Running
Stefan
“ T here’s no point in running!” a booming voice rips through the forest, making me frantic to run faster.
“Stefan!” my sister yells at me when I stumble. She grabs my wrist, trying to steady me, but it’s no use. I’m too tired, and I can’t breathe. My ribcage is too tight, squeezing my lungs so hard, my eyes water. My last inhaler ran out over a year ago. I’ve been living with pinpricks in my sides and a tightness in my chest ever since.
“Give it up, little omegas.” Another man chuckles, his voice like gravel.
I look over my shoulder as we start to run again, catching a glimpse of two alphas. They’re both shirtless and sweaty, chasing after us with big grins on their similar faces. They both have long black hair, the same long nose and beady eyes, but one has a tangled ponytail. They’re probably brothers.
“Don’t stop!” Mari growls, dragging my weak body down a steep hill. My ratty shoes slide across the sloped ground, skidding over rocks and roots.
“Mari,” I wheeze, trying to get her to stop, “I c-can’t—” My pace slows, and my legs begin to shake. “I can’t breathe.” I suck in a raspy breath.
“I know!” she snaps, pulling my arm even harder, forcing my feet to move. She’s not normally so harsh with me. In fact, she’s the most loving person I know, but right now she’s too scared to be kind, and I understand why.
“Mari,” I wheeze her name, needing a moment to catch my breath. “P-please…” And my knees give out. I cough—or try to—onto the forest floor, gagging through my constricted throat.
I hate how weak I am, but I simply can’t take another step. We’ve been living in the woods like fugitives for over two years now. We’ve lived so long without any proper food, water, or medicine. I can’t even remember what it's like to live in a world where we’re not constantly running and terrified.
I simply can’t take another step.
“No!” Mari screams at me. “Don’t give up!” She hitches my arm over her shoulder and heaves me to my feet. But it’s too late.
The two muscled alphas stroll down the hill, their big bodies looming over us. They look thrilled, like they’ve won the lottery. I guess they have. Finding two young omegas out in the middle of nowhere is a wonderful prize for any alpha. I hope Mari doesn't sacrifice herself for me…again.
“Come on.” The alpha with the long black ponytail mocks us like we’re two lost puppies. “We won’t hurt you.” He touches his crotch, and I look away.
Mari bristles next to me, forcing me to lean against her much smaller frame. “Keep going,” she commands me, but we both know I’m not going anywhere.
“Run,” I try to speak, but the single word comes out as barely a whisper. I’m not even sure if she heard me. “Run,” I repeat, begging my sister to save herself, but she keeps glaring at the alphas.
“There’s nowhere to go.” The rough-voiced alpha grins, and his black hair whips into his face. His features are sharp, and his teeth are pointed. I’m sure there’s a world where omegas swoon over these two long-haired alphas, but out here, they look like monsters. Vicious beasts waiting to rip weak omegas like me to pieces.
The alpha with the ponytail takes a single step toward us, and Mari lets out a high-pitched growl, forcing me to move once again. She drags me down the hill and over the twisted roots. The tips of my shoes catch, but Mari doesn’t stop. She heaves me like a rag doll, down, down, down the hill.
She’s so much smaller than me, with tiny arms and a fragile frame, but she’s somehow able to pull the greatest stretch out of nowhere.
All too quickly, sloped ground levels out, and my heart stops as the trees part.
It’s a cliff.
We’re trapped.
And I’m so exhausted.
A defeated sob bubbles from my tight throat. It’s agony to cry with my chest constricted so tight, but I can’t stop. Trying to calm down, I hang my head and force deep breaths through my nose and out my mouth. It doesn’t help. It pushes my long, dirty hair into my face, tickling my nose. Making me want to sneeze.
“It’s okay,” Mari whispers, lowering me to the ground. The earth is cool to the touch, and the grass is soft and lush. I commit it to memory, assuming it will be the last thing I feel before the alphas kill us. “It’s going to be okay,” Mari lies to me.
