by J. L. Wilder
“Oh, hell no,” Van said that evening when Wyatt raised the question to him. “You can’t be serious. Let the omega out of the pen? I hope you haven’t been spreading that around. That’s a terrible idea. Hand me the socket wrench, will you?”
Wyatt fished it out of the toolbox and passed it over. “Why is it such a terrible idea?” he asked. “We’re going to have to learn how to live with her anyway at some point. I don’t see why we shouldn’t start now.”
Van shook his head. “Wouldn’t be safe,” he said ominously.
“Come on, what?”
“It would be like tossing a steak into a pit of hungry dogs. Doesn’t matter how well trained the dogs are, they’ll lose their minds when they smell that steak.”
“Are you calling us hungry dogs?”
“I’m saying even the best of us would have trouble trying to control ourselves around an omega,” Van said. “Even if nothing bad happened to her at all, it would be excruciating trying to go through a day with her in our midst. What if she was out, just free to roam around all the time, and you found yourself drawn to her? What if you felt it every time she came into a room or sat down at the dinner table?”
“I’d just have to keep myself in check, wouldn’t I?” Wyatt said. “I’m not going to act like an animal.”
“You are an animal.” Van grunted as he twisted the socket wrench. “At your core, you’re a wolf. You have the instincts of a wolf. We all do.”
Wyatt shook his head. He’d thought that way once, when he was Van’s age, but he knew better now. The nature of a shifter wasn’t that simple at all. Just like his body, his innermost self had the capacity to change. Yes, he could be base and animalistic, he could be the wolf. But he could also be the man. I wouldn’t slip around her, he thought. I would keep her safe. And I would keep the others off her too.
Still, he had to concede that Van might have a point. At the very least, he knew that locking Izzy up for her own protection was a better reason than what Robert or Lena had offered. And before he pushed any harder for her release, he decided, he would need to learn more about what that would involve.
“ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE her to Gunner?” he asked Robert.
“Give who?”
“Izzy.”
“Are you still thinking about that?”
Of course, he was still thinking about it. Wyatt hadn’t been able to think of anything else since the moment he’d seen her. He felt as if he and Robert had been having one continuous conversation about this subject. But clearly Robert felt that Wyatt was bringing up an old topic again out of nowhere. His face revealed a mixture of amusement and annoyance. “You mentioned that Gunner might want her,” Wyatt said. “I just wondered if you had made a decision.”
“You want her,” Robert said shrewdly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m twice her age.”
“Not really. You’re, what, forty-five?”
“Forty-three.”
“She’s twenty-five, we think.”
“You haven’t asked her?”
“She hasn’t answered.”
Wyatt couldn’t blame her for that. He probably wouldn’t have answered any personal questions either if he’d been in Izzy’s shoes. “Still,” he said, “I’m old enough to be her father.”
“Barely. And that doesn’t mean you don’t want her. Be honest. You’re obsessed. She’s all you talk about anymore.”
Wyatt was frustrated. “That’s not it,” he insisted. “I’m worried about her. She’s not being treated humanely, and it worries me. I just want to know what’s in store for her in the future. Gunner doesn’t seem like he’d be that respectful of her.”
“You would, I take it?”
“Of course, but...stop it, that’s not what I’m getting at.”
Robert laughed. “You’ll have your chance to win her, just like everyone else.”
“Win her?” That sounded simultaneously disgusting and promising, somehow. Izzy was a human, not a game chip that could be handed out as a prize. But on the other hand, if there was a contest, Wyatt stood a chance at entering and winning. To protect her, he told himself firmly. To keep her safe. If she’s mine, then I can give her freedom and security. She might not get that from some of the others.
“I’ll be giving out all the information this Saturday night,” Robert said with a sly grin.
“This isn’t a game,” Wyatt said. “You’re talking about a girl’s life here. Just tell me now.”
The smile disappeared from Robert’s face. “Watch yourself. You’re talking to your alpha now.”
