saw the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers flexed like she was imagining claws. She knew. Maybe not everything, but enough.

I had to get out. Tonight. Before she could act.

The hours crawled by. I packed light—just a backpack with clothes, the ledger, and what little money I'd saved over the years. Micah had the rest of the supplies stashed at the old creek. The plan was simple: meet him at the servant's entrance at midnight, slip into the forest during the shift change of the border patrol.

Simple. Clean. Nothing could go wrong.

The pack house was quiet when I crept down the back stairs, my footsteps muffled by the worn carpet. The servant's entrance was just ahead, a plain wooden door that led to the delivery area. Freedom was twenty feet away.

I reached for the handle.

"Going somewhere?"

My blood turned to ice.

Bria stepped out from behind the storage shelves, her smile predatory in the dim light. "I had a feeling you'd try something stupid."

"Get out of my way."

"Or what?" She tilted her head. "You'll shift? Oh wait, you can't."

I moved toward the door. She moved with me, blocking my path.

"Last chance," I said.

Her eyes flashed gold. "No. Last chance for you."

The shift rippled through her in seconds—bones cracking, skin splitting to reveal sleek black fur. Her wolf was beautiful and deadly, all coiled muscle and bared fangs. She crouched low, a growl rumbling from her chest.

I stumbled backward, my bag hitting the floor. This was it. She was going to kill me, or maim me badly enough that I'd never leave.

She lunged.

A blur of motion slammed into her from the side, sending both bodies crashing into the shelves. Cans and boxes exploded across the floor. Micah—still in human form—had Bria's wolf pinned, his hands locked around her throat with a strength that shouldn't have been possible for a Beta.

"Run!" he shouted at me.

But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Because Bria was shifting back, her body contorting, and she was screaming—high and piercing and fake.

"Help! Someone help! She's trying to kill me!"

Footsteps thundered down the hallway. The lights blazed on. And then Cassius was there, flanked by Gamma Ryan and three other warriors, his eyes taking in the scene: Micah holding Bria, me standing frozen with my escape bag at my feet.

"She had a silver dagger!" Bria sobbed, clutching her throat even though there wasn't a mark on her. "She tried to stab me! Micah stopped her!"

"That's a lie," I said, but my voice came out weak, shaky.

Cassius's gaze locked on mine, and I saw the calculation there. The choice he was making in real-time. Believe his fated mate, or believe the lie that kept me trapped.

"Norah Carter," he said, his Alpha Tone rolling through the room like thunder. "You are under arrest for attempted murder of a pack member."

"No." The word ripped from my throat. "No, she attacked me! She—"

"Gamma Ryan, take her to the cells."

Ryan's face was conflicted, but he moved forward anyway, duty overriding doubt. Micah released Bria and stepped toward me, but Cassius's voice cracked like a whip.

"Stand down, Beta. That's an order."

Micah's whole body went rigid, fighting the Alpha Command. His eyes met mine, gold bleeding through the brown, and I saw the promise there. This isn't over.

Ryan's hand closed around my arm, gentle but firm. "Come on, Norah. Don't make this harder."

I let him lead me away, my legs moving on autopilot. Behind me, I heard Bria's fake sobs, Cassius's low murmur of comfort. The sound of my freedom dying.

The cell door slammed shut with a finality that echoed in my bones.