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That was where he was wrong. I’d have stuck up for any omega against this worthless Alpha. Even now, on the brink of death, I didn’t regret my actions. Nathan was safe.
I sucked in a raspy breath, and it felt as if bubbles were in my mouth. One of my broken ribs must have punctured a lung, and the blood filled my airways. If that was the case, survival was unlikely—I would drown in my own blood. That was the stuff of nightmares.
“Leave him,” the Alpha said, and they dropped me in the dirt with a thud.
How I managed not to cry out in pain would forever remain a mystery. Maybe I’d crossed over the threshold of pain tolerance and could no longer react like a normal shifter.
I stayed still until the truck drove away. It was only then that I risked cracking my eyes open. I blinked a few times to come into focus. The truck was out of view.
I laid there for at least a couple of hours, drifting in and out of consciousness.
Once I deemed it safe, I took stock of myself. My upper body hurt, but my legs were intact. My ankles, shins, and knees were unharmed. I could walk if I was able to get upright. Probably. And that was a very big if.
It was dark, and my broken nose made scenting difficult. I could hardly bring in any air, struggling to breathe. Scenting the air as deeply as I needed to wasn’t going to be possible. Suck.
Surprisingly, I didn’t have a punctured lung as I had initially thought. The blood in my mouth came from another injury. And the noise I’d heard was… I still didn’t know, but definitely not my lungs filling up. That was something.
After a moment or two, feeling it was safe enough that I wouldn’t end up face first in the dirt, I tried. With a whole lot of effort and double the pain, I stood and began walking. Every single movement, the pain radiated through my body. I couldn’t give up, though. If I stayed here, I would be dead by morning. Of that I had no doubt. I was uncertain of my destination, and really, it didn’t matter as long as I was away.
Blood and sweat clouded my vision, and I was no doubt leaving a trail for someone to follow, but I needed to find someone, something, to prove that I was not the guilty party here. If they suspected I was, good as dead would become dead as dead.
Steelwick, the Enforcer pack, would receive the Alpha’s report. He’d collaborated with them in the past, earning their trust. There would be an investigation, of course. It was how things worked, and that was where I was as good as screwed. I doubted they would believe my word over the Alpha’s, especially if Jerome convinced his Betas to lie. It wouldn’t take much. They wouldn’t want to end up like me.
I was in a dire situation without the strength to get myself out of it.
Deciding to lie low was an easy decision to make. My lack of strength almost demanded it. I needed to focus on healing. Perhaps later, I could turn myself in or live as a rogue. If there was a later. I still wasn’t sure if my body was going to be able to recover from this.
I’d attempted to shift, my wolf not so much as stirring. He was there, though, and I tried not to panic over his stillness. I started walking, putting one foot in front of the other. The blood loss made me a bit woozy, but I managed… until I tripped, unable to catch myself with my broken arm.
I tumbled down a hill, oblivious to the changing terrain. Down and down I went, tumbling until my face collided with a tree root, collecting a medley of rocks, sticks, leaves, and debris on my head and in my hair. If I had any chance of surviving, it had now been further diminished by this fall. There was zero chance I’d be able to get back up that hill.
I’d come to a stop near a river or stream. At least I could hear the water of one flowing nearby. Or my concussion got worse and it was the blood echoing in my ears.
Unable to do anything else, I lay on the forest floor catching my breath.
My muscles twitched and contracted as the pain sent electricity down my limbs, like I’d stuck my hand in a socket and was letting the shocks ripple through me.
I stood up, but this time, luck wasn’t on my side. My knee had twisted, and my arm was in even worse shape. I sucked in a breath, catching the scent of a person nearby. I needed a place to lie low, regroup, and recover. I wasn’t ready to be seen, and until I figured out where I was, which pack’s land I was on, being seen could be a death sentence.
Each step was torture, the pain unlike anything I’d faced before. Refusing to give up, I put one foot in front of the other over and over again, barely paying attention to my surroundings. My movements requiring every single thought I could muster.
When I stumbled upon a cave not far from the stream, my beast perked up. He saw it as a safe haven. If there was any time to trust my beast, it was now. With a great deal of effort, I forced my way inside.
Although the entryway was partially covered with brush, I followed my nose to the stale scent of something—someone. I wasn’t the first person to be here. I’d worry about that later. For now, I needed the refuge.
My beast stirred up a bit more. He liked the staleness in the air. I didn’t know what it was, but I found the scent appealing as well. Maybe I was hallucinating, my head injury worse than I assumed.
Once inside, I spotted a sleeping bag and a light, but I decided against risking the light. I fell onto my knees, unable to bear my weight any longer. Closing my eyes, I surrendered to sleep.
Chapter 4
Pol
Someone was in my cave. I knew it long before I scented them. The area had been disturbed, and there was… blood. That should’ve sent my beast into attack mode, but it didn’t. Instead, it had him intrigued… Not intrigued, excited.
The scent of whomever was in there hit my nostrils and my heart sped up. My animal instincts roared with the recognition.
Mate, mate, mate. My beast recognized them instantly. My mate was here only a few feet from me. Did he scent me too?
