The sharp metallic click of a hammer locking into place. Hope turned over to see the barrel of a pistol pointed straight at her head.
For a moment, it was all that she could see. The only thing her brain would focus on. But when the shot didn't immediately come, she slowly focused her field of vision…and looked into the eyes of her tormentor.
The man who had pulled the trigger on Dave and Sandra. The one who had chased her through the forest for days on end with his friend. The one who had escaped Maddox's wrath.
"You're a hard bitch to kill," he snarled, his lip twisting in perverse satisfaction that he would be the one to end her after all.
Yeah, she was a hard bitch.
The realization took root in Hope's mind. She was the one who had evaded him for days in the wilderness. She was the one who had tamed the Boundarylands' wildest alpha. She was the one who had a life of pleasure and satisfaction stretching out in front of her.
But most importantly, she was the one with the hatchet.
In an instant, anger replaced every drop of fear in Hope's blood. She whipped her arm forward, letting the hatchet fly.
Hope watched the pinwheeling flash of moonlight on metal before the blade found its target with a sickening thunk. The gun in the man's hand went off as he was knocked backward, and a hot blaze of pain shot up Hope's shin.
The man screamed as he tried to fire off another shot. But he couldn't. The hatchet had buried itself right through the man's forearm, pinning him to the solid tree trunk behind him.
The son of a bitch's screams didn't last long, however. A half-second later, a massive figure flew out of the dark cover of the woods and tackled the beta to the forest floor, leaving a good bit of his arm flesh behind on the tree.
Maddox.
He'd come back to save her. Just like he'd promised, he always would.
Maddox let out a roar that shook the tops of the trees—the sound of justice itself.
Hope turned her head away, but not before she caught the sight of Maddox's long fingers jamming into the man's throat. Not even Maddox's howl of rage could cover the nightmare sounds of blood spraying and bones cracking.
And then, at last, there was silence.
Hope let out a shaky breath as she felt Maddox's arms wrap around her. She tried to rise up on her toes to kiss him but winced when her leg gave out in a stab of pain.
Maddox zeroed in on the blood tricking down her leg. "You're shot!"
"Only grazed," Hope tried to reassure him.
Maddox didn't seem to hear her. He scooped her up into his arms as gently as he could and started rushing back to the front of the cabin.
Hope was relieved to see the other alphas coming out of the trees. All six of them. Each one dripping in blood—beta blood.
Clearly, no one got away this time.
Hope felt a weight lift from her chest even as Maddox loaded her into his truck.
"She's been shot," Maddox shouted to them. "I'm taking her to Gail."
To her surprise, all the alphas rushed toward their own vehicles. She wasn't the only one who was shocked.
"What are you doing?" Maddox asked them.
"Going with you," Samson retorted, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why the hell would you do that?" Maddox said.
"To make sure that Randall doesn't try to kill you this time, you reckless bastard."
Chapter Fifteen
Randall hadn't tried to kill Maddox.
In fact, the older alpha had barely blinked when he'd laid eyes on the rolling caravan of trucks streaming on to his property. He'd just shaken his head and gave a resigned sigh.
Hope had even heard him mutter, "Feels like we're becoming a goddamn community center," under his breath as Maddox had carried her into the house.
Finally, Hope got to meet Gail, who was just as caring and kind as the other omegas had promised, with a spicy streak underneath that made her laugh despite the pain as Gail examined her injury.
As Hope had tried to tell Maddox, this new wound was nothing serious, the bullet having barely grazed her. Gail had her patched up in no time flat.
A week later, Hope was back in Gail's kitchen for her initiation into the Tea Circle—where she quickly learned that the "T" stood for tequila as well as for Earl Grey. Whoever said that omegas were nothing but subservient sex slaves really didn't know what they were talking about.
Weeks passed, turning to months. Her relationship with her friends grew. Her relationship with Maddox grew even more.
Hope got to tell the other women about all the additions Maddox was making to the cabin. First, the bathroom, then the separate kitchen, then a bedroom with a door that closed.
It turned out her alpha was one hell of a carpenter, along with all his other talents.
But it was this newest addition to the house that Hope was the most excited to tell her friends about.
So excited that she couldn't even wait until Mia arrived before breaking the news.
"A nursery!" Gail squealed in delight.
Cassidy rushed over to Hope, embracing her in a deep warm hug. "That's amazing news. I'm so happy for you."
"How far along are you?" Paige asked.
"Not far," Hope admitted. "Maybe six weeks. I didn't even know. I just thought my heat was a little late, but Maddox said he could tell the difference in my scent."
Paige gave a knowing nod. "That's usually how it goes."
Cassidy's smile grew more excited. "Do you think that I could document your experience?" she asked. "I only got to witness the end of Mia's pregnancy, but being able to be a part of the whole journey would be invaluable to my research."
Hope laughed. She loved Cassidy to pieces, but the beta woman was thrilled over the strangest things. "Of course," she said.
Just then, the door flew open. Mia came rushing in, wide-eyed and
