Chapter 2
The snow already went up to his ankles, slowing him down as he raced through the forest, moving as quickly, but as carefully, as he could. Sounds of the others echoed around him, the dense trees keeping him from seeing much of anything going on.
Thorn didn’t want to anyway. Witnessing an omega brought down by an alpha would only be distracting and disheartening, and he needed to remain focused. Aster was counting on him.
Of course, his little brother had no clue what Thorn was up to, but that was neither here nor there. It was a scary thought, to think there was a chance Thorn could be caught, that perhaps he might not make it out of this alive. That his brother might lose him and never know what had happened.
But that was one of the risks he’d decided was worth it when he’d accepted the invitation, and it was too late to turn back now, even if he wanted to.
Thorn had purposefully skipped the cabin closest to the area where the hunt had begun.
He wasn’t a mafia member, but they were supposed to be sneaky and clever, and if he were one, the nearest cabin would be where he’d set a trap.
It was a gamble, one that left him out in the open longer, but he stood by it.
Because of the snow and having to be stealthy, it was taking him twice as long to reach his destination.
His socks were already soaked through, and the second-hand jacket that had lost most of its stuffing was only doing so much to keep the cold at bay.
There was a real risk he’d catch hypothermia if he didn’t find shelter, and he vaguely wondered how the alphas got on so well in this weather.
Maybe they didn’t. Maybe they were as frozen and miserable as the rest of them.
It would serve them right.
His sneaker hit a root hidden in the snow, and Thorn gasped and fell forward. The loud crunch he made upon impact had him naturally freezing, ears straining for any sounds of an approaching predator.
A scream cut through the air to his left and he jerked and sat up, heart pounding in his chest, but the sound was too far away to be a threat.
Another omega had been caught, it seemed.
Thorn pushed himself back to his feet, but had only taken a few steps before a feeling of unease raced down his spine. He didn’t have to look around to know he was being watched.
He went still again, weighing his options, trying to gauge how near or far whoever was staring at him was. The chance it was simply another omega was too slim to even hope for, but he couldn’t help but wonder why an alpha would be taking his time.
Unless he was playing with Thorn.
A flash of indignation spurred him on, and in the next instant, Thorn burst forward, pushing himself into a mad dash.
He weaved through the trees, bracing himself against trunks and pushing for more momentum.
His palms were rubbed raw within minutes, but the adrenaline crashing through his veins kept him from noticing.
He heard nothing through the pounding of his own heart and the sounds he made as he went, but that feeling of being watched never disappeared, following him through the wilderness like a ghost.
When the first sight of Cabin H6 came into view, Thorn almost sobbed in relief. With only moonlight to guide him, he picked up the pace, using the last stores of energy he had available. The cabin promised shelter and safety and warmth.
It promised freedom from his dad’s mistakes.
A better life.
His feet pounded up the wooden steps, and he practically threw himself at the door, frozen fingers struggling with the metal handle, losing precious seconds in the process.
He’d just gotten the latch undone when he heard it, the first sound made by his pursuer, a heavy thump from behind, and Thorn shoved the door open and was just about to cross the threshold when—
Someone planted a hand on his back and shoved him forward.
Thorn went sailing into the cabin, landing on the ground with a hard whack that sent pain radiating through his hip and left shoulder. He scrambled to make sense of what had just happened, shifting onto his bottom and scuttling back when a massive, dark shape entered the cabin after him.
In the darkness, the size of him was all he could make out, that and the barest hint of gingerbread, warm, spicy, and sweet.
The shape allowed the door to close behind him, and then he reached out to the wall.
The lights flickered to life, momentarily blinding Thorn, and he squeezed his eyes shut and blocked his face protectively, still struggling to process this new situation.
A low hum filled the room, followed by a gust of warmth as the heat kicked in. Snow melted from Thorn’s shoulders and sneakers, dripping onto the floorboards, but it took longer for the chill to leave him, and he shivered, and finally lowered his arm.
“Boo.” The alpha grinned at him, leaning back against the door, arms crossed over his broad chest. Thick snowflakes decorated his inky hair, slowly melting away the longer they stared at one another. His clothes were…odd.
He wasn’t dressed for a run through the woods, that was for sure. An all-black suit and a peacoat.
Thorn’s gaze dropped to his feet.
Oxfords.
Even Thorn’s sneakers were better than those.
“Eyes up here, omega,” the alpha’s voice was silky and smooth, like melted chocolate, and his eyes, like glaciers under the sun, practically scalded Thorn’s skin when he took him in. “Look at you. Aren’t you a pretty one?”
“I…” His voice cracked, probably from all the huffing and puffing he’d done, and he was forced to pause and try again. “I made it to the cabin.” He smoothed his palms pointedly over the floorboards as if to emphasize. “I made it. You can’t do anything to me.”
