Chapter 2

I snatched the plane away and slammed it hard against the ground.

“You went too far. This is beyond disgusting.”

Plastic shattered with a crisp snap.

“You broke my plane?!”

Jack shrieked, high and grating, his baby face twisted into something no child his age should wear.

“Ruby! My plane! I want her dead!”

Ruby’s face changed instantly.

From the crowd, I heard whispers rise.

“Ruby’s about to put on a show for Sophia again…”

“She lives for chances like this to prove her loyalty.”

Ruby’s breathing sped up as she swept her eyes over everyone watching.

Embarrassment flashed then was replaced by pure malice.

“Where are the Gammas?!” she screeched. “Are you all dead?! Can’t you see Jack’s being bullied?!”

Three men emerged from the shadows.

Their eyes hesitated, measuring me—trying to tell my status.

“What are you standing there for?!” Ruby’s voice sharpened until it nearly cracked. “If anything happens, I’ll take it! When Luna Sophia blames on you, you think you can handle it?!”

This sentence worked.

The Gammas traded a look and closed in.

They rushed me at once, fists and boots flying.

Not a single onlooker dared step forward.

A Gamma’s baton smashed into my back and I hit the ground.

Boots landed on me, but they avoided killing blows carefully.

“Beat her to death!” Ruby’s voice rang above my head. “If she dies, that’s on me.”

One Gamma reminded, “Miss Ruby… that’s enough…”

“Not enough!” Ruby screamed. “She smashed Jack’s toy. Did you not see that?!”

She was performing.

For Jack. For the crowd. And for Sophia who could appear at any moment.

Curled on the ground, I heard the sound of Anna kneeling.

“Jack, I licked it clean… please tell them to stop. If they keep hitting her, she’ll die.”

Jack slapped the broken plane down to the ground and said with distain,

“Gross. It reeks of you. I don’t want it anymore.”

Anna’s whole body jerked.

“You promised…”

Jack snorted a laugh.

“I promised. Ruby didn’t.”

Anna looked completely hopeless as she begged Ruby with her eyes.

Ruby stepped forward, her high heel coming down on the back of my hand.

She crouched, staring at Anna’s desperate face, and lowered her voice but the plaza was quiet enough that everyone could hear every word.

“Remember this. In this Pack, you’re nothing.”

All the color drained from Anna’s face.

I watched the light in my daughter’s eyes dim, little by little.

The moment Ruby paused to speak, I pushed myself up and hooked her, then yanked her down to the ground.

I swung my fists recklessly, pounding her again and again.

By the time she was screaming, her face was already swollen and bruised purple.

“Ah—! Kill her! Kill her!!”

For the first time, Ruby’s shriek carried real fear.

When the Gammas finally dragged me off, Ruby clutched her face, blood seeping between her fingers.

That was when another set of footsteps approached.

The crowd parted.

Ruby’s head dropped instantly, her shoulders trembling.

Not from pain, from a different kind of terror.

Derek stood there, his gaze sweeping the entire scene.

He saw my face smeared with blood.

“Elena?”

His voice shook, disbelief slipping through.

“You… you’re still alive?”