Chapter 23

Twenty-Three

LACY

" W hat the hell?" I said.

I was at a complete loss of what to say. He was much crazier than I thought, and he hid it well. Now I knew why the stalker's scent was familiar to me.

"You'll be taught to serve your alphas," he said.

I was trembling with panic, flashes of my family going through my mind. All they would see was my name on the news. Another omega that had gone missing.

"Is that where the omegas have gone missing? Like on the news?" I asked while I secretly tried to loosen the ropes around my wrists, but it was futile.

"Some yes," he said. "They've gone to a better place. They know their place now as the omega of their pack."

He was absolutely nuts.

I had no idea where we were going now. The roads were long and winding down, getting sandier the farther out we went. The island was so big that a whole side could even be uninhabited. My mouth was dry, and I was still wearing my silk pink pajamas dotted with tiny white flowers.

"Why me?" I asked him after a long pause.

"You're the most successful omega on Howl's Edge right now. All eyes will be on the news when they report you missing, and the government will know we're serious," he said. "My job is to recruit omegas to the Omega Breeding Camp, or the OBC as we call it. You're going to be the best catch of all. I might even get a pay raise, so Henry better pay up."

I didn't know whether to feel flattered or sick.

Not wanting to listen anymore, I focused on trying to free my wrists even though it was draining my energy. I kept my eyes on the window, waiting to see if any other car would pass by, and I could scream for their attention. But we were going into isolated territory. There was no one around for miles. Regret started to seep in for firing all my bodyguards. I could have just kept even Adrian, at least.

Fuck my life .

Even if someone reported me missing, they wouldn't know where I'd gone. It was going to be impossible for them to find me. Fear spiked through me when the car finally stopped. There were two giant glass buildings that towered any other building I've ever seen in Howl's Edge. I wondered how the hell everyone had missed this. It should be obvious, especially if the lost omegas resided here, unless authorities were turning a blind eye to them.

Some alphas were shifted into werewolf forms, prowling around the building. Alphas were roaming everywhere. I could tell from their physique that they were alphas with heavier and huskier features.

"Welcome to your new permanent home," smiled Jordan, and my stomach twisted. "This is where you'll be producing babies for years to come."

He opened the car door, pulling me along with him.

The sand was hot under my bare feet as he walked me to the smaller building. I stared at the sand sifting through my toes as we walked. The sun was beating down mercilessly today on the island, and I couldn't bear to look at what could be my future home. I didn't even bother fighting against Jordan as he pulled me towards it with my hands tied behind my back. This place had the tightest security I'd ever seen.

"So there are only alphas here?" I commented.

"The very best," said Jordan, puffing his chest.

"So you're like the recruiter or something," I said sarcastically, hoping to infuriate him. His smug smile disappeared, and he turned to me. He lifted his hand and slapped me across the face.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

I stood there in shock. I couldn't believe he did that. I'd never seen this side of him in the months we'd been together.

"You will respect me while you're here," he snarled. "Let's go."

My face stung from the ringing slap as he pulled me by the arm to the building.

This wasn't a joke.

He was seriously going to breed me after stalking me for days. My throat tightened with every step, and I even forgot the pain in my burning feet from the shock.

When we entered the building, I first noticed the air conditioner hitting my burning face and the cold marble floors I stood on. Three alphas stood at the door, wearing all-black uniforms with emblems of a yellow wolf-head stamped onto their shoulders. One of them carried a clipboard as two of the alphas patted me down. All I had on were my silk shorts and my tank top.

I felt uncomfortable when one of them cupped and squeezed my breast, and I tried pulling away. He had short black hair and icy gray eyes.

"We have to make sure you didn't sneak in any pills with you," he said. "We want you to be as comfortable as possible here, love."

"I'm not comfortable at all," I said. "And I never will be comfortable here."

Then he turned to Jordan, "I can take it from here."

Jordan nodded roughly as the guard untied the cloth holding my wrists together. He didn't look happy being dismissed after doing all the work of stalking me. I felt a sense of relief once Jordan was gone.

