Chapter 3

Kenia POV:

The laughter eventually faded, along with the roar of the jeep's engine. They left me there.

Holden had thrown a plastic card down before he left-my ID badge. It fluttered down like a dead leaf, landing in the mud a few feet away.

"Find your own way back, stray!" Estella had screeched.

I climbed off the safety airbag, my limbs shaking from the adrenaline crash. The wind on the cliffside was biting, cutting through my thin blouse. It began to rain-a cold, miserable drizzle that soaked me to the bone.

I picked up the ID card. Mud smeared Holden's face on the hologram. I wiped it on my jeans.

I walked.

It took me four hours to hike back to the main road. My shoes were ruined. My hands were scraped and bleeding from climbing the embankment.

I found a small bus shelter near the territory border. I huddled in the corner, shivering violently. The physical trauma of the miscarriage was still fresh, and the cold was making the lingering cramps feel like knives.

My phone buzzed. It was Gael.

"Location," the text read.

I sent him the GPS pin.

One week, he replied. I cannot enter Silver Lake territory without declaring war until the Council meets next Tuesday. Can you survive?

I have to, I typed back.

A black sedan pulled up ten minutes later. It wasn't Gael. It was a Beta woman with kind eyes and a sharp business suit. Sarah, Holden's secretary. She was the only one besides Evans who didn't treat me like dirt.

"Get in, Kenia," she whispered, looking around nervously.

I climbed in. The heat was on. It felt like heaven.

"He... he told everyone you got lost during the drill," Sarah said, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. She reached into her purse and handed me a packet of dried venison jerky. "Eat. You look like a ghost."

I took the meat. I felt like a beggar. "Thank you, Sarah."

"He's crazy, Kenia. The power... it's gone to his head."

She dropped me off at the back entrance of the clinic. I collapsed before I could make it to my room.

When I woke up, the smell of antiseptic filled my nose. And something else. A cloying, expensive cologne.

Holden.

I opened my eyes. He was sitting in the chair next to my bed, looking annoyingly fresh in a crisp suit. He held a basket of fruit.

"You're awake," he said, smiling as if he hadn't pushed me off a cliff yesterday. "You really are dramatic, Kenia. Passing out from a little hike?"

I stared at him. The hate in my chest was so cold it burned. "You pushed me."

"It was a joke," he dismissed, waving his hand. "A prank. The boys were blowing off steam. Don't be such a buzzkill."

He leaned forward, his eyes flashing amber-his wolf pushing to the surface. "And you will not tell anyone otherwise. Do you understand? If anyone asks, you slipped during a perimeter check and I saved you."

He used the Alpha's Command again. It pressed down on my tongue, sealing my throat.

"Nod," he ordered.

I nodded stiffly, fighting the urge to vomit.

"Good girl." He picked up an apple from the basket and began to peel it with a small silver pocket knife. "You need to get your strength up. The Charity Gala is tonight. You're coming."

"I... can't," I rasped.

"You are. Estella needs someone to hold her train, and you know the layout of the venue better than anyone. You designed it, didn't you?"

He sliced a piece of apple and held it to my lips.

"Eat."

I looked at the apple. "I'm allergic to apples, Holden."

He paused, the slice hovering near my mouth. He blinked, genuinely confused. "What? No, you're not. Estella loves apples."

"I am not Estella," I whispered.

He stared at me for a moment, then shrugged and tossed the slice into the trash. "Whatever. Just get ready. Be downstairs in an hour. And Kenia?"

He stood up, towering over me.

"Don't embarrass me. Or I'll make sure the funding for Elder Evans's care gets cut off. I hear life support is expensive."

He walked out, leaving the door open.

He knew exactly where to hit.

I slowly sat up. My body screamed in protest. I walked to the mirror. My face was pale, my eyes hollow. I looked like a corpse.

Good, I thought. Let them see a corpse.