This was his life.
In some cultures it would have been considered rape, but in this one, it was the life of an Omega-the chosen boy toy of the two alpha wolves who headed his pack. Years ago, when he had watched his father walk around with pride in the white loin cloth that denoted his position, Seth had wanted nothing more than to be chosen as the Omega when the time came to choose from his lot. But what his father had not told him was that this was no position to be envied, because not all alphas were the same. Had he known that there were those who had a penchant for pain without pleasure, he would have found himself another aspiration.
Aidan gave one last thrust deep into Seth’s bowels and emptied his seed there, but this did not signal relief. Markel’s long shaft was soon pushing into him as the alpha’s claws scraped the skin from his back in the heat of passion. While Aidan had the love for deep painful strokes and would sometimes beat Seth before taking him, and other occasions would squeeze Seth’s throat into unconsciousness, Markel preferred a much more painful experience. He would extend his claws and rip the skin from Seth’s flawless back, knowing that in a matter of minutes the young wolf would heal. Markel would then slow his thrusting and repeat the process, often sinking his fangs into the boy’s shoulder while he climaxed, squeezing his throat to cut off any cry of pain.
Seth lost count of how many times he had wished them both dead. Every night and day that they used him in uncaring ways was another day in hell for him. But a wish was just that-a wish.
In some cruel twist of humor, tradition had it that if and when the Alphas died, either naturally or in battle, their Omega was to be killed and buried along with them so they could have pleasure in the afterlife. Even though many opportunities had presented themselves for Seth to rid himself of the two great evils that tormented his life, his demise along with theirs was certain. And so he had long since resigned himself to suffering in the silence they demanded, and enjoying each moment of peace he had outside their presence. An eternity in the afterlife with them was not something he wanted to rush into.
As Markel’s fangs sank into his shoulder, Seth wished he had never been born and buried his face in the fur. Moments later Markel roughly shoved him off the bed to the floor and drew Aidan into his arms for a little tender touching and cuddling.
It was as if Seth did not even exist.
Seth waited on the cold floor, silent tears falling from his eyes until he heard the satisfied snores of his Alphas, then he sneaked out of the hut to the river, to give himself his nightly wash. He was surprised to find no guards outside ready to query where he was off to, but then again, they had been on a strange schedule of late with the reports of a rival pack back in the area. He was nonetheless grateful for the solitude. For just a few minutes, at least, he would not be a prisoner to his own dream.
He could have taken a wash from the warm bath customarily prepared for him each night, but the river was his aphrodisiac, washing away the horrors of the hours just passed and bringing with it the possibility of something more comforting.
As he made his way into the river, he looked up to the winking stars and asked the same question he always did, “Why did it have to be me?”
“Because you were the loveliest and the most eager,” came a response from behind him.
Seth turned quickly to see the glow of Evan’s warm yellow eyes staring back at him from the shadows of the tree line. He looked around to see if there was anyone else about. Satisfied there were no prying eyes, he stepped up to his lover and pushed him back into the shadows, pressing their lips together for a moment of tenderness.
“You can’t be here,” he whispered against Evan’s lips, just in case the night had ears.
Evan’s only response was to press their lips together once again.
“We can’t,” Seth said once more, and stepped away from Evan. “If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn’t survive.”
“Just for a little while,” Evan said, clutching his arm. Seth gave in.
They sank to the forest floor, the crickets’ chorus their midnight melody, the cool night air caressing his face where it lay listening to the beating of Evan’s heart. Evan’s fingers played in his long strands as he looked at the moonlight dancing along with the river currents.
If he could have anything, he would wish for this moment to be never-ending, but it was not to be.
With a huge sigh he sent Evan home sometime later, while he went back to wash his lover’s scent off in the river. Seth took his time going about it, not in any particular rush to get back to his cold, musty floor at the foot of the bed where his Alphas would be sound asleep wrapped up in each other. But as he headed back moments later, the unmistakable smell of fresh blood and death were the first to greet him.
There was a crowd gathered around the main hut, and by the shocked and mortified looks they wore, he knew that nothing good waited on the inside. Out of respect for whom he was, the crowd parted to allow him entry, and the sight before him brought him to his knees.
He was sure it was not grief that crippled him, but rather, relief; luckily for him, the rest of the pack would believe it was the former. His relief would be short lived, however, for the bloodied and shredded bodies of the Alphas that lay on either side of the bed was enough to tell him his demise was soon to follow.
“They were drugged,” said one of the medicine men that had been called to the grisly scene, holding up one of the large gold goblets to the guards, who had suddenly reappeared.
One of the guards took a whiff of the remaining contents on the inside of the goblet and said, “Humulus Lupulus.” Seth recognized the name of one of the fastest acting natural sedatives the wolves usually used to put wounded warriors to sleep while they healed. He knew none of his alphas would have found the scent of it particularly strange, as they usually burned dried leaves from the plant to allow them to sleep well most nights- tonight was one of those nights.
How did it get into their goblets?
Seth’s mind raced as he crawled to the side of the bed, his hands and knees covered in the blood that was now flowing in small rivulets to the exit of the hut. He had not known a wolf’s body, no matter how big, could hold that much blood.
