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  He could put a little trust in her.

  And in that moment, Wyatt realized that he didn’t fully trust Izzy yet either.

  It was easier for him to befriend her without trust, because she didn’t have any power to hurt him. But if he had trusted her completely, the way he was asking her to trust him, he wouldn’t have had any problem telling her the truth about the Omega Games and preparing her for what was to come.

  “You’re right,” he said.

  That caught her off guard. “I am? About what?”

  “You’re right that you deserve to know what’s coming. You’re right that if I want you to trust me, I should tell you the truth.”

  “And?”

  “And I still can’t do it.”

  She looked at him for a long moment. “Then go,” she said. “Don’t pretend you’re my friend if you’re not.”

  “Izzy...”

  “Don’t make me feel like you’re on my side when you’re on their side.”

  “It’s not like that. Come on. We don’t have to be on different sides.”

  “They locked me in a room, Wyatt. They took me from my life and locked me up away from the rest of the world.” Her voice broke. Wyatt realized she was on the verge of tears. “I didn’t have much before this, but I was happy. I had a job, a place to live...and they took that all away from me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Wyatt whispered. “You didn’t deserve that.”

  “Didn’t I?” she asked. “I’m an omega. Is this what’s supposed to happen to us?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My mother always told me I would have to spend my life on the run. But I stopped running. I thought I had found a safe place, a place where I could stay forever. And that’s when they caught me. Maybe I deserved it. Maybe I should have known there was no way for an omega to be a part of the world.”

  “I don’t think that’s true,” Wyatt said. “You’re a person.”

  “And what your pack has planned for me? Is it something a person deserves?”

  “It might not be that bad,” Wyatt said. If I win. If I can claim her, I can protect her from anyone who might hurt her. I wouldn’t force her to mate with me. I’d let her go. She could go back to her home and her job, or she could go on the run. And she could be happy again.

  “I want you to go,” she said. “I don’t want you to visit me here anymore.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t stand it,” she said. “I can’t stand hoping that every day will be the day you decide you care more for me than you do for that pack. You’re never going to save me from what’s coming, so don’t give me hope. It hurts too much to be let down.”

  WYATT WANTED TO RETURN to Izzy’s room the next night. He hadn’t been able to put her from his mind all day. He kept thinking of little things he might do for her, things that would improve her life or put a smile on her face. I should bring her a soda, he thought as he went to the fridge for one of his own. I should bring her a change of clothes. I doubt anybody would notice.

  But she had asked him not to return. The least he could do was to honor her request.

  He would have to find another way to help her. He would still compete in the Omega Games, of course, and he would do all he could to win. But he’d come to realize that if the Omega Games were played today, his winning wouldn’t reassure Izzy at all. She feared and mistrusted him nearly as much as she did every other member of the pack. In her eyes, he wasn’t much better than Gunner.

  I didn’t lock her up, he argued to himself. I’m not the one who put her in that room.

  But I didn’t set her free either. Every night I walk out, I leave her behind.

  He found Robert outside the house, preparing for a hike into the forest. “Can I join you?”

  “I’m going out in human form,” Robert said.

  “That’s okay,” Wyatt said. “I was hoping to talk, anyway.” There was a bond that emerged between pack members when they shifted together, a camaraderie two humans couldn’t hope to replicate, and Wyatt enjoyed spending time with his packmates as a wolf and feeling that closeness. But there were some things wolves just couldn’t do, and conversation was one of them.

  He followed Robert down a trail that led away from the house and toward the river. It was an easy run for wolves, but a moderately difficult hike for humans, and they walked in silence for a while. It was Robert who spoke first. “What’s on your mind?”

  For a moment Wyatt was reluctant to speak. “Izzy,” he said finally, apologetically.

  “The omega?”

  Did they know another Izzy? “Yes.”

  “What about her? It’s your intention to compete in the Omega Games, right?”

  “It is,” Wyatt admitted. He had made no secret of that. Enough of his packmates were planning to compete that he knew his interest in the competition wasn’t something that would arouse suspicion.

  “So, you’ll have your chance to win her just like everyone else,” Robert said. “Don’t think you’re going to convince me to give her to you outright. I’ve made my decision. Everyone should be in with a fighting chance.”

  “I wasn’t going to argue for that,” Wyatt said.

  “What is it, then?”

  “It’s the way she’s been sequestered,” Wyatt said. “I know you’re worried she’ll run, and I know some of the others are worried about her ability to integrate with the pack. But if we kept watch on her...if we made sure she was never on her own...”

  “You want me to let her out,” Robert said. “I thought you and I had settled this, Wyatt.”

  “It’s just that it’s an archaic tradition, keeping omegas locked away until they’re mated,” Wyatt said.

  “Who told you that?”

  “Nobody told me.”

  “You came to us knowing almost nothing about pack dynamics. What gives you the idea that this isn’t normal?”

  “I just...” Wyatt paused. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure where the belief came from. “It just seems as if it can’t be normal,” he said finally. “It was something she said to me when I brought her dinner up a couple of nights ago.”

  “Which I’ve noticed you aren’t doing anymore.”

  “No. She asked me not to. I think she doesn’t like me.”

