I want a day do-over. Maybe a life do-over. Bailey and I were walking out of health class when Cinda stops to hug me. "I'm so sorry," Cinda says in my ear. "I heard your heat was awful. I'm so scared for my first."

Teddy pulls his mate away from me with a tight smile. Cinda waves as they walk away, but I don't miss the look of faint surprise on her face at my smell.

Whispers swell as Bailey and I walk out of the building to have lunch. No one else joins us and guilt wells up. I'm supposed to help Bailey, even if I can't be her alpha female, and here I am scaring off all her potential friends.

I open my mouth to ask her if she wants to sit somewhere else when Georgina saunters over, her eyes fixed determinedly on her prey.

"Luna," my sister smiles sweetly, "would you like to have lunch with us?"

Now packmates are glaring at both of us. There have always been little pockets of dislike for Georgina. She's too nasty to other females to be well-liked. Apparently, I'm now being painted with the same brush. I hope Phoebe can escape our curse.

And now I feel guilty because I haven't visited Phoebe in weeks. Goddess, I'm a mess.

"I need to speak with Ili privately," Bailey replies kindly. "It's very important."

Georgina's cheeks flush with anger even though her bright-white smile doesn't falter. I always thought that it was creepy when she did that.

"Of course! I was thinking of visiting Sean and Braxton after school. Poor males, stuck up there in prison all alone." Georgina says with a quick glance at me.

My she-wolf snarls in my head and literally tosses herself towards Georgina in a suicidal fury. Only the fact that I'm stunned by Georgina's use of 'prison' and the tiniest bit of self-preservation stops me.

"You can't," Bailey says coldly. "They are locked in exile."

"Without a trial," Georgina adds. For a moment her mask slips and an ugly look twists on her face. Her smile twists up bitterly and she adds, "when Conner decides to listen to me I have information about their crimes. A strong heat in a weaker wolf is awfully suspicious." She shoots me a glare that has ice racing down my spine and my she-wolf growling in my head.

When she flounces off I gasp, inhaling precious oxygen as the air rushes back into my lungs. Bailey tugs me away from all of the curious onlookers and my feet follow my luna as my mind races.

"She's a bitch, pun fully and enthusiastically intended," Bailey mutters. When we're far enough away from everyone she settles down, tugging me down next to her.

"I'm not a weak wolf. She's very big," I whisper. It's a lame excuse, but my she-wolf is tough and large.

"And a survivor," Bailey points out. "I'm not a wolf, but I'm also a genius. Most wolves would have died pre-shift."

I shudder, tears pricking my lashes. I bring my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, and rest my chin on top. "Alpha Alex told me I have to choose Braxton or Sean. The other will probably go feral and if that happens he'll be put down," I stumble over my words, desperately trying to hold back my tears.

Bailey ignores me, waving off the problem of me choosing with a casual, "you do what you want." She leans forward, a hard look in her eyes, "I'm more concerned about that nasty woman's stupidity."

"Georgina?" I ask, confused. I mean, she is nasty, but stupid? Well, maybe, but this is Bailey. Relatively, everyone is stupid compared to her.

"Your heat was suspicious, according to Conner. He thinks you were given heat inducers. I've been compiling the data from Honeiker labs and there are several versions of fertility drugs that were created with no records of their proper disposal. A drug that exacerbates your heat is definitely suspicious and then she brings it up?"

I hear her. I do, but her words sink in slowly. I lift my head, heavy and cumbersome on my shoulders. "What?"

"I think you were given the heat-enhancing drugs," Bailey repeats flatly.

"How?" I ask, numb, but then I remember the orange juice Sean gave me that's fermenting in my backpack right now. I drank it, like an idiot. A trusting, stupid fool. "The orange juice Sean gave me," I whisper, hoarse. "It's still in my backpack."

We both look at my backpack. I reach out and unzip it, slowly. The orange juice is dark yellow and warm as piss when I pull it out. The wrapper is coming off, the glue undone as the bright yellow and white paper curls away from the plastic bottle.

Bailey snatches it from my hand so quickly I growl a little. Blushing, I apologize, "sorry, you startled me."

"I'll take this. It may be too late to get any results. The heat and time may have caused the drugs to deteriorate, but I'll run some tests anyway."

"OK," I whisper. A do-over would be fabulous.

