The silence after the Psycho Alpha left pressed down on me like a heavy blanket. My chest rose and fell too quickly, my lungs dragging in air that didn't feel like enough. Joan sat curled against the wall, her knees to her chest, her face wet and pale. Elara lay still on the ground, shuddering whenever she tried to move. The air reeked of fear, our fear, the kind that clung to your skin even when you wanted to scrape it off.
I forced myself to breathe slower. I can't let them see me like this. I have to keep control, even if it's only an act.
"Listen," I said, my voice breaking a little, "you two should go back to the omegas' quarters. It's safer there. You don't need to stay with me anymore. I'll be fine."
Joan's head snapped up as if I'd slapped her. "No! Don't say that. He'll come back. If we leave you alone, he'll—he'll kill you. Or worse." Her lips trembled on the last word.
