"I told you."
Philip's voice was quiet. There was no anger in his tone, no satisfaction. Just exhaustion, the kind that came from having his worst fears confirmed. His eyes were hollow, his shoulders slumped with the weight of resignation.
Marie lowered her head.
She couldn't bring herself to answer. Her throat was tight, her eyes burning with unshed tears that she refused to let fall. What could she possibly say? He had been right all along. She had been foolish to hope, foolish to believe that someone out there cared enough to save them. The shame of her naivety burned in her chest.
The two of them stood in a long line with dozens of other omegas, chains linking their ankles together as they waited to be moved. The metal was cold against their skin, the links clinking with every shift of weight. The air was thick with fear, with the scent of desperation that clung to everyone in the line like a second skin.
Everything had happened so suddenly.
