The cafeteria chatter faded as I turned the corner toward the east wing.

"Look at my hands, Leo. They are literally shaking."

Leah's voice echoed off the tiled walls.

I paused, pressing my back against the cold brick.

"I've got you," a deep voice rumbled.

Leo. The undisputed Alpha of St. Arlan High.

"She walked right up and crushed my custom lipstick under her shoe," Leah sobbed. "Just to provoke me. I didn't even do anything to her!"

"A pathetic Omega did that?" a male voice asked. One of Leo's lackeys.

"Yes!" Leah's pitch went higher, heavy with fake tears. "You know how their kind operates. Low-class. Deceitful. They just stir up drama to get an Alpha's attention, hoping we will throw them some scraps. She is just trying to hook one of you for the benefits."

I rolled my eyes. Seduce an Alpha? I would rather swallow glass.

I stepped out from my hiding spot, ready to walk past them.

"There she is!" Leah pointed a manicured finger directly at my chest.

Leo turned. His imposing frame blocked the entire hallway.

"Hey. Trash."

I kept walking. "Not my name, Leo."

Heavy footsteps pounded the floor.

In a flash, he stood in front of me. Massive hands clamped around my wrists like iron cuffs.

He shoved me backward. My spine slammed into the metal lockers.

"I didn't say you could walk away."

"And I didn't ask for your permission."

Leo's jaw tightened. "You think you can destroy Leah's property?"

"I didn't touch her stupid makeup," I said, glaring directly into his eyes.

"She's lying!" Leah shrieked, strutting to his side.

"I watched you snap it yourself, Leah," I shot back. "Right before you dumped your lunch on me."

Leo squeezed my wrists. The pressure sent a sharp ache up my forearms.

"Watch your mouth," he warned.

"Or what?" I challenged.

"You are awfully brave for an Omega."

"And you are awfully gullible for an Alpha."

A heavy silence fell over the corridor.

Instead of cowering, I laughed. A harsh, dry sound.

Leo blinked. He was clearly thrown off by the reaction. Omegas were supposed to weep.

Then, his expression darkened. He twisted my left arm.

Pain flared in my shoulder joint. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop a wince.

"Do you know what we keep in the back mountain?" he asked.

"Trees and dirt," I managed to say.

"Rogues," Leo corrected. "Locked behind the high fence. Starving."

Leah crossed her arms, a cruel smile playing on her lips.

"The full moon is Friday," Leo continued, leaning in close. "I am going to drag you up there."

"You are insane."

"I will throw you over the fence myself. Let's see if you can seduce a feral beast to save your life."

"Release me." I yanked my arm hard.

He held fast. "You need a lesson in respect."

I drove my knee upward.

He dodged, but his grip loosened just a fraction.

I ripped my hands free.

"Grab her!" Leo barked.

Two of his shadows surged forward. A heavy hand shoved my shoulder.

I stumbled, my elbow cracking against the concrete wall.

"Don't touch me," I snapped, straightening up immediately.

"We will touch you whenever we want," one of the boys sneered.

"Friday night," Leo promised. "Be ready."

I turned and walked away, my arms throbbing with fresh pain.

That was not the end of it. It was only the beginning.

For the next three days, the hallways became a war zone.

Between third and fourth period on Wednesday, they cornered me near the science lab.

"Going somewhere, Omega?" Leo blocked the door.

"Class," I said flatly.

He grabbed my upper arm, his fingers digging deeply into my bicep.

"Apologize to Leah."

"Go to hell."

He shoved me into the doorframe. My head bounced against the solid wood.

"Still stubborn," Leah mocked from down the hall.

I wrenched my arm out of his grasp, leaving a fiery red mark on my skin.

Thursday during lunch, I sat alone in the corner.

"Move your tray."

I looked up from my soup. Leo's shadow fell over my table.

"There are plenty of empty seats," I replied.

He slapped my bowl. Hot broth splashed across my knuckles.

I hissed, jerking my hand back.

"Omegas do not talk back," he said.

Leah stood behind him, sipping a juice box.

"She is so aggressive, Leo. It is scary."

"I will handle her." He grabbed my collar, hauling me to my feet.

"Get your hands off me!"

He threw me backward. I crashed into the adjacent table.

Plates shattered. Students cheered.

I scrambled up, my fists clenched tight.

