Muzzled by My Mate: Saved by the Supreme Alpha

Audrey POV:

The shame was still drying on my skin an hour later when the reinforcements arrived.

Jake’s parents. Susan and Robert Foster.

They swept in like a bad weather front. Susan took one look at me and curled her lip.

"Still here?" she asked. "I thought Jake would have evicted you by now."

"My name is on the deed, Susan," I said, reaching for a towel.

"The Pack owns everything. You're just a squatter," she snapped. Her gaze zeroed in on my throat.

The Moonstone. A milky, iridescent pendant on a silver chain. It was the only thing keeping my scent—and the overwhelming power of the White Wolf—from flooding the building.

"Tacky," Susan said. She moved with predator speed.

"No—"

She ripped it off before I could flinch. The clasp snapped with a sickening *ping*.

"Give that back!" I lunged, panic clawing at my throat.

"Jada needs something blue," Susan said, tossing the heirloom in her purse like it was a candy wrapper. She marched toward the elevator.

I staggered back against the wall. Without the stone, the seal began to fracture. My skin felt too tight. A scent like ozone and impending snow began to leak from my pores.

"God, you smell like sour milk," Susan called over her shoulder. "Go scrub yourself."

I had to move. I had to get to my office safe and re-apply the herbal blockers before I nuked the clinic's sensory grid.

I bolted for the rear exit.

"Hey! Monster!"

I skidded to a halt. Jada’s twin boys stood by the dumpsters. Seven years old, yellow eyes, teeth already too sharp.

They were holding modified Super Soakers. The tanks weren't filled with water; the liquid inside was thick and oily.

"We're playing Exterminator!" one yelled.

"Mommy gave us the special juice!" the other screamed.

My stomach dropped. Jada.

"Boys, put those down," I warned, backing up.

"Fire!"

They pulled the triggers.

I didn't get wet. I sizzled.

The liquid hit my face and chest, and the world turned white.

"Ahhhh!"

Smoke curled off my skin. The liquid ate through my silk blouse instantly, burrowing into the meat of my cheek. It felt like holding a soldering iron to my face.

*Concentrated Wolfsbane extract.* Mixed with something caustic.

"Got her!" The boys shrieked with laughter. "Look at her melt!"

I collapsed, clutching my face. The smell of burning skin filled the alley. The pain was blinding, a neurological storm that scrambled my thoughts.

I couldn't shift. Shifting now would pump the poison straight to my heart.

"Help..." I choked out.

The boys just pumped the pressure handles again.

I scrambled up, vision blurring in one eye, and ran. I didn't run like a Luna. I ran like prey.