The compulsion that came along with a command filled Wyatt. Watch yourself. It was a warning rather than a call to action, a need to stop, step back, stand down. Wyatt did so and felt the immediate ease of tension that came with submission to his alpha.
The look on Robert’s face softened. “You’re new,” he said. “I know you haven’t been part of a pack before, and you haven’t heard the stories that our family has passed down for generations. But there are traditions here. We’re honoring rituals that are older than we are. This isn’t just a game. You’re right. But it’s not just about one girl, either.”
Wyatt nodded slowly. He could see the wisdom in that. There were plenty of things he hadn’t known about pack life before coming to the Hell’s Wolves, and many things he was still learning. And besides, it wouldn’t do any good to cause a ruckus now. Better to wait until Saturday, find out what Robert had in store for the pack and for Izzy, and then plan his next move when he had that information.
“You shouldn’t worry,” Robert said. “There’s plenty to look forward to. I think you’ll really enjoy what I’ve got planned.”
Wyatt wasn’t so sure. But he had grown used to listening to his alpha and following the instructions Robert set down for him, even when no command was given. He was learning how to blend in with the pack, to live in harmony with the rest of them.
If I try to defend Izzy, he realized, it might ruin all that. But he just wasn’t sure he had it in him to step back from her now that he knew she was there.
SATURDAY NIGHTS MEANT riding two towns over to the Broken Spoke, a bar outside Death Rider territory. Last week it had seemed perfectly normal to Wyatt that not everyone in the pack came along on this trip. It would be stranger if they had all gone, wouldn’t it? The idea that everyone in the pack would feel up for a bar night on the same evening seemed unlikely.
But on this occasion, as Lena stood in the doorway and waved the rest of them off, Wyatt couldn’t help thinking it seemed suspicious. Everything he saw these days, everything his packmates did, seemed to have taken on a different cast now that he knew the truth about the hidden omega among them. Lena was staying home to keep an eye on Izzy, of course, to make sure she didn’t escape somehow while the rest of them were out.
At least it’s Lena they’re leaving home, Wyatt thought as he kicked his bike to life and pulled out of the garage and into the driveway, where the rest of the pack was forming up to ride. At least it isn’t Gunner.
The formation the pack took during runs like this was somewhat deceptive. Although Robert was grooming Wyatt for the beta rank in the pack, Wyatt was still new enough that tradition kept him from riding in the space to Robert’s right, traditionally allotted to the second. Technically, because he hadn’t patched his jacket or received the tattoo of the Hell’s Wolves, he was still a probationary member and had to ride at the back of the pack. As Gunner rolled by Wyatt to take up the second position beside Robert, he shot him a triumphant look. Wyatt tried his best to shake it off. It doesn’t mean anything, he reminded himself. Let him have his little victories, if it means he’ll leave me alone the rest of the time.
They motored slowly out of the woods and took to the road. Wyatt thrilled at the rumble of his bike and the sound of the others roaring all around him. It felt amazing to be a part of something so much bigger than himself. As far as he could see ahead into the distance, the road was full of Hell’s Wol
ves. And I’m one of them, he thought. This is my pack. My family.
Gunner served as road captain, though for a short ride like this one it didn’t make much difference. Wyatt wondered if the Hell’s Wolves would ever be able to go on a long run, the kind he’d dreamed about making since he’d first built his bike. With such a big group, it would have been more than possible, but with an omega who couldn’t leave her bedroom it seemed unlikely that they would ever leave the immediate area.
He had to stop thinking about her. It was Saturday night. He’d come out for the purpose of distracting himself from thoughts of Izzy and concerns about what he could do for her. He had to let himself think about other things, that was all.
They pulled into the parking lot of the Broken Spoke and Robert led the way inside. Seeing them coming, the bartender put down the glass he was drying and began pulling up bottles of beer and setting them on the counter.
Robert placed a credit card on the bar and began gathering the drinks. Wyatt went to help. As he did, he saw Lionel and Van pushing several tables together to make a long one. “They’re okay with you doing this?” he asked.
