Page 30 of Daisy

"Gunner," Hawk says. "My pack."

Pack. Right. These aren't just strangers. They're bonded alphas with their own connections.

Hawk slides open the back door, revealing a makeshift living space inside. There's a mattress on the floor, camping gear, even a small TV mounted to one wall.

"What the fuck is this?" I step back instinctively. "I'm not putting her in there."

"We live in this thing," Hawk says impatiently. "We've got a little stove, camping setup. It's not what you think."

A distant roar echoes through the night—alphas catching Daisy's scent on the wind, getting closer. My protective instincts spike, and I can see Cassian tense beside me.

"Look," Hawk's voice hardens. "Those bastards are tracking her scent, and they're getting closer. You can get in willingly, or I'll throw you in myself. Your choice."

The sound of running footsteps echoes from the direction we came. Multiple alphas, moving fast.

"I'll go up front with Gunner," Hawk continues. "You and Cassian stay back here with her. But we need to move. Now."

The sound of running footsteps gets louder, closer. I look down at Daisy's pale face, then at the approaching chaos behind us.

I climb into the van. Cassian follows, and Hawk slams the door behind us.

The confined space amplifies everything. Her scent, the way her heartbeat flutters against my ribs like a trapped bird. This strange certainty that this is exactly where she belongs.

"August," Cassian says quietly. "We need to get my beta."

His beta. Another complication in an already impossible situation.

The van lurches forward, pulling away from the burning Omega House. Away from her uncle's control, the future he planned for her. Away from the system I was supposed to uphold but that failed her when it mattered most.

In my arms, Daisy makes a small sound—not quite a whimper, not quite a sigh. Her eyes flutter open, unfocused at first. Then she sees me. Sees Cassian. Two alphas in a confined space with her.

She goes rigid in my arms, then scrambles backward so fast she hits the van wall. Presses herself into the corner, shaking violently. Her breathing turns rapid and shallow.

"Hey, it's okay," I try, but the moment I speak, she hyperventilates harder. Pure panic.

"Don't," she whispers, voice cracked and broken. "Please don't."

I freeze. Every instinct screams at me to comfort her, but she's looking at me like I'm another monster.

"We need to get August," Cassian says urgently. "Now. She can't breathe with our scents."

"No." My voice comes out harder than I intend. "We need to get her out of the city. Your beta can wait."

"Look at her," Cassian snaps. "August will calm her. Beta scent."

I look down at Daisy, pressed against the van wall, shaking so hard her teeth are chattering. Her scent spikes with terror so sharp it makes my chest ache.

"Fine," I grit out. "But we make it fast."

Chapter 10

Daisy

Consciousness comes back slowly, like swimming up from the bottom of a deep, dark pool.

I've been floating somewhere else. Somewhere safe and gray and empty where nothing could touch me. But now the world is pulling me back, dragging me up from that quiet place where I could hide from everything that hurt.

I don't want to come back.