2
Flint
Idon’t knowwhat got into me. It was a normal routine hunt until something made me stop. It was like a signal deep inside me activated and break away from the rest of the party. That was when I saw him. Standing there alone, looking exhausted and anxious, wasCharlie.
I glanced at him now beside me. His face lost some of the stress from earlier. I didn’t know what his situation was exactly, but I knew he was desperate. That fact alone awoke something within me - I couldn’t leave a omega alone, nevermind one with a smallpup.
We had been walking in silence for a few minutes before I thought I should say something. The two of them still seemed a bit anxious, which was understandable from the basics I knew about theirsituation.
“We should meet up with the party soon,” I told Charlie. Henodded.
Then I saw the familiar group of wolves up ahead, along with the scent of fresh meat. I raised a hand to announce my presence. My packmates trotted over and I instantly felt Charlie tense beside me. I almost wanted to put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, but I barely knew him and I thought it would be inappropriate to be sofamiliar.
“Flint,” my friend Jericho greeted me. He was another alpha, and his wolf was a powerful sandy-furred beast. He was surrounded by the rest of the hunting party, a total group of four wolves. They obviously had a good hunt, because Jericho had the fresh carcass of a buck deer on hisback.
The whole party gave Charlie a glance before Jericho asked, “Who isthis?”
“This is Charlie,” I said. “I found him and his pup alone in the woods. He said he’s running away from ScarletRidge.”
Instantly a prickle ran through the hunting party. A few of them growleddeeply.
Jericho turned to Charlie and asked, “How did youescape?”
Charlie shrank a bit under the pressure of all the strange alphas staring at him. “I was lucky,” he admitted. “I didn’t bring anything with me. I just took my daughter andran.”
“He needs a place to stay,” I added. “I don’t want them to be out here in thewoods.”
Another alpha, David, changed back to human form and took on a serious expression. “Flint, I don’t know about this,” he said. “Scarlet Ridge might come looking for him.” In a lower voice he muttered, “It might be safer to leave themhere.”
A burst of anger flared up within me. I glared at David and growled, “Let them come. I’m not leaving an exhausted omega and his young pup out here to be dragged back to an abusivepack.”
Charlie let out a quiet gasp and stared at me with wideeyes.
David held my gaze until he sighed and turned around. “Fine. But they’re your problem now. Don’t count on myhelp.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t need it,” Igrowled.
David shook his head and walkedoff.
“Ignore him,” Jericho told me. “He’s in a bad mood because he missed nabbing a second deer during thehunt.”
I nodded. I wasn’t bothered by David’s negativity, and I wasn’t worried about Scarlet Ridge retaliating over a single missing omegaeither.
The rest of the hunting party greeted Charlie and Casey before we headed back towards town as a group. Indigo Mountain spread across a sprawling, beautiful territory with a large town as the main hub in thecenter.
We went our separate ways from the hunting party once we reached the mainroad.
“We’re going this way,” I told them. “I live on the outskirts of town, so it’s a bit walk.” With a glance at the exhausted Casey, I said to Charlie, “I can turn into my wolf and she can ride on my back. She’s had a longnight.”
“Are you sure?” Charliemurmured.
I nodded before shifting. In my wolf form, I was about as tall as Charlie and able to make eye contact with him. He picked up the half-asleep Casey and plopped her on my back. She immediately made a tiny noise and curled up in myfur.
“Thank you,” Charlie said with asigh.
“It’s not a problem,” I reassuredhim.
Soon the trek brought us up the trail to my log cabin. It sat on a high slope, surrounded by pine trees, and overlooked the town. I always thought of it as the perfect place to raise a child - not that I had to worry about that. I didn’t have an omega of myown.