---

Orion tosses me back inside the fence with a grunt. Instinctively, I try to catch myself with my hands. I hit the dirt face-first, a position that is sadly becoming familiar to me. Rolling, I manage to sit upright with my hands still trussed behind m back.

"Fucker," I spit at Orion.

I hear Sean snicker. Turning my head, I toss him a glare. He looks like shit, pale and thin, but he's finally gotten through the worst stages of withdrawal. All the better to piss me off, I guess. "You didn't even make it for more than five minutes this time," Sean says hoarsely.

"Stay," Orion snaps at me before he turns and fades back into the forest.

Scowling, I right myself, getting to my knees before pushing up off of the ground and standing. I walk over to the broken rockface and the jagged piece of the cliff that already has remnants of rope clinging to its sharpest points. Turning my back, I start to saw through the thick rope binding my hands together.

The fence crackles to life and Sean swears, "you have no fucking patience, douche. They keep upping the power to the fence because of you."

"I don't see you trying to escape," I snarl back. "What, you think your blonde bitch is going to come and rescue you?"

Sean surges to his feet. "Just because I'm not an impulsive idiot like you doesn't mean I plan on staying here forever and last I checked, Ili was a brunette."

"Fuck off. You cheated on your mate and Ili rejected-"

"Then we Claimed her," he interrupts. His eyes flash, his wolf prowling just behind his eye. Swearing under my breath, I start to saw at the rope more vigorously.

"Iliana is our mate," his tone drops, becoming more gravelly. At his sides his fingers flex, wicked grey claws curling from the ends. Fur springs out from his arms, and his canines snap in the air towards me.

"She is not," I hurl back at him. Fuck. "You fucked her, you didn't Claim her." My wolf howls in rage at the memory.

Sean charges me, snarling as his wolf breaks free from his skin. I shift to meet his attack. The rope winds itself around my front left paw, tight enough to cut off circulation and make me scream, but my front legs are free.

Snapping my jaws in his face, I ignore the throbbing pain in my left paw and use what little momentum I have to snap in his face.

He shifts back to feet first. Staggering away from me, blood dripping from his mouth, his or mine I'm not sure, and lets out a growling sob. "Did we hurt her?!" he cries out. He jams his claws through his hair in frustration. "Stop taunting me," he snarls, eyes still flashing back and forth with his wolf.

"You need to stop," I counter. I unwrap the rest of the rope from my hand and wince to see the broken skin and mangled fingers. Quickly, I snap the smallest two fingers back into place. My wolf whines, whimpering in dread at the thought that maybe Ili was feeling the hurt in her hand, too.

"Fuck you, Brat. Fuck you," Sean stumbles back to his spot against the cliff and settles back into a crouch.

I walk to the well and pull up the bucket with my good hand. The water up here in the mountains is ice-cold, which sucks for bathing but is perfect to make my swelling hand go down. Glaring at Sean defiantly, I stick my left hand in the bucket and sit in my own spot against the cliff, waiting and thinking.

"They upped the patrols, too," Sean says after a few minutes. "That's why they got you so quickly."

I ignore him. I know they did. It's why I was captured so easily, too. I've been captured the last three times I got free. The first time I snuck under the fence, but they filled the hole with cement. Then I scaled the cliff using a tree that was summarily cut down. With my hand fucked up it'll be a while before I can try the cliff again. Today I waited for the gate to open to bring us our daily meal. I ran past Orion when he set down the food. Yeah, that was stupid and now Orion is pissed as hell at me and our food is spilled all over the dirt. The entire time, Sean has been content to sit there like a fucking lump of flesh.

"You're no fucking help," I say suddenly.

"Patience, dumbass."

"I need to help Ili-"

"You need to leave her alone," Sean says bluntly. "You fucking Marked her without her consent. You hurt her."

"You nearly killed her," I snarl back.

"I know!" he shouts. "I know," he says again, softer. Leaning back, he closes his eyes. "I know."

Another hour passes in silence. "Only one of us can win," I remark.

Sean grunts.

"Do you really want her?" I ask him. "Or is she just the second choice behind your blonde-"

"Stop!" he growls. His eyes open, flashing with his wolf again. "I fucked up, but Ili isn't anyone's second choice. Except maybe yours."

"Asshole. Caroline was my mate. Ili is the love of my life."

"You say that so easily," Sean scoffs, "but if Caroline was still alive..."

"Then Ili would be my best friend," I interrupt him. "But Caroline is gone and Ili was right there!" I slam my head against the cliff behind me. "Right there," I whisper.

