Joan's eyes were wide, frozen in horror. Then she whispered the words that made my heart stop.
"He's here."
I thought I'd misheard. "Who?"
But before I could finish, the door swung open.
Alpha Zach stepped inside.
The room went still. I could feel every heartbeat in the air, a hundred frightened chests rising and falling in sync. No one moved. No one even dared to breathe. The dormitory the omegas' world of low ceilings and hand-me-down blankets wasn't meant for creatures like him. He didn't belong here.
And yet there he was. The morning light framed him in gold, outlining the broad shape of his shoulders, the dark sharpness of his coat. He didn't look like someone walking into a room he looked like he was claiming it. Every inch of space bent around him.
Behind him, two guards lingered at the door, their heads bowed low. Even they looked terrified.
Joan stumbled backward. "Alpha," she stammered, voice trembling, "y-you shouldn't— this is the omegas' quarter—"
