And for the first day, that's exactly what it was.
Mia'd had a great time dancing and drinking and experiencing a rare sense of freedom, something that had been sorely lacking in her life.
She should have known it couldn't last.
It all ended when a stranger had groped her in the crowd. She had turned to Josh, expecting help—but instead of being sympathetic, Josh had been emboldened to make his own first move. His harsh words came back to her now: he demanded to know why Mia would kiss strangers, but not him. She had tried to make him understand she didn't want any attention, but Josh refused to listen. Even though Dustin stood only a few yards away, he tried coming on to her again. And again.
And again.
Each time, Mia dodged Josh's advances, but that only made him try harder. He kept touching her when Dustin wasn't around, trying to kiss her, to slide his hands up her dress.
Finally, Mia had enough. She'd stopped being polite. She'd slapped his hands away and told him to go to hell.
And now it seemed he was shuttling her there himself.
"I'm sorry," she tried, trying to inject some sincerity into her voice. But Josh's icy gaze didn't reveal a shred of pity.
"Not as sorry as you're going to be."
The bastard straightened his arms, bracing himself against the steering wheel as he slammed his foot on the brakes. Tires squealed against the pavement as they locked.
The force of the sudden stop threw both Mia and Dustin forward. They crashed against the back of the seats in front of them. Dustin let out a loud belch, looking green. Mia felt sick herself, though not for the same reason.
"Josh?" Her voice trembled from the fear that was roiling inside her.
She didn't dare ask why he'd stopped. Mia had a terrible feeling that she already knew the answer.
Josh spun around in his seat. Nothing but disdain shone in his cold blue eyes. "Get out."
No.
Mia shook her head violently. There was no way in hell she was stepping outside of this car. Not here, not in the middle of the goddamn Boundarylands. Had he lost his mind?
"Josh, don't be—"
"Get out!" Spittle flew from Josh's lips as he screeched in her face.
"Fuck you," she hurled back.
Josh's face turned bright red, a slow smile curling his lips.
"Don't worry," he said in a parody of concern. "We'll come back for you in the morning. I'm sure by then you'll be happy to see me."
Mia's blood turned to ice. The bastard was going to leave her here knowing full well that she might not live until morning.
"You can't do this, Josh. I'll die out there." She tried to keep the panic from her voice as she spoke what they both knew to be the ugly truth. "If I run into an alpha, he'll kill me."
"Don't be ridiculous," Josh sneered. "You'll just fuck him like a little slut. Knowing how many men you've already had between your legs, you're probably loose enough that he won't even rip you in half."
"You—you asshole!"
"It's your asshole you should be worried about," Josh chuckled, before turning toward Dustin. "Open the door."
"No." Panicking, Mia wrapped both arms around the seat in front of her and held on for dear life.
Josh clawed at her arms, but Mia refused to let go. Eventually, Dustin roused enough to get out of the car and pull her by the legs. After a minute of being both pushed from one side and pulled from another, Mia's strength gave out.
She landed hard on the pavement. Her fingers scrabbled on the jagged ground as she tried to claw her way back to the car, nails tearing, but it was no use. Dustin dragged her toward the side of the road. Rocks and debris cut into her forearms and legs with every step he took.
"Dustin, stop," she begged. "Please."
Mia knew this was her last chance to get through to him. To make him see reason. To make him grow a backbone and stand up to his friend.
Dustin flung her down on the side of the road. Mia flipped over, looking up into his unfocused eyes.
At that moment, her last shred of hope disappeared. He was too far gone. Too drunk. Too high. And something else…too heartless, something she'd never admitted to herself before.
"I warned you Josh had a temper," Dustin smirked. "I told you not to get on his bad side. But you didn't listen, did you, Mia? You never listen."
Josh gunned the engine of his BMW. The tires spun on the side of the road, kicking up pebbles and throwing out smoke. "Come on, man, we've gotta get the fuck out of here!"
Just as always, Dustin did what his best friend told him to do. He was back inside the car before Mia managed to push herself up to her knees. By the time she had staggered to her feet, the BMW had executed a sloppy U-turn and was speeding away…leaving Mia alone in the dark.
Chapter Two
Mia was never going to make it out of the Boundarylands.
The horrible realization settled into her, taking over her mind and body as she limped along the road in the moonlight, trying to ignore the rustling sounds and gleaming eyes in the forest on either side of the road. She'd done her best to deny the truth as long as she could, but as the minutes ticked past, she could no longer pretend she had a chance. The odds were stacked too high against her.
She was at least twenty miles into alpha territory…and that was way too deep.
Maybe if she were a trained long-distance runner she could have made it back to safe territory by morning, but she wasn't. She was just a regular girl in a tight dress and strappy heels with makeup streaked under her eyes and knots in her hair…and a busted knee.
She couldn't forget about the knee.
Not that
