But Elias? Fucker bolted the moment he saw her.
I thought about alpha-commanding him to stop, but once she started running, it was game over. We chased her through the woods like starving Neanderthals, all of us yapping like fucking teenage pups.
It wasn’t the smartest strategy; it was, in fact, monumentally stupid, but my wolf and I just couldn’t help ourselves. We were completely drunk on this omega’s scent.
I hadn’t felt this alive in years, which should have been a warning. The fact that she could evade us only made it better.
Fuck, this feral omega was perfect.
Then the ravine. She was heading straight for it, and she wasn’t slowing down. Didn’t hesitate, not even for a second,before she threw herself across. One moment, a slip of a girl. The next, a wolf sailing over the gap.
My gut clenched as her small form hung in the air.
She made it across. Landed hard, not gracefully, but alive on the other side while we skidded to a halt at the edge.
The omega had more balls than half the males I’d known, and none of us could look away. I’m pretty sure we were all rock-hard after that performance.
“Motherfucking dickbags!” she yells, whirling to face us from the other side. “Perverted cock-knots, I’ll gut you if you come near me!”
This girl’s got spirit. I’ll give her that. She’d be one hell of an addition to our pack—if we didn’t scare her into tearing our throats out first.
My wolf howls in anticipation. One way or another, I’ll have her. Those defiant eyes have burrowed under my skin. Something ugly and possessive rises in me. Not just desire. Protection twisted into ownership.
We retreat to the compound. Now that we’ve all scented her, there’s no way she can hide.
Game on, feral little omega. Run for now. We’ll find you again. There’s no way I’m leaving you out here alone.
3
Mo
The forest is quiet now, save for the distant rustle of critters moving through the night. My breath is still ragged, my lungs burning, but I’ve bought myself time. Just enough to get out of sight. My body aches after the chase, but that’s nothing new. I’ve lived with pain for a long time.
I crouch beneath a twisted oak, its gnarled branches weaving overhead, and take a moment to listen. My senses strain for any sign of pursuit. The wind carries nothing—no alpha assholes.
For now, at least, I’m alone.
Alone.
The word tastes bitter in my mouth. I’ve grown used to solitude, chosen it even. Better to be alone than trapped. Better free than at the mercy of someone stronger.
I swipe at the dirt on my cheek, wiping away sweat and grime, when the memory creeps in unbidden on the walk home.
Sophie had always been the stronger one. Smarter, too. Beautiful, and she knew how to play the game. Navigate the twisted power dynamics of the pack. Keep her mouth shut when it mattered.
Omegas are rare. Our mom was a beta, nothing special in the pack’s eyes, but she carried two omega daughters, and that made her valuable. When the new alpha took over, he tried to breed her for more, but she died in childbirth when I was only thirteen. The pup didn’t survive either. Sophie was sixteen at the time, and she took our mother’s place in the pack to keep the alpha happy.
I wasn’t anything like my older sister. I never had the patience for false smiles. I was always just the feral little sister. Too wild, too impulsive.
But Sophie made it look easy… until she didn’t.
I was just about to turn eighteen when the alpha killed her. It shattered something in me, and I’ve never figured out how to put it back together. Sophie had served him and been loyal to him. And he destroyed her the second he thought she’d betrayed him. He didn’t even bother to find out if the lies were true.
I watched the light leave her eyes as he crushed her throat. Her beautiful face twisted in pain and disbelief.
And I could do nothing. I stood there frozen while he tore my sister away from me.
Grief turned to rage. All I had was fire and the need to make him pay. Sloppy. Untrained. A fool.