Chapter 3 - Rissa #2
It’s probably a bad idea to run impulsively like this with no clear direction, leaving behind traces of my scent like breadcrumbs for the alpha to find me. But his wolf voice grows louder, menacing with the cruel intent to catch me, even if all it does is purr my name maliciously.
I shouldn’t be able to hear it, but it’s like a warning that signals my intuition, driving me further into the woods in unknown territory.
I can feel him. I can hear him breathing, hear him salivating as he closes in on me, his agile, powerful wolf a capable hunter who’s been hunting demonic spirits from the underworld for months now.
I’m nothing more than a measly omega who has no clear direction of where she’s going, except to get as far away from him as possible without being caught.
My senses are ignited by the panic flooding my being, and I’m not as clear-minded as I should be. The only thing I remain conscious of is steering clear of human territory, not wanting to expose myself as a mythical shapeshifter who shouldn’t exist in the human world.
Sticking to the woods and going deeper until there’s no clear path in sight, I hear Alpha Brooks’s breathing getting louder in my eardrums, warning me that he’s steadily gaining on me.
I stop only to catch my breath, my front paws sinking into the mud where I’ve paused. I lug in huge breaths through my round nostrils, when a chill causes my fur to prickle.
A howl slices through the air and lashes at my panic, causing a greater stir.
That’s not the sound of a Snehvolk Pack member, but another wolf. The pitch is different, the rising and falling of the howl not as sustained or stable as the Snehvolk wolves.
My wolf body freezes from the influx of panic, my eyes widening to sharpen my vision to get a distinct idea of where I am, where I’d hastily run.
A smell enters my airways to alert me of the scents lingering in the air to mark the territory of a different pack of werewolves. My eyes quickly flit from left to right, bringing to my attention that I’m standing dead-center of a valley with a river cutting through on my left.
Alpha Brooks’s stalking chant is wiped out of my mind when audible barking and howls ring out to signal the coming of the werewolf pack.
I’m in trouble if I don’t move, but I have no idea which direction to run without getting caught.
What if the other pack finds me?
Though I’ve never been here before and this is uncharted territory for me, I guess that the valley I’ve found myself in is the Mat-Su Valley just outside of the city I’d been admiring on the hill, and home to the Valley Moon Pack—a longtime enemy of the Snehvolk.
My ears perk up to drink in the sounds of the enemy, and if I soak up any more panic, I might just pass out.
But from every direction that I snap my head in, I can hear the enemy pack’s werewolves howling or hissing or stomping their paws through the muddy turf as if they’re closing in on me.
I’m dead-center in the valley.
I’m the perfect target.
With my ears drumming with panic as if I’m at a bonfire celebration about to be flung to the licking flames like a sacrificial lamb, I see no way out of this mess.
Just as my wolf is about to give up and retreat defeatedly to leave my cowering human form to face the enemy, I’m knocked in my ribs.
The force knocks me onto my side, and I’m tumbling down and rolling toward the base of the mountain in a blur of my wolf vision.
Before I can make sense of what’s happening to me, a pair of strong human arms sweep me off the ground, prompting my frightened wolf to cower and sink into the far recesses of my mind, leaving me exposed in human form and vulnerable to the arms of my captor.
But instead of becoming paralyzed with fear, I’m swept into the familiarity of the warmth that engulfs me, feeling tiny against a steely frame of muscles that prompts me to lift my eyes.
My breath is snatched when I meet the fierce, steely gray pools of eyes that glare at me ferociously, as if challenging me into silence when he swiftly sets me onto my rear and presses a finger to my lips.
“Shh,” Brooks warns flatly, sternly, his eyes not leaving mine as his jaw pulses when he clenches it tightly. “Don’t make a sound,” he grates through his teeth, his lips barely moving when he speaks.
I nod tentatively, unable to tear my eyes away from his expression, the gray depths magnified and glowing against the dark contrast of the enclosure we’re in.
Somehow, in the tumult of being caught by the hunter and then saved from a greater enemy, he’d pushed me into a cave that has vines creeping around the entrance, narrowly blocking us from being seen from the outside.
Brooks glares at me through the icy cold depths of his gray eyes, shards of lightning bolts flashing across to hint at his irritation, his anger fuming in the way his nostrils flare.
My heartbeat slows as I become lost to the hypnotizing swirls of his eyes, suddenly becoming fully aware of the dexterous finger held to my lips to keep me quiet, and I hold my breath as if I’m too afraid to let the warm air fan the digit.
My lips feel tingly as if I’d been kissed, and the thought alone scares me into a shudder.
Eyes widening with horror from the realization that Brooks is so close, my response is my undoing when he grunts under his breath with frustration and applies enough force to his finger to push my back against the cold, moist rocks before he immerses me in the full extent of his larger frame when he comes closer.
“I told you not to make a sound,” he whispers the warning, allowing me to taste his minty breath in close proximity. It’s almost impossible not to lose myself in the ferocity of his intense stare, but I also can’t ignore how the tips of his jet-black hair brush lightly along my forehead.
I can’t believe there was a time when I imagined what it would feel like running my fingers through his sleek hair…
What was I thinking?
It was probably the most foolish thing to consider the future sub-alpha of Snehvolk with such intimate thoughts.
Just as foolish and ridiculous as it is now to be letting that very same thought cross my mind while we’re in such close proximity.
Gulping hard to push aside that unbidden thought, I tear my gaze away, as far from Brooks as I possibly can in this tight, confined space. That’s when my attention goes outside, and I’m able to hear the thumping footsteps of huge werewolf paws approaching the area outside the cave.
A fresh wave of panic washes over me, this time with the alarming realization that we’re moments away from being caught by the enemy pack. If we remain in this cave, we’re bound to be caught when the werewolves of Valley Moon catch our scent.
Suddenly, my quick thinking kicks into gear when I spot a rare species of mushroom growing alongside one wall of the cave. My eyes flit to Brooks and widen, and when I have his attention, I whisper as faintly as I can.
“They’re gonna sniff us out,” I warn, then point at the growth beside me. “But I know how to mask our scents from them.”
Brooks frowns as if he doesn’t trust me, unmoving as if he plans on keeping me here like a prisoner. I roll my eyes, mustering up my resolve with a deep breath as I ignore the consequences of soaking in the potent masculinity in the air.
It’s toxic right now because he doesn’t seem to trust me, so at least it’s not intoxicating or pleasurable.
Without waiting for his permission, I reach over and grab a fistful of the fungi, squeezing them between my fingers and feeling the way the soft, squishy heads expunge the natural juices.
Deer mushrooms are known for their psychedelic effect on humans, but not on werewolves with strong, quick metabolism that burns it off as soon as it’s ingested. However, the liquid extracted from this strain of fungi has a masking effect on a werewolf, which lasts for about half an hour.
But that should be enough time.
Once I’ve squeezed enough of the liquid out of the mushrooms, I lift a dripping hand to Brooks’s neck, about to cover his scent gland in the natural shield, when he grabs my wrist and throws daggers at me with his steely eyes.
“What are you doing?” he mumbles angrily. “Are you gonna poison me, huh?”
Great! I think as I roll my eyes. The alpha with a superiority complex doesn’t have faith in me to do what I do best in his pack.
It’s no wonder he abused me in the past with his bullying.
He can’t see beyond my being an omega.
Goddess! I need to get away from him!