Markel’s body was covered in fur and one arm, with claws fully extended, fell over the side of the bed, startling him. It was clear the alpha had been trying to shapeshift while being attacked, but the sedative would have immensely slowed the process. He stood and looked at Aidan’s body, and the face was not recognizable. A large rock lay in the middle of the bed, and even in the dimly-lit hut, it was clear that it was the weapon of choice used to destroy any chance of recognizing the once God-like face of Aidan.
Though he had wished for this a million times over, it was all too much, and Seth could do nothing but rush from the hut in an effort to get away. A small part him started to feel the sorrow of the loss he had suffered. In the space of a few minutes, his world, as he had known it for the last six years, had ended.
Unable to bear the thought of it all, he ran into the woods, heading back to the river to wash away the blood of his tormentors that now clung to his skin like a bad memory. As he ran, he heard a familiar pair of feet running behind him.
“Seth!” Evan’s voice called, causing Seth to slow and turn.
For the second time that night, Evan’s yellow eyes burned into his, but this time it was not comfort Seth saw there, it was happiness and relief. His bitter-sweet emotions gave way to his senses, and he could smell a familiar scent on Evan.
“What did you do?” he asked a smiling Evan.
“You are free now,” Evan said softly, kissing Seth’s lips.
Seth looked at him and as a sliver of moonlight slipped through the foliage, and the red covering Evan’s bare chest and soft hands was illuminated. Seth backed away from him as he smelt the inimitable scent of his two dead alphas.
“I killed them for you,” Evan said, a lot more hesitant.
Seth looked him in the fa
ce and watched as the kind eyes that had given him comfort on his worst nights became the windows to a soul he no longer recognized.
“Why?” was all he could muster up, as Evan’s face took on an angry scowl, made even more menacing in the moonlight.
“You wanted your freedom, so I gave it to you,” Evan said. “Why are you not happy?”
“Have you forgotten what happens to an Omega when his alphas die? You didn’t give me my freedom Evan,” Seth said turning his back to look at the rolling hills behind the river. “You ensured my demise.”
Seth didn’t turn to look at Evan, he simply waded into the river and washed himself free of the blood that seemed to burn him to the core. He had never been sure of anything in his life, except the fact that he had wanted to be an omega. He got that wish, and the monotony of being owned had set in. With it there was no need to think about his future, because he had known it would lead to his death; but he never thought in a million years it would have happened so soon.
He had thought he would have at least had the opportunity to live a little longer, and maybe plot an escape. If not, he would have been granted the opportunity to mate with a female in another year. He would have been able to produce offspring for his Alphas, and with that would come some form of hope, or greater purpose.
Now, the wolf he had loved on the side had ensured that would never be a possibility, at least, not here.
Seth again looked towards the rolling hills beyond the river, shrouded in darkness and endless possibilities. He heard a small splash behind him as Evan stepped into the water with him, but he was in no mood for what would be stained tenderness. As Evan’s hand circled him from behind to rest on his chest, a kind of rage he did not know he was capable of came over him.
Seth turned and cupped Evan’s face, bringing their lips together. He reached his hands, resting them over Evan’s well-shaped ass, squeezing it and enjoyed the feeling of his cock responding. He took a step back in the water, freed his cock from his loin cloth and rubbed it against Evan’s, which was now fully erect. Evan moaned against his lips as he massaged both their cocks to a climax. But as Evan trembled against him, Seth brought his hands to his neck and squeezed without mercy.
Seth was sure Evan must have thought this was some form of power play, coming from years of being groomed sexually by the alphas. Seth listened to his moans turn to cries that he could not breathe, and as Evan instinctively tried to change to his wolf form, upon realizing that he was about to die, Seth did the same.
Seth was by far the bigger of the two, and as his eyes took on the feral red of anger, and his fangs protruded, he shoved Evan below the surface of the water. He held him there until he felt the life slip from his body, and then let him go.
He glanced from his trembling hands, which had just killed the one man he had loved, to the body floating away downstream, and then to the darkness that represented possibility in the hills beyond the river, and made a choice.
He would not settle for death. He had too much life left to live. He rushed to the bank where Evan had discarded his black loin cloth, and quickly disrobed from the white of an omega to the black of another pack member. Seth then swam across the river and ran into the hills for the first time in years. He remembered a secret pathway they had often played on as children, and made his way there in his human form, knowing that by the time they realized he was gone, his scent would have long disappeared. His wolf scent was far easier to track, and so he wouldn’t change until had made his way well into the forest.
He ran all night, away from certain death and into the uncertainty of what his life would be. As he ran, he smiled. It was like going off on an adventure, only this time there would be no alpha’s howl calling an end to playtime.
This time, it was life or death.
Chapter 2
Seth ran until he was out of pack territory, then changed to his wolf form and ran further south. As the wind ran through his fur he thought maybe Evan hadn’t been wrong after all; this must be what real freedom felt like. A pang of guilt crept up his spine, and he quickly shoved it to the side. Evan was dead, and there was nothing he could do about it. Others might think he had made a rash decision, and to be honest, it was not the submissive Seth that had committed the act, it was the Seth he had always held back. Had Evan lived, too many complications would have come up; now, all he had to do was worry about himself, and he would get as far as he could from the pack so he could worry just a little bit less.