“We have meetings here on the last Saturday of every month,” Robert said. “They expect us by now.”
“A meeting without Lena?” And without Izzy, he did not add. He knew what Robert’s response to that would be—a chastisement and a reminder that Izzy wasn’t really a member of the pack.
“Lena already knows what we’re going to talk about today,” Robert said. “She and I discussed it and agreed that she didn’t need to be here.”
“Hmm.” Wyatt didn’t want to admit that he’d spent the past several days obsessing about what Robert was going to tell the pack tonight, the mysterious information about how someone might win Izzy. He wanted to act as thought he’d forgotten all about that secret. He certainly didn’t want to let on that his blood was boiling at the realization that they were all going to sit here around this dusty bar table and decide Izzy’s fate while she wasn’t even present.
Would the competition take place tonight? Suddenly Wyatt wished he’d spent the day working out in the weight room, as Gunner surely had, instead of reading an American history book and working in the garage. Why hadn’t he been preparing? He was unlikely even to stand a chance against Gunner in whatever was to come. Gunner was much younger, much more fit...Gunner would surely win the prize and take possession of Izzy.
And nothing else matters, Wyatt thought dismally. It didn’t matter if he had the capacity to defeat any of the others. All that mattered, really was that Gunner not win. Gunner was the one he didn’t trust with Izzy. Gunner was the one he badly wanted to protect her from.
Could one of the others beat Gunner? It didn’t seem likely. After all, Van had told Wyatt how Gunner had battled and defeated each of the other men in the pack in order to win the position of beta. Wyatt was the only one he hadn’t fought before. But Wyatt knew he was no match for Gunner. This won’t even be a fair battle.
Unless it wasn’t going to be a physical challenge? Hope surged within Wyatt. If it was mental then he stood a chance. He couldn’t outfight Gunner, but outsmarting him? That might be possible.
He lifted his beer and took a long, slow swallow, waiting for Robert to speak.
When Robert got to his feet, the table fell silent almost instantly. He didn’t have to call for attention—he had it as soon as he stood. Wyatt wondered whether this was part of an alpha’s power. He didn’t feel compelled to pay attention to Robert the way he felt compelled to follow commands, but he couldn’t deny there was something magnetic about the alpha’s presence.
“As you all know,” Robert began, “we have an important asset to allocate.”
Someone whistled. Someone else laughed. Wyatt felt sick. An asset? Was that all she was to them? He could understand the value an omega had to a pack, of course. But damn it, she was a human being. Was he the only one who saw it?
“The more informed among you will also be aware that the Wolf Moon is coming in just a couple of months,” Robert continued. “Although the term “Wolf Moon” is now commonly used among humans, few truly know its origin. Humans will tell you stories of frontier farms where the sound of wolves howling was especially notable during the full moon in the month of January. What they don’t know is the reason behind all that howling.”
Someone snickered.
“The Wolf Moon is the time when omegas of our kind go into heat,” Robert explained. “So, it’s important that we find a mate for our omega before Wolf Moon arrives.”
A clamor went up around the table. “I’ll do it!” someone shouted. “Why don’t we just all take a turn?” someone else asked. Wyatt forced himself to sit quietly and drink his beer. Robert was still standing. His speech wasn’t over yet. Nothing anyone said or did counted until the alpha was done speaking.
Robert held up a hand for silence. The table went quiet immediately.
“The Omega Games have been used by many packs throughout history to decide situations like this,” he said. “When no one member of the pack has an obvious claim on the omega, a series of competitions prove a fair way to decide. As alpha of our pack, I would have first claim on the girl, but you all know my position on that issue. The omega would next be given to the beta of our pack, but that position is currently in flux.”
Gunner let out a sound that might have been a snarl. Wyatt curled his hands into fists below the table.
