CHAPTER SIX

I consider just leaving entirely, but something pulls me back to the party. If I’m honest with myself, it’s because I want to see Caleb.

Even if he can’t possibly be my mate. Even if he’s likely to be just as disgusted with me as everyone else. He’ll regret the kiss, deny me, kick me out of the pack - everything an Alpha is supposed to do in this situation.

Still. This might be my last chance to see him. I need to.

So I push the doors open to the Badger Lodge, only to face a wall of jeering, mocking faces.

“Useless!”

“Pathetic!”

“I heard she can’t even shift!”

“Worse than a regular Omega.”

“Why did they even send her?”

Tears well in my eyes as I shrink away from the attention, trying to find Caleb in the crowd. But someone grabs the back of my shirt and yanks me into the center of a circle, where Malcolm and Miranda and all their friends poke and prod me.

“Not even a fang? A claw? A whisker?”

“Nothing. Basically a human.”

“Gross!”

Malcolm puts his hands on my shoulders, staring down at me as he holds me in place. “Are you a spy for the humans? Answer me, Omega!”

“No!” I protest. I would never betray my pack like that. Not even after being treated like this. “No, I’m not.”

“She’s too stupid to be a spy,” someone says. I look around frantically for Caleb, but he’s nowhere to be seen.

Not wanting to break down in front of everyone, I duck out of Malcolm’s grip and run. I burst through the doors of the lodge and run down the trail, my eyes streaming with tears.

“Sarah!” I hear a voice behind me and turn around, wiping my eyes.

Caleb runs up to me, breathless. I collapse into his arms, sobbing.

“Is it true?” Caleb’s eyes are gentle, sweet, concerned. “You can’t shift.”

I nod miserably. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t,” Caleb says, stroking my hair. “It’s okay. You’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.”

I can’t believe he’s still talking like that. There’s no way any of this is possible. I sniffle. “I don’t know what to do.”

Caleb holds me for a moment, then he senses something in the woods and lets go of me. “Listen. I’ll figure something out - I just need some time. Go to the pack house. You’ll be safe there. I’ll be there soon.”

I hate the idea of being without Caleb. “But…”

“The pack house,” he says, glancing around. “I’ll meet you there.”

With that, he shifts, giving me a quick glimpse of his wolf form, huge and powerful, with silver fur and a graceful gait. Then he disappears into the dark of the forest.

I have no other choice but to do what he told me. I know where the pack house is, even though my parents and I haven’t officially moved in yet.

But Miranda and Malcolm and the other shifter kids must know a shortcut, because by the time I get there, they’re already gathered in the driveway like an angry mob. Their parents are there too, adult shifters looking viciously angry.

“My daughter tells me you’re an Omega who can’t shift,” says a woman with golden eyes and matching gold bangles on her crossed arms.

I look around for my parents, but they’re not here. I wonder if they know too. If they’re disappointed in me.

Malcolm steps forward and speaks. “Do you know what wolf packs do with members who can’t provide for themselves? Who only drag the others down?”

I do, but I’m not going to be the one to say it. I keep my mouth shut.

Sure enough, Miranda answers for me. “They kick them out!”

“That’s right!” Shouts and jeers rise from the crowd. “Banishment! Banish her!”

Dark woods surround us. There’s no way I’ll make it home safely, not to the little apartment my parents rented in town. These woods are full of dangerous creatures, enemies of shifters, and even the wolves themselves. I wouldn’t put it past Malcolm and Miranda to hunt me down and finish me off after I’m sent away.

I realize that Caleb isn’t at the pack house either. Maybe I have one final chance to buy myself some time, at least. “Doesn’t an Alpha do the banishing?”

Miranda laughs and snorts. “Look at that - this Omega thinks she knows about pack rules.”

“I’m the Beta,” Malcolm says haughtily. “And our Alpha isn’t present. So it’s on me to protect the pack from your bad influence.”

“It is after midnight, though,” someone in the crowd says. It sounds like an older woman, maybe someone who feels a bit of maternal pity for me. “We should at least give her until morning to head out on her own.”

“Caleb might be back by then, too,” someone else says.

Malcolm rolls his eyes. “Fine. Whatever.” He waves a hand at me. “You’ll sleep here tonight, but as soon as the sun rises, you’re gone. Understand?”

I nod. Someone here just saved my life - or, at least, delayed my demise.

Malcolm shows me to a tiny bedroom in the basement of the pack house. There’s a hard, flat mattress on the floor and a few pillows scattered around. “You can sleep here. I’ll let you out in the morning, and then I never want to see you again.”

That part, at least, is fine by me.

“And give me your phone,” Malcolm says, holding his hand out. “Last thing we need is your Omega parents showing up here causing a fuss. We’ll deal with them later.”

I hand my phone over, determined not to cry in front of Malcolm. But as soon as he closes the door, locking it behind him, I curl up on the mattress and fall apart.

It’s cold, and there are no blankets, but I’m exhausted, and I know I’ll need my strength for tomorrow. I tuck my arms into my shirt and fall asleep.

I’m awakened just before dawn. Something warm envelops me, and I open my eyes to see two pewter eyes looking back at me.

“Caleb?”

“Shh.” He puts a finger to my lips. “I can explain, but first, let’s get you out of here. Somewhere safe.”