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The full force of Barric’s alpha power hit me in the sternum, and a scream tore out of my mouth as I dropped to the ground, pain tearing at my limbs. His influence wrapped every one of my muscles, and an invisible lead weight crushed into my back to keep me immobilized.
Sweat spread over my skin as I tried to fight his power. It was no use. He was a head alpha. He could make me do anything he wanted.
A pair of large brown boots appeared in my line of vision as Barric’s choking presence descended over me.
“She was definitely bitten by a wolf,” he announced, setting off a wave of gasps and curses through the gym. “Look at me, Tate.”
Without my consent, my head lifted, meeting his molten gold irises.
His nostrils flared as he sniffed the air. “There’s something else strange about her, though. The eyes are a dead giveaway that she’s not a normal wolf.”
Coltrane flanked his side, staring at me as like I wasn’t the girl she’d plucked off the streets more than two years ago and molded into a soldier. She looked at me like I was a stranger. A thing. A nightworlder. “What else is she keeping from me?” She turned to Barric. “Command her to tell me.”
My neck tattoo tingled as Fane appeared. He kneeled beside me, his gaze burning with enough malice that it would kill every raven in this room.
“Get up, Teague.”
A choked sound slipped out of my mouth.“I can’t. He’s using his alpha power on me.”Had Fane lost his damn mind?
“You’re stronger than this.” He lowered his head until we were at eye level, those glowing, mismatched orbs searing right into my soul, leaving his brand. “You’re a wolf, but like me, you’re more.”
I also had the Infernal Sol inside of me, but if I so much as poked that thing, I could lose control, and Coltrane would lock me up before I could form another coherent thought.
“Do it, Teague. Get up,” Fane demanded.
My teeth gritted as I tried to move under Barric’s force, my muscles screaming and bones bending. Sweat leaked down my cheeks, dropping to the mat.
“What else are you hiding, Tatum?” The head alpha’s rough, commanding voice slammed into me, and my mouth opened.
Fane grabbed my chin, forcing my face toward his. To everyone else, it looked like I was trying to turn away from Barric. “You are stronger than this, even without the Infernal Sol. You’ve gone against the odds and survived horrible things. Most people would have crumbled and died or just given up. Not you. You’re better than them.”
A sob clawed up my throat as I clamped my mouth shut even though my tongue wanted to spill every secret to Barric. “He’s too powerful. I’ve never even shifted, and you expect me to fight off a head alpha’s command?”
Fane’s muscles twitched, and a growl—so lethal it sent chills across every inch of my body—snaked out of him as his top lip lifted, baring his teeth. “Ido not submit to Barric Hartwell.” His fingers left my chin and brushed over my tattoo. “I gave you this. You come from me. And we don’t submit to anyone or anything.”
His words soaked through my veins and gave me strength. The way he’d saidwehad my blood heating and the mark on my neck pulsating.
Fane’s thumb brushed over the swirling symbol once more before his hand slipped back to the mat. “Now get up, and show him who and what you are, Tate.”
More strength flooded my system, and tremors raced through my muscles as I moved. My bones strained, and even my teeth ached, but I crawled to my hands and knees, lifting the heavy weight on my back. And then I pushed off the mat and slowly stood, the force of his power now resting on my shoulders. My knees wanted to give out.
But I would not let him control me.
“I. Don’t. Submit.” The words hissed from between my teeth, sweat soaking my clothes and my limbs quaking.
Barric’s eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to tiny black dots in the sea of gold. Had he ever encountered a shifter who didn’t bow to his command?
“How can she fight your will?” Coltrane crossed her arms as her lips thinned to tight slits. “As a newly bitten shifter, she couldn’t have that much power to stand against you.”
“I have no idea.” The alpha studied me as his invisible force poked and prodded, looking for weaknesses. “She’s… different.”
As I fought Barric’s hold, my head swiveled, landing on Hawk who stood a few feet away with a pained expression. He blinked and then broke eye contact with me like he couldn’t stand the sight of me anymore. Roxie had wormed her way toward him, wrapping her arm around his in comfort.
Barric stepped closer, drawing my attention back to him. “What else are you hiding, Tatum?”
Another dose of his power hit me, and I jerked back. My muscles strained as his will tried to force me to divulge everything. His focus lowered to the tattoo on my neck, his head cocking to the side. Coltrane’s foot tapped the ground, waiting for me to spill my secrets.
She wouldn’t get them. Not this way.