Just then, he pulled up short, as he heard something crashing through the undergrowth up ahead. He had been following the river southward, knowing at any point in time he could dive into the river to hide his scent should danger present itself. Uncertain of what was causing the raucous noise up ahead, he decided this was exactly what imminent danger sounded like. He quickly made his way down the steep incline of the river bank, changed to his human form, and hid behind a huge river stone that was conveniently located not too far away. As he moved behind it, two wolves came crashing out of the tree line, snarling and gnashing teeth as they tried to bring a huge black bear down. In the moonlight, the sight was a grisly one.
The wolves were slightly bigger than Seth would be-one black, the other a sparkling grey- and he knew that alone he could stand a good chance against one, as he had learned a few moves from his alphas in their more fatherly moments. However, against two, and a pissed off nocturnal black bear, he was just as good being the bait.
The wolves were too busy hunting to realize that the scent of another wolf might have been on their trail.
The bear made a wild swing, and its claws ripped into the side of the black wolf. Distracted by the injured wolf’s cry, the wolf who had taken a firm grip on one of its hind legs made a near fatal error. It was a valiant effort to try and protect his friend from the angry bear, who seized that moment to launch another attack on the downed animal. The black wolf ran directly in front of the rampaging bear and was met with claws directly across his face. The bear, sensing he was on the winning path, made another move to kill the wolves, and in that moment Seth did something that was either immensely stupid, or heroic.
Without much thought he ran from the river, changing into wolf form as he went, and buried his teeth in the side of the bear’s neck. He could feel the jugular pulsating in his mouth as the bear’s blood sprayed across his white coat. As the bear gave one mournful wail, trying to claw Seth from its neck, it fell with a thud that might have shaken the forest floor.
Seth did not let go of its neck until it had stopped moving, not quite dead yet, but there was no way it was getting up to fight again. He stood back and stared in amazement at the downed bear, wondering what had overcome him. He was barely able to recognize himself anymore. As a child he had been taught to hunt, but as an omega, he simply fed from the catch of others. Even if his Alphas had gone out to feed their blood lust, he was never allowed to go. For the first time in six years he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. He changed back to his human form.
“Who are you?” Came a feeble question, and his attention was drawn back to the man who lay with his hand on his stomach, which was ripped to shreds. As Seth looked at him under the disappearing moonlight, he was struck by how beautiful he was, with a head full of white hair and deep green eyes that echoed the pain he was feeling.
As Seth was about to answer, a growl came from behind him. He had forgotten about the black wolf. Even as the skin on the left side of the wolf’s face was gaping, he advanced towards Seth. Seth lowered his gaze in a sign of submission.
“I just want to help,” Seth said, backing away and moving towards the water, but the black wolf was not having it. It launched at him before he could change to his wolf form, sinking its teeth deep into his leg.
Seth stifled a scream of pain and landed a solid punch in the wolf’s muzzle, loosening its grip and seizing the opportunity to quickly shape shift. He was in no tolerant mood, and once again he found rage consuming him at the fact that he had just saved the
ir lives but yet this wolf was intent on killing him. The wolf took his change as a challenge, and charged. Seth, light on his feet, was able to move out of the way, and the wolf clumsily fell down the incline and into the water. Seth pounced on top of him before he could get his footing, but the wolf was no small game; it turned, and again latched his jaw, this time in Seth’s side, and he knew that he was about to suffer some serious damage.
Not about to run from death to die like a stray dog at the river side, Seth flipped on top his side, causing the wolf to lose his grip, and then seized the moment to sink his teeth into its neck.
The wolf fought as much as he could, but Seth would not let go. It was a fight to the end, and as Seth felt it finally give up, he dragged the body back to the edge of the riverbed.
“What did you do?” said the other, who had crawled his way to the edge of the river to stare at his dead friend.
“He would have killed me,” Seth said, shifting back to human form, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than explain his actions.
“Well, now I am going to kill you!” he screamed at Seth.
Seth knew then and there that he had made a dangerous enemy, and if he allowed the injured man to heal he would have all the hounds of hell on his tail from one end of the forest to the next. Again, he thought of the fact that he had not survived this long simply to be killed for an act of kindness.
He charged the few steps up the slope and did the unthinkable. In a matter of seconds, the other wolf was dead as well.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered to the forest, hoping it would somehow carry the apology where it needed to go. His side was bleeding, and he knew if he stayed where he was until morning he would bleed out before he had a chance to heal.
He quickly dug holes to bury the bodies, each stroke making his wound a bit worse. He covered the spot with fallen leaves, and decided to try and find the pack these two wolves had come from before he died from the wounds. Well aware that he would not be met with a warm reception, he prepared his story, thankful that his grave wounds would aid him in this cause.
Hang Em' Up: A Bad Boy Sports Pregnancy Romance Page 24