Auburn dragged her back to her room and had a guard posted outside. The two wolves who had been trapped inside were released.
Auburn had them flogged for their failure. It wouldn't hurt that much. They would heal immediately, but it was the symbolism that shook Layla. No Alpha was supposed to be so cruel to his pack.
Layla had been thrown into the room and locked inside. No more food had been brought for her that day. She supposed that was her punishment for trying to escape.
She curled up on the bed in human form, unable to shift to a wolf. Auburn had taken the shackles off her hands, but he had left the collar around her neck, making a shift impossible. After tossing and turning, she fell into a restless sleep.
Layla was woken a while later by the sound of gunfire. She sat bolt upright, human ears straining for whatever she could hear. For her to have heard it in human form, the sound had to be terrifying to have crossed through her metal door. She tensely sat on her bed.
What could it be? Was Auburn fighting with one of his pack? Had one of his wolves turned against him? Was someone else entirely attacking their pack? Layla had no idea how the gangs of Lunavia worked. It was more than possible that another pack was now joining this war and attacking Auburn too.
There were just too many options to guess from.
She felt her heart start to speed up. Wolves needed safety and security, which was why they lived in packs. This was the exact opposite of an optimal situation for a wolf.
She felt panic push through her.
She heard another bang, softer but closer. It was just outside her door. It opened, slowly and strangely like it had been blown off by its hinges.
Layla tensed, ready to pounce if she needed to. The door opened, and Henry was standing on the other side. Layla almost couldn't believe it.
He seemed tired like he had been running for a long time, but there were no scratches on him. She guessed he hadn't fought any wolf yet, given the rifle he was holding in his hands.
"We need to leave,' Henry told her, urgency running through his voice.
He was an Alpha. There were times when a wolf's biology could be overlooked-when a Beta was capable of doing the same that an Alpha was or when an Omega could fight as well as any Beta. There were definitely times when it didn't show up as clearly.
This was not one of those times.
Right now, Henry couldn't be seen as anything other than an Alpha. He had drawn himself up to full height. The scent coming off of him was pure power. He had brought a rifle most likely because it would just be the simplest, but there was no way that any Beta would be able to challenge him now.
Layla nodded and jumped off the bed to his side. Henry grabbed her hand with his free one and pulled her. They ran for a few minutes, ducking past corridors and slipping around wolves. Layla wondered why no one caught them immediately. She then realized another purpose behind the rifle in Henry's hand.
The gunpowder confused them. The scent was everywhere in the air, and they would struggle to find and identify an Alpha's trace through all that smoke.
Henry then pulled her into a corner. They both pressed against the wall. Without warning, Henry suddenly pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tightly.
After a moment, he relaxed his grip a little, but he never let go.
"Are you alright?" Henry asked her, pulling back just enough so that he could look at her face. "Were you hurt?"
Layla shook her head. "Nothing too badly" Auburn had more insulted her than caused actual harm when he slapped her.
"I was so worried," Henry said, glancing down to the collar still around her neck.
Layla saw his eyes flash golden and felt his claws prick her as they pressed her skin. He took the collar between his claws and snapped it like it was made of sticks of wood instead of metal.
"Please don't do that ever again," Henry begged her. "Please don't leave the apartment."
The emotion that coursed through her was simply too much. Layla felt tears pool out of her eyes. She pressed her face against his chest as her tears flowed freely. Everything that she had been through flooded over her, and she had no control over herself.
"Come on," Henry said, combing his fingers through her hair as he held on to her tightly.
"We still have to get out of here. We're not safe yet."
Layla knew that he was telling the truth. How close had she been to the exit when she was caught?
She pulled away from his chest and dried her eyes, steeling herself. She wouldn't allow this to consume her. She was stronger than that.
Pulling her again, Henry took off down another corridor. He seemed to know his way around, even without the use of scent like she had been forced to depend on.
Maybe his sense of smell was stronger than hers. She couldn't say for sure.
Maybe he had also been here before, so he was better able to navigate his way through the building.
Suddenly, Henry pulled up short, tensing. It took Layla another minute to realize why. She smelled the wolves after he did coming toward them from every corner. They were being ambushed.
How had they found them? Every wolf might have been simply scouring all over the place and had just found them by chance. The wolves were getting closer. She had no time left to think, and they had no place to run.
Henry let go of her hand and raised his rifle, claws extended from his hands. She saw his teeth elongate as he changed into a half-shift. Layla spun around so her back was pressed against his, and she tried to sniff the wolves out.
But she was an Omega, not an Alpha. The smoke and gunpowder from the rifle were as distracting to her as they were to the Beta wolves. She couldn't get a lock on any of them, but she knew that they were coming toward them fast.
Suddenly, three wolves lunged at Henry, and he took them all down swiftly. It was so fast that Layla struggled to keep up. More
wolves attacked him, and he fought them off too. Layla saw another wolf, probably a Beta, lurking in the corner. His gaze was locked on Henry.
The wolves mostly seemed to ignore her. After all, she was an Omega. Their biology was telling them that she had to be protected, and their minds were telling them that she wasn't a threat.
Those wolves were failed by those thoughts.
After a minute, the wolf must have decided that he had his opening and lunged at Henry. Layla grabbed him from the air and dragged him down to her.
The wolf snarled, turning to her as a look of confusion passed over his face. He knew that she was an Omega, so it surprised him that she could fight.
Layla snarled, stopping the wolf from just advancing right past her and straight to Henry. She dove at him, taking advantage of his confusion. She dug her claws into his side, biting down on his shoulder hard.
She tasted blood in her mouth and quickly let go, jumping over him. She raked her claws down his back, and he screamed in pain. He slashed out wildly, trying to hit her, but he was unbalanced and uncoordinated.
He couldn't hit her like that.
He tried to go around her again and lunge for Henry, but Layla stopped him, throwing him against one of the walls on the end. The wolf retreated into human form, whimpering as he tried to shift into a wolf but failed. He was bleeding far too much for his wolf to come out now.
Layla turned to Henry to see that he had fought off most of the other wolves. She was about to go toward him when she smelled another wolf.
He was close to her. There was no way that she could mistake it, even with the scent of blood, smoke, and gunpowder overpowering everything in the air.
The wolf's claws scratched at her skin as he pulled her toward him. Layla felt the strength drain out of her as the wolf's arms went around her. She knew that she couldn't fight off that much strength.
She just wasn't built to.