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A sharp retort hovered on the tip of my tongue. I’d given Chase more than my body. I thought we’d build an empire together, but Chase took the research I unearthed in my parents’ belongings and claimed it for himself. Now he was rich with the recipe my ancestor Birdie used to make, the first version of scent wipes, and his beta’s fortune.

“You’re rotten inside.”

Chase cocked his eyebrow. I used to love that expression on his handsome face. Back when I equated affection with love.

“Aren’t you going to say you missed me?” He frowned. “You were rude at the gala.”

His tone was playful. I’d heard it like this a million times. Right before he bit my head off or berated me. Coiled tension in his body warned me to tread carefully. I was trapped with Chase, and I needed to think past the panic crowding my thoughts.

“I have nothing to say to you, Chase. You used me.”

“Are you still angry at me for that? You can’t bond a beta,” he explained, like I was five years old. “Besides, I didn’t steal it from you. At least, that’s what this will prove.”

Chase snatched up a roll of paper and held it out. He jerked his head to the pen clipped to the top of it.

“Sign.”

“What is it?” I folded my arms over my chest.

The paper trembled in his fingers as he squeezed it tight.

“It’s an Intellectual Property transfer. We both know you weren’t going to do anything with that formula. But I need to cover my ass legally, especially since you’ve moved on to Baylark Pack.”

His words, and the casual way he dropped them in my lap, made me laugh. The gall of this man was unbelievable. Chase’s eyes narrowed.

“And if I say no?”

“Those pretty little pictures find their way onto the web.”

In the month I’d been in The Barracks, I’d grown complacent. I’d let myself believe Chase couldn’t touch me. But underneath the congenial smile was a monster, someone who could lie without blinking. As he loomed over me, I realized too late it wasn’t just duplicity he was capable of, but danger.

He hadn’t forgotten me. He’d only been biding his time.

“I wanted you as my omega, Tully.” Chase switched tactics as I stayed silent. “You were my dream girl. So sweet, so compliant. I think about you all the time, you know.”

My stomach turned, and I couldn’t hide a grimace.

“We had fun together, didn’t we?” Chase cajoled. “We still could.”

Chase walked me until I hit the back wall. I’d pinned a photo of me and Walden’s sisters, the day we went shopping. He flattened his chest against mine. My shoulder blades jammed into the wall. His scent was a furious storm, and I coughed on the salt. Not like Lloyd with his warm lap of ocean breeze. Chase wanted me in pieces.

“You’re in a pack with Seph.”

Chase brushed the hair off my forehead. “Why are you beingsucha little bitch? Huh?” Chase thumped his fist above my head until I flinched.

“I’m not scared of you.” I whimpered as his nose jammed into my neck.

“Smells pretty frightened to me. Are you acting tough because you’ve got Baylark Pack in your pocket? Now you’re all brave and confident? I’m building an empire here. Sign the papers, or I’ll release the photos.”

“You can’t prove they’re me,” I argued.

“A freckle here, a bracelet there. Even without your face, there is enough plausible proof to tie it to you, pretty.”

I trembled. My insides were in knots. But underneath was a strength Chase couldn’t touch. It had always been there, I just hadn’t realized it.

“I’m not helping you.”

Chase’s eyes looked black in the shadow of the small apartment.