"Yeah, and you bit her, remember?" Sean says sarcastically.

"She'll forgive me," I say with confidence I don't feel.

"You don't deserve her, neither of us do..." Sean's voice trails off.

My wolf goes on high alert as I catch the same scent. "Shit," I breathe softly, scrambling to my feet. "Fuck me." A small part of me wants to run, screaming, to the back of the cave. Maybe I can hide under my blanket like a scared pup.

"Your Dad is here," Sean says smugly.

Dad is very much here. And pissed. Livid. Shit.

"Hey Dad," I say, meandering towards the fence, but not too close. If the dangerous look on his face is any indication no electrified fence is going to stop him from strangling me.

"Braxton," he intones darkly. "I see you're both still alive."

"Dad..."

"I have never been more disappointed in my life," Dad says quietly.

It hits me like a bulldozer to the chest. My wolf crumples, ashamed and devastated. I blink, looking at the ground, wishing a hole would open up and swallow me. Then I can tunnel from the hole and reach Ili...

"You nearly killed that tiny female," Dad says softly. Hurt and bewilderment color his voice. "Your mom and papa keep crying," he adds. "I just... Braxton," he whispers, anguished and furious.

"Sorry," I sniffle. Stiffening my spine, I try to keep the tears at bay. I hear a small shuffle in the dirt behind me and brace myself for whatever shit Sean hurls my way.

"It's not his fault," Sean stuns me. "He's fucking MateLess and wanted the best female for himself. Who the fuck could blame him? The heat houses are supposed to be protected at all times," he continues, his voice rising. "Not only was Braxton able to break in, but the whole fucking pack could have waltzed right in. Shit, some of them did."

Dad looks as stunned as I feel, until slowly a calculating, pensive look settles on his face. "The heat house was protected," he claims. "Braxton rushed in before he could be stopped."

Sean snorts before moving off. Dad watches him go before turning his head toward me. "Alpha Alex visited Ili. He asked her to choose between you two," Dad says quietly. "Once she's chosen, the other Claim will fade."

I watch with unseeing eyes as Dad turns and walks off. My wolf begins to pace in my mind. He's all for killing Sean. Now, before the other male can become stronger. The only thing that's stopping us is the knowledge that it will harm Ili if Sean dies.

I head back into the cave and sling myself down on my mattress opposite Sean.

"At least your dad visited you," Sean says.

I don't say anything. Sean hasn't been visited by anyone except Conner, and when Con was here, Sean was busy puking and crying like a little bitch.

"I would kill you if it weren't for Ili," he rasps out.

"Fuck you, too."

---

Ours. She's ours. Mine. She's ours. Mine.

My wolf bashes his body against the sides of my mind. His cage is breaking. His thoughts centered on one thing; finding Ili and Claiming her.

For days I've watched the Brat escape without thinking it through, but if my wolf succeeds in escaping the confines of my brain then he'll do the same thing in a heartbeat, but worse. He'll slaughter anyone who stands in his way or die trying.

Mine. Stop it, she's ours. Mate. Ili doesn't want us, anyway, I tell him silently.

"You eating?" Braxton asks me.

I stand up without answering him. Our food is covered in dirt because the Brat is an idiot, but I can't afford to not eat. I lost at least fifteen pounds in as little as two weeks from my withdrawal. I need to bulk back up, get strong again, or Braxton will easily steal my mate away. Mine.

Fuck. The Brat's already ahead of the game. Ili needed me to quell her heat symptoms. It wasn't an acceptance on her part. Shit, I even promised her I wouldn't try and use our time together against her. Braxton is also the younger brother of our Alphason and let's face it, Conner very deservedly hates me.

Mine.

Fucking shut up, wolf. Shut up. Stop talking to me. Wolves don't speak.

"Yo, 'wolves don't speak?' What the fuck is wrong with you?" Braxton snaps out as he picks up a chunk of pork in his hands.

"Nothing," I growl back. I wish the meat were raw. Shit. No, I don't. My wolf does.

"Did the bird do something to you?" Braxton taunts.

I look up from glaring at the turkey in my hands. "You're really fucking annoying. You know that, right?"

Braxton smiles. "At least my mate didn't reject me."

"Ili didn't reject me! I rejected her!" I explode in fury. I hate how he blames Ili for destroying any part of our mate bond. It's not her fault at all. "Stop blaming her!" I howl.