"Fight back," Leo taunted. "Give me a reason to break your jaw before Friday."

I stared at him, my chest heaving.

"Not worth it," I muttered, turning away.

He caught my wrist again, his nails biting into my flesh.

"Tomorrow. Back mountain. Do not forget."

Friday arrived. The day of the full moon.

The tension inside the school building felt suffocating.

I wore a thick, long-sleeved sweater to hide the mottled purple and yellow bruises covering my arms.

Every time I flinched, the rough fabric rubbed against tender skin. My forearms were a canvas of pinch marks and swollen welts.

"You look awful," a girl whispered at my locker.

I ignored her, spinning my combination dial.

"I heard Leo is actually going to do it tonight," another voice murmured.

I grabbed my textbook and slammed the metal door.

The hallway cleared out rapidly as the final bell rang.

I needed to get out of the building. Fast.

I hurried toward the rear exit, my sneakers squeaking on the linoleum.

Just push the double doors, and I am free.

I hit the crash bar.

The door did not budge.

I pushed harder. Locked.

"Going home so soon?"

I spun around.

Leo stood at the end of the corridor.

Five of his largest cronies flanked him, blocking the only path forward.

Leah peeked out from behind his broad shoulder, holding a thick coil of heavy rope.

"The sun is setting, Sierra," Leo smiled.

My heart hammered violently against my ribs.

"Open the door, Leo."

"We have a date at the enclosure."

He cracked his knuckles. The sharp sound echoed loudly in the empty hall.

"Grab her legs," he ordered.

They lunged.

I dropped my heavy textbook. The thick spine hit the lead boy's foot with a loud crack.

He cursed, stumbling forward.

I shoved past his broad shoulders, my sneakers skidding on the polished linoleum, and bolted down the adjacent corridor.

"Get her!" Leo roared from the end of the hall.

Thunder shook the floorboards beneath my feet. A sudden afternoon storm lashed against the frosted windows, instantly turning the sky a bruised, violent purple. I rounded the corner toward the gymnasium, my lungs burning as I put distance between myself and the Alpha’s cronies.

Leah blocked the double doors leading to the rear exit. She held a heavy canvas bag of volleyballs.

"Move, Leah," I demanded.

"Coach needs these in the storage room." She dropped the bag directly at my feet. "Put them away."

"I'm leaving."

"And I'm texting the scholarship committee." She pulled out her phone, her thumb hovering over the bright screen. "Omega refuses mandatory club duties. That is grounds for immediate termination."

I stared at her. My chest heaved. Losing that funding meant returning to the group home.

"Fine," I spat.

I grabbed the coarse canvas straps and hauled the heavy bag over my shoulder.

I marched toward the indoor sports equipment room at the end of the hall. The metal door stood wide open, a gaping black maw waiting in the shadows.

I stepped across the threshold. The smell of stale sweat and old floor wax hit my nose.

The heavy iron door slammed shut.

Total darkness swallowed me.

*Click.*

I dropped the bag. It hit the floor with a dull thud.

I spun and lunged at the door, grabbing the handle. I yanked it downward. Locked.

"Open this door!" I shouted.

A harsh white light flared on the other side of the wire-mesh window. Leah’s face pressed against the glass, distorted by the bright glare of her phone’s flashlight.

"You are so predictable," she laughed.

I slammed my palms against the cold steel. "Unlock it right now, Leah."

"Why would I do that?" She tapped her manicured nails against the glass. "We finally have you exactly where we want you."

Toby stepped into the frame beside her. He grinned, his canine teeth glinting in the artificial light. "Good job, Leah. Leo is pulling the van around to the loading dock."

"You guys are pathetic," I said, keeping my voice dangerously steady. "It takes a whole pack of Alphas and Betas to handle one Omega?"

"It takes a pack to transport garbage to the dump," Toby shot back.

"You're cowards." I hit the door again, the impact rattling the hinges. "Every single one of you."

Leah frowned, her amusement faltering for a fraction of a second. "Keep talking, trash. You won't be so brave when you're staring down a starving rogue."

"You think I'm scared of the back mountain?" I lied. My stomach twisted into a tight knot, but I refused to let them see me break.

"You should be." Toby leaned closer to the glass. "They haven't had a fresh meal in weeks. When we throw you over that high fence, they'll smell the fear on you."

