Pushing my way through the forest, I don’t stop until I stumble upon the small stream, dropping beside the water’s edge. I gulp as much spring water as I can. If only I had a canister of some kind, I could take some with me. Who knows how long it will be until I see a body of water again
I’m so hot. I could do with a cold dip in the stream. I’m covered head to toe in sweat, and I think I may have caught the scent of coconuts earlier.
My perfume.
My twenty-first birthday is just two weeks away, so my scent will be all over the place. It will be my very first heat, and I am absolutely terrified.
Still, I’d rather spend my heat alone in a cabin in the woods. I don’t need an alpha; I don’t even want a knot. I will not be some baby-making machine for the government.
I will not bear them alphas.
My best bet is to ride it out. They say an omega’s first heat is the single most painful thing she will ever experience, and I just hope to God that no one finds me before it’s over.
Wherever I decide to spend my heat, it will have to be somewhere quiet, somewhere secluded. I won’t have the luxury of blankets anymore. I won’t even have the privilege of building a comfortable nest.
I finally get my fill of fresh spring water, wiping my mouth. Next, I gaze up at the cracks of gray through the branches above, and it’s been so long since I saw the sky.
There’s no sunshine when you’re an omega, but that’s okay; I can create my own sun. I can’t even remember what it’s like to feel such joy for simple, frivolous things. Everything just became about survival.
The hair rises on the back of my neck, and I suddenly have the feeling that I’m being watched.
They found me. I don’t know how I know, but I do. There’s a shift in the air, and the whole forest seems to have stopped. Leaves no longer rattle in the breeze, and the birds no longer sing.
Now all I can hear is the sound of my own flapping heart. I remain as still as a rock. Judging by the strong, dominant scent in the air, they have to be alpha, yet they’re too distant for me to get a proper sniff.
I meet my frightened blue eyes in the stream below, and I resemble a deer in the headlights. A lump lodges in my throat when I spy the red dot on my forehead.
A sniper’s shot.
They’ve already got their aim. Now all that’s left for them to do is shoot.
I shut my eyes, letting the tears fall. What will happen when I die? Will I reunite with my grandparents?
That’s the best I can hope for now. Peace.
I was a fool to think I could get far. Once a weak omega, always a weak omega. I was never strong after all.
But I won’t go down easily.
I duck out of the way of the sniper’s shot, and now the bullet shatters the tree behind me. Then I jump to my feet and rush through the forest, tearing down tree branches in my desperate bid for freedom.
I will not be killed or captured; I will fly as free as a dove.
It’s just unfortunate that I forgot to spread my wings when I leap over a hill, rolling down the deep incline below. Bushes and rocks scrape my skin, and I close my eyes, waiting for the moment when the world finally stops.
It hurts, but I’ll hit the ground running.
Hopefully, I lost the sniper. I know they weren’t the only ones out there. There were others too.
My omega instincts are pretty sharp when it comes to detecting the presence of alphas. Alphas are dangerous and should be feared in my eyes, yet I know it’s more intrinsic than that.
No matter how much I try to deny it, there’s a needy little omega inside of me who yearns for an alpha’s touch or their so-called ‘knots,' and yet, I refuse to be a slave to my body.
I am not some mindless breeding machine.
I jump back up to my feet the moment I stop rolling, making my bid for freedom, but I don’t even make it two steps. A rough hand wraps around my mouth, crushing my teeth with its large, gloved fingers, and now someone presses me hard against their chest.
I catch the scent of leather and burnt coal, holding my breath. It’s an alpha and he smells… good. Way too good, and for a moment I give in to his hold, shutting my eyes.
What is happening to me? I have never felt this way in an alpha’s presence before. To me, alphas have always been dangerous.
I have never felt the need to submit to one.
Well, until now.
He yanks out a knife and places it at my throat, and it looks like I’m going to die after all.
The snake only went and caught the dove in the end.