My lips parted.

It had been a couple of days since Alpha Dante showed up at the pack with his proposal. Admittedly, I’ve been too busy with training with the Lycans, while still trying to keep up with my classes to really notice Cole.

I knew he was there. It was hard not to when Regina kept mentioning that he kept staring at my ass like he wanted to eat it.

But I was no longer hyper aware of him. He was no longer the first thing on my mind, and I no longer woke up screaming because he was sleeping with someone else.

In fact, the bruises that used to decorate my stomach from my wolf hurting me were completely gone.

What I did notice, however, was that Lana was skipping a lot of classes, and when she was around school, she was trying to be around Cole. And receiving the cold shoulder.

The news of their breakup was now the most talked about topic, competing with the spot on the rumors of my possible engagement to Cole.

It was drama I tried so hard to stay away from, but it seemed to have followed me all the way to CrestHill.

Cole took one step forward and I took three back. It dawned to me then that I was alone in the dark with Cole.

His eyes were raw. "Maisie, I am fucking miserable. My wolf is restless. I can’t sleep. Can’t breathe. Can’t think straight without you." He took a shaky step closer. "I’m sorry. For everything. Please come back."

"Go tell someone else your bullshit story," I said. "It’s wasted on me. I’m never coming back. Please leave. You’re trespassing and the Lycans really, really love their space."

His jaw clenched. "So you’ve moved on?"

I rolled my eyes. "Please. Spare me. We were nothing to each other. You made that abundantly clear, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak to me like I was your ex or something."

"My engagement with Lana is broken," he offered, like that meant something.

"Well, my deepest condolences. If you’re looking for a shoulder to cry on, I’m sure your mother would be more than happy to volunteer."

"Maisie, don’t be like this. I made a mistake. People make mistakes all the time—"

"Yours would’ve killed me!" I finally snapped. "And you didn’t care. You would’ve trapped me as your mistress, while simultaneously sleeping with my sister, even if you knew it would kill me slowly. You saw my bruises and it still turned you on. You are a sick bastard."

Cole’s eyes shuttered. He looked like he was wrestling with something. His next words were all over the place. "Our engagement is being fixed. It’s inevitable that we end up together. I’ll mark and mate with you like I should have. So stop being difficult. I don’t want Lana anymore. I only want you."

A part of me almost felt sorry for Lana. That she had tried so hard to keep a man who would abandon her at the drop of a hat.

My lips curled with disgust. "I’m not interested in my Lana’s sloppy seconds."

Cole’s eyes went from green to gold in a blink of an eye. In a blur, he surged forward, careening into me and slammed me back against a tree, pining me with his body. "You don’t get to say no to me. I am your mate!"

I tried to access that strength inside, shoving at Cole, but I found that I had drained myself of it. I tried to wake the creature sleeping inside me, but she didn’t budge.

My training with Mercer kicked in and I slammed my foot into Cole’s shin, eliciting an angry roar from him, and when he staggered, I rammed the heel of my palm against his nose, drawing blood.

I didn’t wait to see more as he fell back. I took off.

Without access to the Lycan strength, I was still, very much, just Maisie the Omega. And Cole happened to be the most powerful Alpha heir in my generation. It was completely foolish to think I could beat him in a fight.

Mercer did say that when faced with an opponent significantly stronger than you, it was important to incapacitate and flee.

Problem was, I was too far from the mansion, and I was running on no gas.

Cole caught up with me.

He wrenched me by my shoulder and slammed my front into the nearest tree bark. The impact rattled my teeth and I cried out in pain as he grabbed a fistful of my ponytail, yanking my head back with it until his mouth was poised against my ear.

"I can’t wait for your decision or the preparations to be done," he rasped, and I screamed, struggling against him as he tore off my shirt, leaving my torso bare save for my bra. "I’m marking you right now."

I fought, but he pinned me effectively. The rough bark of the tree bruised my cheek. I felt his breath hot on the juncture between my neck and shoulder. I screamed. My nails broke against the bark as I fought harder.

His teeth clamped down on my neck.

Just barely.

Before he was ripped off me.

Cool air kissed my skin, and then, a roar of fury shook the forests. The trees shook. The ground trembled under my feet, and I turned around to find Soren picking Cole off the ground by the front of his shirt and hurling him across.

The tree bark shattered upon impact. And the next. And the next. And the next.

Cole’s body took out an entire row of trees before crashing into the ground.

Soren followed, simply blinking in and out of my vision—that’s how fast he was—and he appeared right in front of Cole, wrapped his fingers around his neck and slammed him into the tree like a ragged doll.

Cole snarled, twisting, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t break free of Soren. Knowing he had lost the physical battle, he started to laugh, even as blood poured down his face and mouth. "She’s mine. Did she tell you? I kissed her first. Touched her first. And I’ll fuck her first, both ways, have her virgin blood all over my cock—"

Something in Soren’s posture shifted. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Somehow, I knew. I knew it deep in my bones that this was the moment Cole died, because he didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. I saw dark claws jute out from Soren’s hands.

And I started running like hell, heart hammering in terror.

Not because I cared about Cole. But because I knew what it meant if a Lycan Prince killed an Alpha heir.

It meant war between both races.

I reached him just as he raised that hand to gut Cole. "Soren, stop!" I cried, catching his arm.

He shook me off like one would swat a bug. I flew across and landed badly on my ankle. Ignoring the pain, I returned to him again as he started to squeezed Cole’s neck, so much so, the latter’s face had turned purple.

"Soren, please stop! You’ll kill him!"

He wasn’t listening. I didn’t think he could hear me. His eyes were completely black. There was no recognition in them as he peered down at me like I was a mild disturbance. "Get out of my way," he hissed, words layered and guttural.

I heard the first set of bones in Cole’s neck crack.

Cole went limp.

Anymore, and I knew he would kill him.

So, I did the only think I could think of to startle him out of the haze of bloodlust he was in.

I threw myself at him and kissed him.