Stacy picked up the iron fireplace poker before finishing her tour. As a weapon, it might not offer the best protection, but it was better than nothing. There wasn't much more to see in the sparsely finished great room; two huge chairs flanking the fireplace, a shelf lined with books, and a dining table with a honed stone top arranged in front of the windows to take advantage of the view of the mountains beyond.
Something caught Stacy's eye as she took in the view—what looked like a length of steel-gray nylon webbing flapping in the breeze. Sure enough, it was the strap of her backpack, which Vonn must have taken out onto the porch to continue his investigation.
Stacy prayed that he hadn't sniffed out any of its secrets as she crept outside, opening the door with great caution in case he was lurking just out of sight. But the patio was empty. The pack rested on a wooden stool next to a matching carved chair. If she wasn't trying to save her ass at the moment, it would make a hell of a good spot to read a book or enjoy a cocktail.
Stacy scanned the tree line for shadows, but the only movement came from the wind or the birds in the upper branches. Satisfied that she was alone for the moment, he abandoned her efforts at stealth and sprinted for her bag, dropping into the chair to examine it on her lap.
Mercifully, everything still seemed to be inside. Stacy gave a sigh of relief as she grabbed one of the three government-issued "pens." Sliding open the panel built seamlessly into the top of the barrel, she revealed the injection mechanism that would propel the needle with enough force to penetrate several layers of clothing and her flesh before releasing the serum. She positioned her thumb on the lever and brought the syringe down hard on her thigh. A sharp prick pierced her skin a fraction of a second before she felt a footstep reverberate through the stone beneath her feet.
Shit.
"So, that's what you were after."
Stacy spun around, the needle still protruding from her leg. Vonn's reaction was immediate. He was in front of her in the blink of an eye, slapping the needle out of her thigh.
"What the fuck was that?" he demanded. With only inches between them, Vonn towered over her. "What did you just put in your body?"
Stacy craned her neck to see around him and was dismayed to see that the injection mechanism was shattered. Even if she could reach it, there would be no way to learn how much of the serum had been discharged. She prayed it would be enough to enable her to endure his touch for a little longer.
"Migraine medication," she muttered through clenched teeth.
"Bullshit." Vonn's low, rumbling growl sent a shiver up Stacy's spine, but it would take more than that to break her. She held his gaze the way she held the chin-up bar just before her muscles gave out, giving it everything she had. There was no way of knowing if she'd received a full dose of suppressant, but she had gotten some. The panic she'd felt before the needle pierced her skin evaporated.
Now she just had to survive.
"Answer me, goddamnit." Despite his tone, Vonn didn't look furious—just determined.
"You know I can't tell you.”
"Fuck 'can't.'" Without warning, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She waited for him to twist it—it's what she would have done if she wasn't so outmatched—but he only held it tightly, pulling her forward. He stared straight down at her. "You mean 'won't'. There's a big-ass difference."
Stacy felt hysterical laughter threatening to bubble up inside her. She supposed she could try to explain the oath she'd taken and why she'd never willingly break it. But an alpha would never understand. That kind of honor was beyond them.
"What I put into my body is none of your business," she said instead.
"Everything an omega does is her alpha's business."
The words stung like buckshot. "For the last time, I'm not your omega—or anyone else's."
Vonn's mouth twisted into a sneer, and she braced for a roar…but within seconds his face relaxed, his temper quickly burning out as quickly as it had flared—only to be replaced by puzzlement.
"You're not an omega," he echoed thoughtfully.
Stacy couldn't believe her ears. Had he actually just agreed with her?
But then Vonn clamped his free hand around her other arm and stood, pulling her flush against him. Then he did the last thing she expected.
Holding her tightly, he bent his head down to her neck as if he was about to nuzzle her, but when she felt his stubble brush her skin, he inhaled long and deep, then pulled away. "Goddamn," he muttered.
"What?"
"Your scent. It's…changing. Fading."
Oh, thank God. There was enough suppressant in her system to work…for now at least. What she could really use was some insurance.
Stacy tried to keep her face impassive, but she was taken aback. No matter how much evidence she saw that alphas' senses were indeed as sensitive as Fulmer told her, it was almost impossible to wrap her head around the fact that Vonn could learn all that just from breathing her.
"So it is a chemical agent." Vonn might as well have been talking to himself. He obviously didn't expect a response. "Figures that would be the next thing those bastards would come up with—a way to inject poison and strangle an omega's true nature."
"It's not poison," Stacy burst out. "I have a right to decide my own nature."
Vonn gave a bitter laugh, shaking his head as if she'd just declared that the experts at Alpha Control had determined that the earth was flat.
"You're so bound up in this bullshit, you even lie to yourself,"