“Correction. You almost made it.”
“No,” he shook his head, “No, I made it. I’m here. The rules—”
“Stated you had to make it into a safe zone before getting caught,” he purred. “If you remember correctly, I did catch you.”
“You pushed me!”
“Think of it as tag. It still counts. Which means,” he straightened to his full height, an impressive six foot five, “I won.”
“No.” He refused to believe that, scrambling onto his feet. His legs shook and he was forced to grab onto the back of the tweed couch to his left, but managed to remain upright at least.
The cabin was small, cozy, with a kitchen area to the right and a living space to the left.
There was a fireplace, a single couch big enough to fit even the alpha in front of him, and a short hallway directly behind Thorn.
If he wasn’t mistaken, that must lead to the bedroom or the bathroom, either of which was sure to have a lock. If he could make it—
“Run,” the alpha’s tone took on a hard edge, “and I won’t play nice.”
Thorn’s hand tightened on the couch, but he didn’t retreat just yet, too afraid of that threat and what it could mean.
“There,” the praise was surprising, sounding oddly sincere, “that’s a good omega.”
Thorn licked his lips and tried reason, since he couldn’t think of anything else to do. “I made it to the cabin.”
“I helped you along,” the alpha replied.
“What?”
“I could have pulled you off the porch instead of pushing you in. We could be doing this in the snow, but you looked so cold. Like a frozen kitten. I couldn’t bring myself to rut you on the ground.
Trust me, you have it better than all the other omegas do right now, getting their tight holes plowed in the blizzard. ”
“Blizzard?” Thorn’s eyes automatically sought out the window on the side of the entrance, in the kitchen. A porch light illuminated the thick flurries tumbling outside the frosted glass.
“Did you not notice?” the alpha grunted. “The storm started almost as soon as the hunt did.”
He’d been too focused to realize, but that explained why his extremities had gone numb so quickly.
“It doesn’t matter how I got here,” Thorn tried again. “What matters is I did. I made it inside. You—”
“It matters if I say it matters, my frosty omega. But I’ll tell you what, 'tis the season of giving, and all that jazz, so I’ll make you an offer.”
He should refuse. Turn around and try his luck, see if he could make it to the bedroom and lock the door before the alpha caught him, but…That gingerbread smell seemed to be getting stronger, and for some reason, the notes of warm spice and vanilla were comforting.
“What are you doing?” Thorn demanded, bristling when the alpha chuckled.
“Making you an offer.”
“You’re using your pheromones, aren’t you?
” he accused. That’s what the smell was.
He’d never smelled an alpha quite like that before, but scents could be extremely personable, so that wasn’t uncommon.
The trick was in not allowing the smell of festive baked goods to lower his guard, a task easier said than done, since the alpha was clearly using soothing pheromones on him at the moment.
Both alphas and omegas had them and could exude them to gain a number of different reactions. All things considered, this alpha was choosing an extremely passive approach.
Why?
What did he gain by getting Thorn to relax when, according to him, he could simply take at his leisure?
“Let’s see,” the alpha ignored his question, “you did make it to the cabin, so I guess I could honor the agreement and wipe your debts clean.”
“Really?”
“Ah, but I also made it in, and I did catch you, whether you want to admit it or not, so that means I’m owed something as well.”
Thorn had a sinking feeling he knew exactly where this was going.
“Do you know who I am, frosty omega?”
The weird nickname threw him off, and Thorn scrunched up his nose in displeasure. “What?”
“That’s what you look like.” The alpha inspected his face.
“Like you were sculpted out of snow. Levi is the only person I’ve ever seen with hair that white.
Any chance the two of you are related? No.
He would have known if that were the case.
Wouldn’t have allowed you into the Hunt.
His eyes are shit compared to yours. Would you call that shade amethyst or lavender? ”
“Does it matter?”
Thorn almost touched his hair, just barely catching himself. It was true, his hair was a fairly light shade of blond, so close to white that it was often mistaken for it, but he hadn’t made the connection between himself and the Dominus earlier when he’d seen him—
He sucked in a breath when it hit him who he was talking to.
“Oh, so you do know who I am.” The alpha—the underboss of the White Frost Mafia—grinned.
Thorn’s shoulders caved in on themselves, a feeling of overwhelming hopelessness threatening to bring him back down to the ground, but the alpha clicked his tongue chidingly.
“None of that, I’m being nice right now.”
“What do you want?” Best to get this over with, now that he knew he was well and truly trapped. Surely a man like this didn’t bother making deals with people on the regular. The fact that he was willing to help clear Thorn’s debt at all should be considered a miracle in and of itself.
Yeah, that was it. Maybe if he forced himself to view this whole thing positively, it wouldn’t be so ba—
“Take off your clothes and go sit on the couch.”