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“She would remember being brought here,” Calix says. “She’d go for the main road.”

“Right,” I say and we take off together in that direction.

We run, and Calix has longer legs than me, and he gets ahead of me, and I can feel him wanting to slow down and wait and I yell, “Just go. Just find her. Catch her.”

So, he speeds up and leaves me behind, and I run behind him until the darkness swallows him up.

Soon enough, I come to the main house, which was where we met the Vasilissa of this extended pack, Penelope. There are lights on there, and I see figures in the front lawn.

I hurry in that direction to find Penelope with a shot gun.

Dr. Acker is on her knees in front of the woman, tears streaming down her face, as Penelope points the barrel at the back of the doctor’s head.

Calix stands to one side, his head bowed, saying and doing nothing.

I skid to a stop.

“You haven’t been here a full two days and we’re having issues, omega,” says Penelope to me.

“I’m…” I’m out of breath. I pant, bending over and trying to speak. “Sorry.” Another long pause, and then I remember the term of respect I’m supposed to use for her. “Kyra.”

Penelope chuckles wryly. “You said you were going to kill her.”

“We are,” I say. “But…” I’m still wheezing.

Penelope chuckles again. “Catch your breath.” She shakes her head at me. “You’re the sorriest excuse for an omega I’ve ever seen in my life, do you know that?”

Out here, in the Polloi, omegas are in charge, I guess. She told me before that I was too demure or something. I’m annoyed. But mostly, I’m grateful that she stopped Dr. Acker. If the doctor had gotten away, gotten to the authorities, everything could have gone wrong.

Time passes as I struggle to get my breathing under control.

Penelope just eyes me.

Dr. Acker is sobbing, quietly, but now and again, I can hear her breath hitching. I have to admit, as much as I don’t like this woman, that doesn’t make it easy. I wish she wasn’tcrying.

“Better?” says Penelope.

I’m still a little out of breath, but I nod. “Yeah, I’m better now.” I lick my lips. “We were distracted. Trying to get bites. We weren’t keeping as close an eye on her as we should and she got free.”

“Got past all four of your alphas, huh?” says Penelope. “Now, I am of the opinion that an alpha is only as good as the omega who he obeys, but alphas should instinctively protect, at least you, omega. I thought you were ascent match.”

“She has ways of getting to them,” I say. “Psychological triggers. She brainwashed them. It’s… never mind.” I nod at Calix. “He’s not affected, but the others are, and we were… distracted.” I finger the bite mark on the back of my neck.

Calix sucks in a sharp breath as I touch it, and I know he feels me the way I feel him.

“Is this woman a danger?” says Penelope. “If she gets free again, will she hurt my pack?”

I hesitate several moments.

And Dr. Acker takes the opportunity to speak. “Do Ilooklike a danger?” she says, her voice thick. “I don’t have a weapon, and I’m not strong enough to hurt anyone.”

“If she gets free, and she reports our location to the Cedar Falls facility, it could be very bad for everyone,” I say. “She could bring the authorities here, too.”

“And you do want her dead,” says Penelope.

“Not yet,” I say. “I want her to fix whatever it was she did to my mates.” However, I can’t be sure that she isn’t simply a liability at this point.

“I can shoot her right now,” says Penelope to me, with a little shrug. “Would you like me to do that for you, little omeglet?”