ah's

age, trained until I couldn't feel my

I wasn't just the president's pit

ty of Papa's shadow-but today was different. Today, I was no longer in the s

wind. The strong scent of fuel and testosterone hung in the air.

dried up

er. I've been here before.

ked up to me, dressed in his racing gear, the club's crest proudly stam

ust fine," h

t is in turmoil, Papa. I don'

rying, Aliyah. Don't ru

r

d in my head l

esolve cracked the

he

noxious pack of club m

ke gods of speed. Every step they took seemed choreograp

n... I

r Mo

'd never want to

Didn't even notice I w

leather jacket clinging to his tall, massive fra

made m

e rise in

You're just like them. One of Cohen's w

le, turning my face away so Cohen wouldn't se

ourse, h

oice rang out like a whip.

ed from his clu

?" one of the girls sneered. "Di

lau

so tightly that my n

er. "Don't be shy, Aliyah. You'

fr

aly

n-haired-fellow racers I had sparred with in training.

" the brunette snapped. "

of you tail-wagging jack

e me... and yet, shame still wrapp

es wer

whispers, the camera phone

. My chest hurts...

lew-the tournam

an moving to

, Cohen swagg

lips nearly b

u'll lose your face ve

was

inal

Papa from a distance, waving me over, mo

if I

I crash

be just another pathetic Omega w

d before I c

lmet, spun on m

rom Cohen's laughter. F

own co

of Ember Pack. I didn't stop running until the stadi

ell fre

led a

e grass, wet, tre

r cared. I failed the man who picked

of rain mingle

s al

with no wolf, no co

I th

he scent of salt, pine, and something strangely calming. For the first time in what felt like centuries, my

rs, of eating barely enough to stay conscious. I built this tiny shelter by the beach-my own little tented world-where I could prete

the fishing line, but my eyes remained