“Over the next several weeks, anyone with an interest in claiming the omega may compete in the Omega Games,” Robert said. “When the games are over, the winner will have the right to lay claim to her and mate with her during the Wolf Moon.”
An uproar went up around the table. Pack members howled with delight and excitement and banged their bottles against the table. Wyatt sat still and let the noise of his new family break around him like a wave as a determination like nothing he’d ever felt before filled him.
I’m going to play, he thought. I’m going to win.
Chapter Six
IZZY
Isabel Wright sat huddled in the corner of her room, her arms around her knees, her head pressed against the wall, breathing deeply and trying to relax.
It was hard. Relaxation did not come easy to her these days. She felt disoriented and confused most of the time, uncertain of the time of day or even how long she’d been here in this room. Could it have been a year? Surely not...but there was no way to know for certain, was there?
It can’t have been too long, she told herself. The people who bring my food all look the same as they did on the first day. No one had aged noticeably. No one’s hair had changed. Not too much time could have gone by, then.
But it was a small thing to cling to. Maybe time hadn’t passed yet, but it would. There were enough people in this pack that there was no way she would be able to slip by them all and escape. She was stuck with them.
From the time she’d been old enough to understand that she was an omega, she’d known that it came with risk and a hard life. “You can never trust anyone,” her mother had told her. “You need to stay on the move. Keep running, keep hiding, because once a fellow wolf finds you, he’ll never let you go.”
Isabel had done just that. After her mother’s death, she had packed just a few possessions in a bag and boarded a bus across the country. But as soon as the bus had pulled out of the station, she had noticed a man at the back with his eyes fixed on her. Isabel had gotten off at the first stop and hidden in the ladies’ room, her heart pounding madly, waiting for the sounds of people milling around outside to die down. Finally, she’d heard the bus pull away and had slipped out of the bathroom and out onto the road, crossing the highway to a small roadside motel.
She’d had enough money to rent a room at the motel for a month, giving her enough time to take stock of her situation and decide what to do next. As soon as she’d checked in, Isabel had pulled all the blinds and curtains closed, locked and bolted the door, and turned off all th
e lights. Then she’d gone into the bathroom and locked that door, too. Sitting in the bathtub fully dressed in the pitch darkness, she’d considered her options.
She’d known it would be hard to be out on her own as an omega. That truth had been reinforced throughout her life. She’d thought she was ready for it. But the moment someone had looked at her strangely, she had panicked and bolted. Sitting here now, she had to admit that she didn’t even know whether the man on the bus had been a shifter. He could have been looking at her for any number of reasons.
I can’t let myself live in fear like this, she’d told herself. I need to get a job. I need to find a permanent place to live.
Her mother’s voice echoed in her head. Stay on the move. Finding a permanent job and home was no way to stay on the move. Her mother wouldn’t approve. But I have to figure out a way to live, Isabel had thought. I can’t keep cowering in this bathtub for the rest of my life.
The next day, gathering all her courage, she had crossed the highway again to the gas station where her bus had stopped yesterday and asked whether they were hiring. It turned out the manager needed a clerk for the night shift, and just like that, Isabel had a job. She extended her stay at the motel to three months, working and trying to save up money, trying to come up with some kind of a plan.
Most days, things felt all right. Most days Isabel would go to work, stand behind the counter for the eight hours she was required to do so, and come back to the motel just as the sun was beginning to rise. She would sell cigarettes and energy drinks to truckers who had pulled off the highway for a pitstop, primarily, and she could tell that she was the only person they had spoken to for miles and miles. Most days, Isabel was able to forget what she was, and that the world wasn’t a safe place for her.
But there were scares. Near misses. One evening she caught the scent of a wolf on the air and knew she couldn’t go to work while he was in the area. She was forced to call in sick. Her boss was angry at the late notice, but there was nothing she could do. If it came down to losing her job or losing her life, Isabel would give up the job. She spent that night in the bathroom with the light off again, knowing that the wolf had probably scented an omega nearby and praying that he wouldn’t find her.