His scream of fury washes over me before violence explodes between us again. Just like before, a few hits in, my wolf starts howling in my head.

Mine. Mate. Hurt. Mine.

We break away, panting. The Brat's left eye is swelling up and my lip is bleeding. "What the fuck?" Braxton gasps out. "You... when?"

"Ili overheard me talking to her. Making plans of rejecting Ili. She almost died because..." I jam my palms against my eyes.

"Ili overheard you planning to reject her? You were speaking to Georgina? But... this happened a year and a half ago," Braxton mutters. "Before her shift..."

He looks at me in confusion, so I explain, "I used her name. I told her sister that I was going to reject my mate and I said Ili's name. I nearly killed her."

Mine comes the scream in my head.

The Brat staggers a little. "My Ili," he says in a horrified whisper. "Everyone thought she was going to shift MateLess. I should have seen it. Why didn't I ask?"

"You and I," I say in a harsh whisper, "don't deserve her. But... if you win, if she chooses you, don't ever fucking hurt her again, yeah?"

Mine. Mate. Mine.

The screaming of my wolf is overwhelmingly loud. I sink to my knees, holding my head in my hands. "Shut up, stop talking," I mutter outloud. "Please stop."

"Yo, freak. What the fuck?" Braxton helps me to my feet. Together we start to stagger back to the cave when my wolf goes dead-silent.

"Holy shit," Braxton breathes next to me.

Half a heartbeat later, we're both at the fence. She's utterly gorgeous, wrapped in a hoodie that dwarfs her frame and casts shadows on her face. Did she walk here? I hope she didn't. It's getting cold as the sun sets early here in the mountains. Is she cold?

"Mate," my wolf croons. A flash of power, then he's back in his prison.

"Hi, Ili-baby," Braxton says next to me.

The fence shorts out. Someone is watching, but I don't care. My wolf is straining at my control, pushing and clawing at the barrier between us. Pain blooms along my spine. I breathe through it, pushing it away along with him as I wrap my fingers through the chain-link.

"Sean," Ili whispers.

My eyes drift closed when she says my name. "Hi, Daisy," I murmur.

"Did you force my heat with the orange juice?"

I don't understand her for a long time. The words sink in slowly, like molasses moving into my addled, broken mind. "No?" I question.

"I was... I was drugged. It's why my heat hurt so bad."

"No," I say more strongly. "I... I wouldn't..." my wolf is howling, screaming. Mate. His mate is crying. "Wouldn't hurt you, mate," I finally force out.

"Ili, are you sure, babydoll?" Braxton asks.

Her grey eyes slide to him. "Bailey says," she replies. A tear rolls down her cheek. My wolf sees it and whimpers.

"No, Ili," I rasp out. "You... hurt."

"Sean?" she frowns at me.

I squeeze my eyes shut. Stop talking, wolf. "I wouldn't hurt you like that..." Blonde hair flashes in my head. Other female. My wolf snarls. Other lower than mate. How dare she hurt our Ili?

"Georgina," I whisper. "She was in my apartment. How... how did she know I would give you that juice?"

"Tell Conner and Bails to test everything in Sean's fridge, OK, babydoll?" Braxton's voice is soothing, but commanding all at once.

More tears slip down her cheeks. "Mate," I whisper... he whispers... gutturally. More pain rakes down my spine.

"Do you hurt anywhere, Babydoll?" Braxton asks, his face pressed to the fence just like mine.

"I'm sore," she murmurs.

Hurt. Mate is hurt. He presses against his cage. "Not hurt you," my wolf promises. "Tell Conner to investigate Georgina," I hurry to say before my wolf can get in another creepy declaration.

"Dad says you have to choose one of us, Ili-doll?" the Brat inserts his foot right into his mouth.

Iliana takes a step backward. My wolf screams. Her scent drifts further away. The pain arcing through my back nearly sends me to my knees. I cling to the fence for support.

"I won't," Iliana says bravely. "I can't."

"Mate."

"Stop it, Sean," she snaps. "I don't know if I can ever forgive you for being with Georgina. It hurts too much."

My wolf breaks free. I always wondered, for years, what would happen when he finally broke out of his cage. An explosion of violence and fury was my biggest fear. Mom. I was afraid he would accidentally kill Mom or try to kill Dad if he didn't let the psychopath lock her away somewhere.