"They'll smell a weak, useless Omega," Leah added. "You'll be ripped to shreds before midnight."

I balled my hands into fists. My bruised knuckles throbbed from the earlier fights in the hallway. "If I survive, I'm coming for you first, Leah."

She rolled her eyes. "You won't survive. No one ever comes back from the enclosure."

"Open the door and face me yourself!" I kicked the heavy steel. The sharp noise echoed loudly in the cramped storage room.

"No thanks," she smiled sweetly. "I don't want to get my uniform dirty."

"Someone will notice I'm gone," I argued.

"Who?" Toby laughed sharply. "Your parents? Oh, right. You don't have any."

"The teachers?" Leah faked a gasp. "They all went home. The storm cleared the building early. It's just us."

Rain hammered relentlessly on the tin roof above the gym, drowning out the silence. The temperature inside the room plummeted.

I backed away from the door, my eyes scanning the pitch-black space. I needed a weapon. A baseball bat, a hockey stick, anything.

"Don't bother looking for a way out," Leah called through the glass. "There are no windows in there. No air vents big enough for you to crawl through."

I dragged my hand along the cold concrete wall, searching for a light switch. My fingers found a plastic panel. I flicked the switch up and down. Nothing. They had cut the breaker.

"No lights, either?" I called out. "You guys really went all out."

"We wanted you to get used to the dark," Leah said. "The back mountain doesn't have streetlights."

I bumped into a metal shelving unit. Racket frames clattered against each other.

"She's searching for a toy to defend herself," Toby mocked. "How cute."

I grabbed the handle of a heavy aluminum bat. The cold metal grounded me. I gripped it tight.

"I'm going to smash your face in the second this door opens," I promised.

"Why does Leo care so much?" I asked, stepping back toward the door. "I'm just a nobody. Why go through all this trouble?"

"Because you don't know your place," Leah snapped. "You look at him like you're his equal. You talk back. It makes the whole pack look weak if an Omega can defy the Alpha and get away with it."

"So this is about his fragile ego."

"This is about order," Toby corrected. "We rule this school. You are at the bottom of the food chain. Tonight, you're going to learn exactly what happens to Omegas who forget that."

"I'll never submit to him," I stated flatly. "Or you."

"You won't have a choice when a feral wolf has its jaws around your throat," Leah laughed. "You'll be begging for Leo to save you."

"I would rather die."

"That can be arranged," Toby said.

"You won't get the chance to swing that bat," Leah warned. "Leo is bringing the heavy sedatives from the biology lab. We're going to gas the room through the bottom vent before we open it."

My blood ran cold. I dropped my gaze to the narrow slatted vent at the base of the door.

"You're bluffing," I said.

"Am I?" Leah smirked. "Leo doesn't want you scratching up the upholstery in his new truck."

"You are crossing a line," I warned. "This isn't a high school prank anymore. This is kidnapping."

"It's only kidnapping if someone cares that you're missing," Toby sneered. "To the rest of the world, it's just pest control."

I raised the aluminum bat and swung it directly at the doorknob.

The metal clanged, sending a jarring vibration up my shoulders, but the heavy deadbolt held firm.

"Stop making so much noise!" Leah complained.

"Come in here and make me," I challenged.

I raised the bat higher and slammed it directly into the wire-mesh glass.

*CRACK.*

The reinforced glass splintered, a spiderweb of white lines obscuring Leah's face.

She shrieked, jumping backward. Her phone clattered to the floor, plunging the hallway into dim shadows.

"Are you crazy?!" Leah screamed from out of sight.

"Open the door!" I struck the glass again. The metal bat vibrated violently in my hands, sending painful shocks up my forearms.

"Hurry up, Leo!" Toby yelled down the hall. "She's trying to break the window!"

"The glass is shatterproof, you idiot!" Leah snapped at him.

She was right. The mesh held the broken pieces perfectly in place. I couldn't break through.

I lowered the bat, my breathing ragged. I stood alone in the suffocating darkness. The smell of old rubber and damp concrete closed in around me.

Outside, the storm raged harder.

Then, a new sound cut through the noise of the rain.

The deep, guttural rumble of a heavy diesel engine.

It idled right outside the gymnasium's loading dock, vibrating through the floorboards beneath my feet.

"He's here," Leah's voice floated through the cracked glass, thick with cruel satisfaction. "Time to go, Omega."