1
Virgil
Stingingpain shot up my skin as I poured water onto my wound. I grit my teeth and beared it as the cold, clean river water washed the blood away. I wished I had rubbing alcohol instead, since an infection was the last thing I needed, but water would have to do for now. That was the price I paid for a life inhiding.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the sharpness of the pain to fade. Only a week had passed since the incident with Gunner, David and Niko. Although we managed to stave off Gunner long enough for David and Niko to escape, that hadn’t solved any of the bigger problems. Gunner was still alive, and still had the support ofhispack.
Frowning, I remembered with grotesque vividness the scene that played out that night. Delta, one of Gunner’s elite alphas - the highest ranking alphas in all of Scarlet Ridge, right beneath the top alpha in rank - was viciously murdered right in front of us. Killed for speaking up against Gunner’s tyranny as his fellow packmateswatched.
At that moment, I knew something had to be done. I had a plan simmering in the back of my mind for months, ever since I stumbled upon Scarlet Ridge, but that night my resolve was solidified. Iwoulddo something to help these people. Ihadto.
A soft groan from the other side of the wood cabin pulled me from mythoughts.
I sighed and opened my eyes. Saving the pack was important, but right now, I had more urgent matters toattendto.
“I smell blood,” Hector mumbled, getting to his feet. “Are you bleedingagain?”
“Yes, the wound reopened again,” I admitted. “I’llbefine.”
With a frown, Hector came to my side and took my arm in his hands. I tried not to be aware of the unbelievable warmth radiating off of him, but inwardly I appreciated hiscomfort.
“It’s been a week since that fight and you’re still not healed?” he asked. “Maybe we should go back totownand- “
“No,” I saidfirmly.
It’s true that there were proper doctors in town, but I refused to leave Hector alone. He was in a precarious situation. He was living in exile and presumed dead by everyone except me until Delta revealed the truth. I didn’t know how news of him being alive would go over with the rest of the pack. The alphas who had been in that fight had scattered, but I didn’t trust any of them at this point. It was too dangerous to trust anybody except ourselves. Since Hector obviously couldn’t accompany me in search of a doctor, there was nothing to do about my woundexceptwait.
Hector frowned and looked almost angry. “You know, I’m not a baby. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time -alone.”
“Things are different now,” I argued. “During that time, everyone thought you were dead. Of course they wouldn’t waste their time looking for you. Now, you’re a known deserter,andGunner’s enemy. You wouldn’t last a second by yourself and youknowit.”
Hector bristled, but he knew I was right. He crossed his arms andsulked.
“Besides,” I added quietly. “We’re bothtraitorsnow.”
“Yeah,” Hector mumbled. “I know.” He stood up. “This fucking sucks. What are we supposed to do? I don’t like seeing you suffering becauseofme.”
“I’m not sufferingbecauseof you,” I told him sternly. “Gunner was the one who wounded me, not you. And it was worth it to help David and Nikoescape.”
Hector rolled his eyes, even though only one of them worked properly. A nasty scar ran across one eye, turning it milky and blind. It was a reminder of his past from when he worked obediently under Gunner’s command. When Hector was sent to retrieve an escaped Scarlet Ridge omega, the omega fought back. Hector came home with a wounded eye and no omega, only to have Gunner try to kill him for hisfailure.
The only reason he was still alive was because I convinced Gunner thatI’dkilled himinstead.
Clearly, everyone believed our lie, and both of us were still alive. But that didn’t mean we weren’t still in gravedanger.
“David and Niko…” Hector mumbled, then let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m glad they escaped, but where does that leave us? We’re still here with all the problems they leftbehind.”
A cold silence fell among thecabin.
“Sorry,” Hector said a moment later. “I know it doesn’t help to complain and be abitch.”
He stood up again and paced around. The aged wooden floors creaked underneath his feet. One good thing about Hector’s time in hiding was that he knew the territory like the back of his hand. After the battle with Gunner, he quickly ushered us into the deep, wild of the forest and into an old abandoned cabin. It was dusty and overgrown with ivy and weeds, but I couldn’tcomplain.
“What are we going to do?” Hector asked, finally sitting on the bed next to me. Calling it a bed was a bit of an overstatement; it was a pile of furs and blankets that Hector had collected over time. It was something that reminded me of his omega instincts. I knew that while living under Gunner’s rule he’d pretended to be an alpha with pills that changed the scent of his pheromones to avoid being treated like anomega.
Now his body still had the lingering scent of an alpha, but after spending so much time with him, I could smell the sweet natural omega scentunderneath.
“We just wait it out and it will heal on its own,” Ireplied.