"Please keep him away from me," I said in a low voice as I watched him walk towards the other alphas on this floor.

"We try to keep him away from the omegas, but he really likes you and insists on having you. But no worries, we can try securing a different alpha handler for you," he said. "If there's not one available, you'll have him for tonight."

What? An alpha handler? I suddenly felt like a pet. It was a strange and unwelcome feeling.

"Please let me go," I said. He looked surprised at my question. Did he not have omegas ask him to leave this place before? I was mind-boggled.

"This is the best place for an omega," he said. "And the safest."

"Listen, I was kidnapped and don't belong here," I said. "You guys will be in huge trouble kidnapping omegas."

I turned my head back to look at the door, but I could see the werewolves stalking the entrance, waiting for me to escape and make a move. They'd probably tackle me in no time and rip my head off if I tried.

"Let me show you around, love," he said. "By the way, my name's Henry."

I didn't shake the hand he offered. He acted like this was normal, and my whole life upended like it didn't matter.

"Listen, I need to get back to work and back to my life," I insisted when he took my hand.

"It's okay, most omegas panic at first," he said in a calm, tranquil voice. "But once you see how stress-free it is here, you'll never want to return, my love."

"Can you stop calling me that?" I muttered.

He ignored that as he walked me up a spiraling set of stairs that led into a huge main room covered in glass. There were giant cushions everywhere with omegas lying on them. They were either lounging or talking with each other. I only got a glimpse before he led me down a hallway with many doors in either direction. Everything was white, blinding, and shiny.

"That was the Social Room you just saw," explained Henry. "You will love it here, Lacy."

I highly doubted that.

My heart was still beating fast at how dystopian everything seemed. I was sure my feet were dirty as hell as I walked on the cold, clinical floors.

"Jordan mentioned something about breeding?" I said.

"He's correct," said Henry, and my heart pounded faster as he opened the door to a room that had a red tag on the door, which he promptly removed. "This will be your room. Room fifty-six."

He handed me the red tag with the room number, and all I wanted to do was shred it to pieces. But I had to figure out what was happening. I entered the room and saw a large bed in the corner with a circular brown rug in front of it. There was an entire closet filled with clothes, a large mirror, and a dresser. The bed looked so comfortable, and I felt like I was ready to pass out on it. I yawned as I looked at it. The long road trip had worn me out to no end.

"Is there any way I can buy my freedom? I will pay you whatever you want," I offered. I couldn't have my life taken away from me just like that, and I was willing to pay any price.

"The only thing we want is to grow our island stronger with more alpha babies," he said, smiling. "Please get yourself comfortable. Then I'd like you to come to the Social Room for the presentation."

I said nothing as I watched him leave the room, quietly closing the door behind him. I walked around the room briefly, inspecting every drawer in the dresser. I saw that there were brand new intimate wear with tags on them. Thank goodness . The closet was filled with dresses, and lingerie. I walked into the bathroom and looked into the oval mirror above the sink. My hair was straggly and unkempt. The right side of my face displayed an angry red mark from Jordan's abuse. I touched my face, wondering what had become of me.

As I showered, I thought about all my family's emotions once they learned I had disappeared. My mother's panic would be unimaginable. She had told me she went crazy when she lost Gabe for a while when the Royal Pack took him. Maybe I could ask Henry if I could somehow send a message to my family. But talking to Henry was like talking to a robot. He ignored anything that required real answers and instead spoke of the greatness of this stupid camp.

I hopped out of the warm shower and dried myself off as I walked into the room. I needed something to wear and saw slippers of various colors on the shoe shelf. I slipped my finally clean feet into a pair of glittering black slippers. I picked out a pink dress from the closet that looked like it was my size. It had ruffled short sleeves and a gaping neckline, which revealed my cleavage. The dress was long but flowing, so it had plenty of airflow.

While combing my hair, I heard shouting outside my door.

I dropped the comb and quickly ran to the door, pressing my ear against it to hear.