“Easy there, blondie.” Ponytail alpha hitches up his pants as he stops right in front of us. His bare chest is covered in sweat, dripping down to the tattoo across his abdomen. The words TENUS PACK are etched in bold black letters across his lower belly, and when I look even lower, my fear really takes hold. His penis is very hard, tenting the front of his jeans.
“Don’t come any closer,” Mari snarls, stepping right in front of me like a shield.
I try to stand, determined to help her fight, but my lungs squeeze even tighter, and my head swims. I fall back to the ground with a heavy thud, making Ponytail alpha sneer at me.
“I think we’ve got a fighter.” The rough-voiced alpha palms himself in a lewd way as he moves toward Mari.
But my sister doesn't even flinch. She tips her chin up, places one hand on her hip, and asks, “Are you two lost?” She looks between the pair, sizing them up.
“Lost?” Ponytail alpha snorts, making the tattoo across his lower abs jerk. “Did you hear that, Cardis?” He smirks at his brother. “This sweet creature is worried we might be lost.”
Cardis chuckles as he moves a little closer. His light brown eyes flash as they drink me in, and my gut clenches. Then they move to Mari. “We’re not lost, sweetheart.” He crosses his arms, looking her up and down. His privates are hard too, making his zipper bulge.
“How about this?” My sister takes a confident step toward them, stepping between me and them. She’s so strong and fierce. I want to be like her, but my pathetic body won’t move. And I can barely breathe! “How about the three of us head over to the clearing back over this hill?” Mari whispers. “We can have some fun.”
I open my mouth to scream “no” at my sister, but all that comes out is a wheezing cough.
“The three of us?” Ponytail alpha cocks one dark brow. “I think you’re missing someone.” His hungry gaze snaps to me, and bile rises in my throat. In the two years we’ve lived on the run, Mari has never once allowed me to be violated, but I have a feeling that’s about to change. And I’m weirdly okay with that. I refuse to let my sweet sister sacrifice her body one more time for me. She’s endured so much to keep me safe. It’s not fair.
“He’s sick,” Mari blurts out, panic making her voice pitch high. “Caught some kind of virus that gave him a bubbling rash all along his chest and?—”
“Mari!” I force her name out of my tight throat. The single word burns, making my eyes water. “Don’t?—”
“Shut up!” she barks without looking at me. “How about it?” she says to the alphas.
“Bubbling rash?” Cardis shifts, looking around my sister. His dark eyes slip down my body as his upper lip curls in disgust.
“She’s lying,” Ponytail alpha says. “She just doesn’t want us to touch him.”
Cardis’s eyes go wide, and he nods like he didn’t even consider that.
“Are you untouched?” Ponytail alpha asks me in his big booming voice. “Do you have a virgin ass?”
I nod, unable to stop myself from answering him.
“He’s a child,” Mari growls high in her throat. “He’s underage and sick.”
That’s a lie. I turned eighteen a few weeks ago. At least I think I did. It’s hard to keep track of the dates out here.
“I’ve never fucked a virgin before,” Cardis says with an excited lift in his voice.
“No!” The word scrapes across my throat, barely audible.
“Pure omegas catch more money. Even though he’s a male, that’ll make him worth a bit more,” Ponytail alpha says to his brother. “Donovan won’t be too pleased if you ruin the inventory before we bring it in.”
Cardis’s eyes narrow at the forest floor as he thinks it over. I glance at the cliff behind us, wondering how high up we are. Maybe we could jump? It might kill us, but I have a feeling death would be preferable to whatever is about to happen to us.
“You know,” Cardis says, “bringing in two used omegas will still catch Don a decent amount of money.” He palms the front of his pants. “Someone will want to play with that boy no matter what condition he’s in.” His hungry gaze cuts to me. He licks his bottom lip before looking back at his brother. “And the girl is young and attractive. She’ll make enough money for the both of them, and you know it.”
Ponytail alpha tilts his head to one side as he considers it. “I guess that’s true.” He eyes me, then Mari, making me snarl.
“Come on,” Cardis hounds his brother. “We deserve to indulge every now and then. Let loose.” His voice slips into a husky growl. “You can’t put a price on getting to enjoy virgin slick.”