  “Maybe you should take yourself out of the running for the Omega Games, then.”

  “I thought you said what she wanted wasn’t a priority.”

  “I thought you said it should be.”

  Wyatt was momentarily silenced.

  “What did she say to you?” Robert asked. “What did she say that made you think we were treating her too harshly? Did she beg for release?”

  “No,” Wyatt said. “It was the opposite, actually. She said this was what she’d always expected. She said the world wasn’t safe for an omega and maybe she didn’t deserve anything better, that maybe she’d been inviting trouble by daring to have a life of her own.”

  “Maybe that’s true,” Robert said.

  Of course, it isn’t true. “I just think she’s breaking down emotionally,” Wyatt said. “And that’s not something any of us want from the mother of our new generation. She needs more socialization. She needs more freedom. She needs to feel like it isn’t her against the rest of the pack. She’s one of us. We need to let her be one of us.”

  “Let her be one of us,” Robert mused. He stopped and took a seat on a fallen log. Wyatt sat beside him, holding his breath. “You feel strongly about this, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you want her? Is that what it’s about?”

  “Of course not,” Wyatt said. “I’m much too old for her.”

  “Not according to pack law. Any man can claim an omega.”

  “It should be a younger man, though,” Wyatt said. “Not me.”

  “Then why are you entering the Omega Games?” Robert asked.

  Wyatt hesitated. He couldn’t trust Robert with his t
rue plan. Robert might stop him from competing if he knew Wyatt intended to set their omega free. “It’s a pack event,” he said. “If I’m going to be the pack beta, I should be involved as deeply as I can. Besides, we both know I’m not going to win. I’m too old, and I’m not as physically fit as some of the others.” He felt the hopelessness of the situation as he said it. He would fight hard for Izzy, but in all likelihood, he knew, he would lose.

  “Then, why?” Robert asked. “Why are you so determined to see her integrate herself into the pack, if it’s not about a personal interest in her?”

  “It’s about my vision for the pack,” Wyatt said. It wasn’t the whole truth. But it was true, as true as his feelings for Izzy. “I want us to be the kind of pack that includes and respects our omega. I want us to let her be a part of designing the games that will determine her mate. I want her to love us and want to have pups for us, not be a prisoner and feel forced. Don’t you think that would be better?”

  Robert looked thoughtful. “A happy omega might be better for the pack,” he admitted.

  “Of course, she would,” Wyatt said. “And she’d be a better mother to the pups, too, raising them to be members of a pack she loved instead of a pack she hated and feared. Think about it. You don’t want the mother of the next generation of Hell’s Wolves to give them the impression that this pack is something to be afraid of, do you?”

  “You know I don’t.”

  “Let her find her place among us,” Wyatt said. “Let her learn to love us. It’s the best thing you can do for everyone involved.”

  Robert sighed. “I’ll have to think about it,” he said. “It would be a dramatic shift in policy. But I have to admit, a lot of what you’re saying is making sense to me. Maybe letting the omega get to know the rest of the pack before the Games begin wouldn’t be a bad idea. And having someone to help me plan the challenges might be kind of fun.” He stood and clapped Wyatt on the shoulder. “I appreciate the input. You’re shaping up to be a great beta. I knew I made the right choice when I brought you in.”

  “I’m glad you think so,” Wyatt said, fervently hoping that Robert’s approval of him would be enough to get Izzy her freedom.

  Chapter Eight

  WYATT

  In the days that followed, Wyatt was kept busy helping the rest of the pack to prepare for the Omega Games. He suspected that Robert was trying to take his mind off of Izzy and the request he’d made for her freedom. Would Robert let him know when he’d thought it over and made a decision? Wyatt could only hope so. He didn’t think that returning to Robert and nagging for an answer would help his case any.

  In the meantime, there was a lot of work to be done. Much of his time was spent in the garage with Van, since the two of them had the most pronounced talent for working on motorcycles. Robert had ordered that every bike in the pack’s possession was to be brought to good working order before the Games began. As a precaution, he had also ordered that no sabotage take place, which Wyatt found slightly insulting. He wanted to win the Games, of course he did, but sabotaging the bikes could result in one of his packmates’ deaths. He would never have done that.

  Van seemed to have none of the anxiety Wyatt was experiencing about the impending games. “What do you think we’ll have to do?” he asked as he checked the brake lines on one of the bikes. “Do you think I’ll have a shot at winning?”

  “Of course, you’ll have a shot,” Wyatt said. “In fact, I hope you do.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure.” If Wyatt couldn’t win himself, Van wouldn’t be too bad a choice to be paired with Izzy. Maybe he would even be a better choice than Wyatt. He was her age, after all, and he had never struck Wyatt as having brutal or unkind tendencies. He would treat her well. And his chances at winning the games were much better than Wyatt’s. He was younger, fitter, and stronger. “Why do you want her?” he asked.

  Van shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone?”

  “Seems like it.” Between the conversations that had been going around about the Omega Games, rife with boastful claims about what certain members of the pack would do when they had won, and the official signup sheet in the kitchen, which had been filled with names within an hour of its posting, it was clear that this was going to be an extremely popular event. “But are you just doing it because everyone else is?” Wyatt asked. “Because if you are, then it doesn’t really matter if you win or not, does it?”

