AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I murmured the words of the warrior’s death as his body went limp. I pitied the old bear, but such was our way of life. We all met our end eventually, and I’d done my best to make his quick and painless.
I withdrew my blade from his body, wiping it on his pelt before returning it to the sheath at my thigh. I slid from his back as movement drew my gaze over his prone form to the omega still trying to become one with the tree. My blood still pumped from the fight, my instincts on edge, and I guessed what her fidgeting was leading to. I tried to warn her.
“Don’t run.”
The words came out a growl, but I knew she understood me. Her golden skin blanched, eyes going wider as her lips parted. Chest heaving, the fabric of her covering strained to hold her curves, and the sight made my mouth water as a fresh surge of excitement spread through me.
I knew it was coming.
She couldn’t help it, and neither could I.
I saw the moment instinct overrode thought, and a feral grin pulled my lips back as the little omega sprang into motion.
Pushing off the tree, she ran, little feet pounding the earth. I rolled my neck as I straightened, loosening muscles that had gone tight during my fight with the bear.
She had no chance of escape.
I knew it, and she could feel it, but she had to run anyway.
And I had to chase.
And once I caught her…
Her scent promised things I’d never hoped for. I’d spent enough winters alone, and the gods had led me to a ripe omega in return for my deeds.
She would be mine.
Chapter Three
Nala
Igasped, rough bark biting into my shoulder as I careened off a trunk I couldn’t avoid. Running through the forest was foolish, I knew better, but what choice did I have, confronted with a monster?
They were real.
My lungs strained, throat and sides burning. I couldn’t tell if the growling I heard was real or imagined, but I kept my eyes focused ahead. I hoped I could make it back to the cabin, even though it felt impossible.
And what good would it do me? I’d just watched the monster kill abear. The wooden door of the cellar would offer no protection.
A shiver wracked my body as slick smeared between my thighs. I stumbled, crashing shoulder-first into another tree with a yelp. The rumble behind me was definitely real, deepening as I righted myself and continued to run.
I’d stumbled upon the bear by accident, looking up at the birds flitting over my head instead of watching where I was going. I’d all but walked right into him before his huff of irritation caught my attention, and I screamed before I could stop myself.
The noise irritated him further, and he’d reared up as I backpedaled. I knew I couldn’t outrun him and shouldn’t try, but climbing a tree was for the young and limber, not a middle-aged woman who had enjoyed food perhaps a bit too much.
I’d braced for pain, convincing myself I was okay with my life ending there, when the monster appeared.
A real monster.
Almost as large as the bear, he’d towered over me. The black horns sprouting from his head added extra height beside his perked ears. Where the bear’s fur was a shaggy brown snarled with leaves and twigs, the monster’s was a rich charcoal, with lighter grey streaks on his muzzle, thinning to bare dark skin on his abdomen.
Despite the danger, it was impossible not to focus on his nakedness. Maybe it was my brain’s response to preparing for death, or perhaps I could blame it on my encroaching heat, but I couldn’t help staring between his legs.
A cramp had brought forth a gush of slick just as the monster turned to look at me, his chestnut gaze locking on mine. My gasp had flooded my lungs with the unmistakable scent of pine, fire, andalpha.
Light shone between the trees ahead of me, hope surging even as another cramp drove the air from my lungs. I hadn’t run from the bear, but something drove me to run from the monster.
Maybe it had been the hunger in his eyes.