Mari shifts from one foot to the other before slowly inching a little closer to me. I wish she’d look at me. I need to see her brown eyes. I need to see the calm and determination in them that will tell me everything will be okay. Just once.
Ponytail alpha gives his brother an evil grin. “I guess it’s not like Don will know.” Both alphas laugh long and hard, their big barrel chests bouncing. I curl into myself, looking back at the cliff once more.
Mari growls, saying something to the pair. I’m sure it’s a threat, but I can’t make out her words. Her voice is too soft, overpowered by the horrible laughter.
“You’ve got fire.” Ponytail alpha chuckles as he takes a step over a twisting root toward Mari. “I bet you’ll be fun to break in.” He grabs the bulge in his pants, squeezing it, and tears blur my vision.
Mari and I have been in horrible situations before. She’s been caught and abused—sacrificing herself to protect me—but this is the closest I’ve been to being violated. I guess it was a matter of time.
“Run!” Mari suddenly screams into the quiet forest, then she rushes at Ponytail alpha, slamming into his broad, hard chest. His heel catches on a twisting root, and his arms flail as he falls with a heavy thud. “Run!” she screams as she turns to Cardis, clawing at his face and arms. The alpha hisses as her nails scratch one of his eyes.
“You fucking bitch!” Cardis’s fist connects hard with Mari’s stomach. She grunts hard as her slight body instantly folds.
“Mari!” I scream the best I can through my closed-up throat, but before I can take more than two steps, something hard slips around my waist and yanks me backward.
Ponytail alpha laughs in my ear as I struggle in his arms. His breath is warm and wet against the side of my neck, making my skin crawl. “Where are you going?” he grumbles, pushing his nose against the side of my face.
I don’t have time to be scared. I’m too panicked for Mari. She’s doubled over, cradling her stomach with her dirty blonde hair in her face as she heaves onto the forest floor. There’s nothing for her to throw up but spit and snot. We haven’t eaten since yesterday.
“Mari!” I mouth her name, unable to actually speak out loud. My voice has completely failed me. Between my fear and inability to breathe, all I can do is wheeze and whisper.
Ponytail snakes his tongue out, lapping at the side of my face. My legs give out, and I slip through his arms, hitting the hard forest floor. It takes me a full second to realize I’m free. But I quickly gather myself, then I do exactly what my sister told me to do, and I run.
I run as fast as my pathetic body will allow.
Pumping my arms and legs, I stumble across the uneven ground, racing next to the cliff’s edge.
“Don’t let go of him!” Cardis yells somewhere behind me. I pray he’s chasing me too. Mari has done enough over the last two years to protect me. It’s my turn to be the sacrificial lamb.
I pick up my pace, doing my best to ignore the burn in my chest. A mighty spruce blocks my path, and I cut left, away from the cliff’s sharp edge. But before I can get around it, someone grabs a handful of my hair and lurches me backward. I let out a horrible yelp as I slam into Ponytail’s hard body.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he growls into my face.
I wheeze, too tired to think of anything cutting to say.
“Get your ass back over here.” Ponytail spins us, forcing me to walk back the way we came.
Panicked, I look for Mari, terrified to find her fighting with Cardis. She’s on his back, dangerously close to the cliff’s edge. She hits his head, back, and the sides of his face with her tiny fists. The enraged sounds that leave her mouth are horrible and vicious, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She’s going to kill him.
I hope…
“Careful!” Ponytail yells out when his brother stumbles back toward the edge of the cliff.
“Mari!” I scream, but my sister’s name comes out as more of a squeak than an actual word.
Cardis lets out a furious growl, and then everything moves as if in slow motion. The big alpha curls inward, then bucks his whole body backward.
Mari flings off his back.
Her hands flail as she flies through the air.
For a brief second, it looks like she might catch herself on the ledge, but she misses the edge by a hair, and her big brown eyes go wide with shock.
She doesn’t scream or cry. Her mouth just drops open as she silently falls through the air.
Feet kicking.
Fingers outstretched.
Her shirt flutters as she falls.
And then she’s gone.
There’s a deafening silence that follows. One second, two, three. Heck. It might even be a thousand. But then I hear a loud, wet thud, and my heart stops.