Chapter 3
The guards stormed in and roughly dragged me out.
They shoved me down into the snow-covered courtyard, forcing me onto my knees.
The freezing slush soaked straight through my thin clothes.
Kyle stood on the covered walkway with his arm wrapped securely around Selena.
Resting her head on his shoulder, Selena cast a smug smirk down at me.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the courtyard.
Jack burst in, out of breath. "Alpha!
"We caught an intruder at the edge of the territory."
My heart hammered violently against my ribs.
An intruder? Did they find Leo?
No, that was impossible. Leo was in the cellar miles away.
Jack strode up to Kyle and dropped to one knee.
"It's a human woman.
"She was caught prowling along the border, trying to slip past the wards," Jack reported.
A human woman? Maya!
When she couldn't reach me, she must have come looking.
"A human?
"Toss her out.
"If she resists, snap her neck," Kyle said.
"No!" I pushed myself up from the slush. "Kyle, leave her alone.
"She's my friend."
Kyle stopped and turned to look at me.
"A friend?" He stepped over and tipped my chin up with the toe of his combat boot. "Begging for a filthy human?
"That doesn't sound like the Ella I used to know."
I bit my lower lip, fighting back the sting of tears.
"Please.
"Let her go.
"I'll do whatever you want," I whispered.
Kyle chuckled under his breath.
"Anything?
"Alright." He pointed at Selena in the hallway. "Crawl.
"Kiss Selena's shoes and beg for her mercy.
"Do that, and your human friend walks away."
I froze, my whole body going rigid.
Crawl? Kiss Selena's shoes? The ultimate humiliation for any wolf.
Selena looked down from the porch steps.
"Kyle, isn't that a little harsh?
"She was such a proud Omega once," she cooed.
Still, she kicked one foot forward, displaying her heel.
I stared at the expensive crystal shoes coated in dirty snow.
Maya was in their clutches, and Leo would die without his suppressants. I had to get Maya out of here so she could save my boy.
Dropping back to my knees, I pressed both palms flat against the freezing gravel.
One foot forward. Then another.
I dragged myself through the slush toward Selena.
Low chuckles broke out among the surrounding pack guards.
I crawled to Selena's feet, shut my eyes, and bowed my head.
Right before my lips grazed the toe of her shoe, Selena's foot whipped up and smashed into my jaw.
My head snapped back, and I crashed into the freezing mud.
The metallic tang of blood flooded my mouth.
"Oops, my bad," Selena said, pressing her fingers to her lips. "Guess my foot cramped up.
"Are you alright, Ella?"
I spat a mouthful of crimson into the white snow, forced myself back onto all fours, and knelt before her again.
"I did what you asked," I said, looking straight past her to Kyle. "Let Maya go."
Kyle glanced at the blood trailing down my chin, then turned away and barked his order. "Jack, bring that human over."
A few minutes later, two wolves dragged Maya into the courtyard, her jacket covered in snow and her face bruised.
"Ella!" Maya screamed when she saw me kneeling, my mouth smeared with blood.
"You bastards.
"Let her go!" Maya thrashed against the iron grips holding her arms.
"Maya, shut up!" I yelled. "Kyle, I kept my end. Let her leave."
Kyle slowly walked up to Maya, circling her like a predator sizing up its prey.
"So you're the human friend from town.
"Tell me where her lover is," he demanded.