They were hunting her.

They were close.

But she could hear it now. Water. Rushing, fast.

Her wolf whispered, “Jump if you have to.”

Trash didn’t stop to think. She ran.

She prayed.

She bled.

And she ran toward the sound that might mean freedom or her death.

Trash burst through the last wall of trees and staggered to a halt.

The river.

It churned and foamed, wide and fast, the current pulling debris downstream like it weighed nothing. Her chest heaved as she stared at it, heart slamming against her ribs.

"Jump," her wolf urged, but her legs locked.

"I can't—" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the roar of the water. Her body trembled. Pain radiated from her shoulder down to her fingers, the weight of the soaked backpack dragging at her spine.

She turned, lifting the bloody branch in front of her.

Footsteps. Leaves cracking.

They were here.

Luther emerged from the trees first, naked, his skin streaked with dirt, blood, and sweat. His eyes were wild and unfocused. The fury in them was stark, volcanic. The others followed, naked as well, warriors in their truest form, their presence massive, dominant.

There was no shame in nudity. Not for wolves. It was simply a state of being. But she still felt small. Vulnerable. Exposed.

Then Luther’s eyes locked on hers and focused fully.

Fury.

But his voice came calm, measured, as though they weren’t standing on the edge of something terrible.

“What are you doing, Trash?”

She took another step back, a stone slipping under her heel, her balance wavered, but she caught herself.

His tone softened. Hands lifted, slowly, like she was a cornered animal.

“Hey… hey, it’s okay. I’m not mad, okay? Just come to me. We’ll forget this happened.”

She didn’t answer.

Behind her, the river roared louder, like it was calling her name.

A new voice broke the stillness.

“Trash.”

She turned her head, barely.

Alpha Merek.

Fully dressed. Immaculate. Black slacks. Rolled-up sleeves. Inked arms gleaming under the moonlight, his tattoos curling like vipers across golden-brown skin. He looked utterly out of place among the feral stillness of the others.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Luther growled out.

“I came to take what’s mine,” he said, eyes never leaving her. “Trash… do you want to come with me? I can make sure you never see him again. I can give you a proper name.”

Her grip on the branch tightened until her knuckles ached.

Luther growled, low and vicious.

“She’s not going anywhere with you.”

But Trash’s heart dropped. Her belly twisted.

She didn’t know how she didn’t need to, but her instinct screamed: Merek was worse.

A monster dressed in nice clothes. A cage with gold bars.

A twig snapped to her left.

She turned fast, swinging the branch wildly on instinct. The thick end cracked hard against the chest of a young patrol member, sending him stumbling backwards with a hiss of pain.

“Don’t!” Luther’s voice cut through the night like a lash. “Don’t move. Any of you.”

Trash was panting, shoulder burning, blood dripping down her arm and soaking into the thin fabric clinging to her skin. Her vision swam, but she forced herself to stay upright, even as her foot slipped near the edge of the cliff.

Her heel caught, and she jerked forward, heart in her throat, stopping just short of tumbling over.

She didn’t breathe. Just stared at them. Wolves and men. Monsters and cages.

Luther stepped forward again, slowly, his hands raised in supplication, trying to appear calm.

“Trash, I know you’re scared,” he said softly. “But just… take my hand. Come back to me. That’s all you have to do. And I swear, I’ll forget this ever happened. No punishment. No more pain.”

His eyes were glassy. Intense and also convincing.

But Trash knew better.

How many times had he hurt her? How many promises had started sweet and ended in bruises? How many nights had she bled into the concrete, only to hear him whisper that it was her fault he had to hurt her? That he was protecting her and teaching her how to behave. How to be good. How to be proper for him.

She blinked. Tears and sweat burned her eyes.

He sounds gentle now… but I’ve seen the way he looks at me when I flinch. He likes it. He likes that I’m afraid.

Her grip on the branch tightened again.

But if I run… where do I go? What if he catches me again? What if Merek is worse?

She glanced sideways at the second Alpha. Merek stood still, quiet. Calculated.

“You know it’s a lie,” he said suddenly, voice low and steady. “He’s hurt you over and over because that’s all he knows how to do. You think this time will be different? It won’t. But with me, you won’t suffer anymore.”

She stared at him. His suit was perfect. His words even more so.

But they feel empty. Cold. Like a lock clicking shut.

He doesn’t want me. He wants to possess me like Luther does, but quietly. Politely. While smiling.

She shook her head again, breathing raggedly. Her wolf whimpered in the back of her mind, torn.

Then Luther’s voice came again, harder now. Firmer.

“You’re mine. Trash. You belong to me. You always have. You always will.”

The finality in his voice struck like a whip.

Mine. His. Always.

Is that all she’d ever be? A possession passed between cruel hands? Destined to spend the rest of her life being tortured and punished just for existing.

Trash’s eyes darted behind her, the waterfall, the cliff, the only escape, then back to the two Alphas facing off over her like she was some broken bone to argue over.

Luther hurt her. Merek would disappear her. But this… this is the only chance she’ll ever have to choose. To choose herself, her freedom.

Even if it killed her.

Her lips trembled as she whispered, “No.”

And she took one step back. Toward the edge. Trash stared at them, Luther’s face twisting in panic, Merek watching with that cool predator’s interest. The patrols shift restlessly behind them.

And she stepped back.

Off the cliff.

Wind howled in her ears. The roar of the waterfall swallowed Luther’s “NO!” as it tore from his throat.

But for the first time in her life… Trash wasn’t afraid.

There was no floor beneath her. No walls. No fists. No cruel hands.

Only the wind, the sky, and the water rushing up to meet her.

So, this is what it feels like…Freedom. And then...

The water slammed into her like a wall of ice. Her body crumpled beneath it, her head snapping back, and everything went dark.