  “No,” Van said. “That isn’t why.”

  “Then why?”

  “We live in the middle of the woods,” Van said. “The only time we leave the property is to go on runs that take us down backroads and two-lane highways, through small towns and truck stops. Or we go to biker bars—always the same ones. We never get out into the world, and if we do, we’re in a big pack.”

  “What’s your point?” Wyatt asked.

  Van shrugged. “How’s anyone supposed to meet a girl?”

  Wyatt had never thought of it that way. “You actually want to have a relationship with her.”

  “I want to have a relationship with someone,” Van said. “At some point. I want to fall in love and get married, like Robert and Lena.”

  “What about the other girls in the pack?” Wyatt asked. “Have you considered any of them?”

  “I’ve known them all my life,” Van said. “It would be strange.”

  “It might be worth thinking about,” Wyatt said. “Just in case you don’t win the Games.”

  Van looked up, wounded. “You think I won’t win?”

  “You could,” Wyatt hastened to assure him. “I think you’re in with as good a chance as anyone. Better than some. Much better than me.” He chuckled, even though his stomach lurched unpleasantly at the thought. It was concerning how little chance he stood of taking control of Izzy’s fate. “But if you don’t win, remember that there are a lot of attractive young women right here in our pack. Open your eyes to what’s around you. You don’t have to meet someone new.”

  “Yeah.” Van rolled his eyes. “Okay, Dad.”

  Wyatt laughed. “Give me a beer, will you?”

  Van passed one over. Wyatt sat back from the bike he’d been working on and cracked it open. “I guess we’re going to have to do some riding in the Games,” he said. “If it’s so important for the bikes to be in good working order.”

  “Seems a little stacked, doesn’t it?”

  “How do you mean?” Wyatt asked. “We’re good riders. Everyone in the pack is a good rider.”

  “Okay, sure. But Gunner’s our road captain. He knows the roads around here better than anyone, and he’s got the best bike.” Van pointed it out unnecessarily. Wyatt had notice Gunner’s bike before. It was brand new, top of the line, one of the best brands available. Even though Wyatt dearly loved his own hand-built bike, he had to admit he was jealous of what Gunner had. And now he realized that Van had a point. If it came to some kind of competition on the bikes, would anyone be able to compete against Gunner?

  “We’ll just have to try,” he told Van. “Remember, you’ll be in with a fighting chance, just like Gunner. Just like everyone. Don’t let go of that, okay? Nothing is a foregone conclusion. You could easily win.”

  “Not easily.”

  “Okay, not easily. But it could happen. Don’t start thinking it couldn’t.”

  Van cracked a smile and opened a beer of his own. Wyatt could tell he’d bolstered the younger man’s confidence. But his own had been shaken. Was Van right? Had the competition been designed for Gunner to have an advantage?

  He can’t win, Wyatt thought, returning to work on the bike in front of him. That’s what matters most. It doesn’t need to be me, as long as it’s not him. He would worry about Izzy’s safety with most of the other members of the pack, but with Gunner he wouldn’t worry—he’d know for sure. Gunner would hurt and abuse her without care. He was, after all, the man who’d insisted on fighting all his brothers to secure a rank in the pack. He only cares about himself.

  IZ
ZY

  It was early morning, Isabel thought, if the light coming through the boarded-up window in her room was anything to go by. No one from the pack should have come to trouble her for hours yet. But she could hear scraping outside her door. Someone was walking around out there.

  Wyatt? she couldn’t help hoping. He had done as she’d asked in the heat of her anger, left her room and not come back. She’d regretted it since. He might not have been a reliable friend, it was true, but he had been the only friend she’d had. He had given her broth, a pillow, gummy candy. More than that, he had given her someone to talk to. It was a part of her day she missed badly now that it was gone. The men and women who brought her dinner plate now handed it to her silently or placed it on the floor in her room without speaking or even looking at her. It was like they were feeding a dog.

  The door opened.

  It wasn’t Wyatt. It was a different man, taller and older, and vaguely familiar to Isabel. She thought he might have been present on the night of her kidnapping, though she couldn’t say for sure. That night had been too shot through with fear and adrenaline for her to have formed any clear memories.

  “May I sit down?” the man asked.

  Did she have a choice? She shrugged.

  The man took a seat on the floor opposite her. “Hello, Izzy. My name is Robert. I’m the alpha of the Hell’s Wolves.”

  There was so much information in that one simple sentence. The pack to which she’d been brought was called the Hell’s Wolves. Isabel had never heard of them—but then, she’d never heard of any pack. This man was the alpha, which meant that Wyatt wasn’t. She hadn’t really thought he was, of course. His newness to the pack and his inability to help her in any real way spoke to that. But then it was this Robert’s fault that she had been locked up for so long.

  She tried to summon anger, but she was too afraid to access it. She couldn’t even bring herself to break his gaze. It was terrifying.

  He seemed to sense her fear. “You don’t need to be afraid,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

  She found her voice, although it was thin and barely audible. “I know what men like you do to omegas.”