4
Hector
Iwasn’tsure how to feel about this whole situation. On one hand, I knew it was a boon to have multiple Scarlet Ridge shifters helping us out - both alphas and omegas. On the other hand, something about it rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it was the fact that I was an omega in the tail-end of my heat surrounded by strange alphas. Maybe it was the fact that Virgil seemed more interested in these guys we had just met instead of me. Maybe I was just fuckingjealous.
In any case, I kept my feelings to myself. Me bitching about not having Virgil all to myself anymore wasn’t going to help anybody. And the logical part of my brain reminded me that I didn’t own him. Virgil and I weren’t mates, at least not in the normal way. We’d fucked once - that was it. He didn’t even say he loved me. I didn’t say it,either.
My skin prickled with irritation. I shoved those thoughts out of my mind and tried toforgetthem.
It took us nearly a week to reach the other camp. There was a lot of stopping and resting, especially - embarrassingly - for me, since I didn’t have the raw natural strength of an alpha. Neither Virgil or I had spent much time staying fit on purpose for the last few months, only spending our precious energy on hunting and gathering. But Virgil was a highly trained fighter, and his muscles didn’t slow down as fast asminedid.
I wheezed as I braced myself on a nearby tree while trying to catch my breath. All these damn long-legged, long-stride takingalphas…
I nearly jumped as someone’s hand clapped me onmyback.
“You alright there, tiger?” Colinasked.
I prickled at being touched by anybody who wasn’t Virgil, but by now it felt rude to push these alphas away, since we wereteammatesnow orwhatever.
“Fine,” I muttered, pulling away fromthetree.
Virgil frowned. “If you’re that tired, we should take abreak.”
“No!” I snapped. The last thing I wanted was to be the weak omega link. I picked up my pace and overtook Virgil where he was standing. “Let’sjustgo.”
I quickly ran out of steam and decided to shift into my wolf form for ease of movement, since it was easier to lope on four legs than two. Virgil walked closeby, watching me from the corner ofhiseye.
“It’s not good to wear yourself out,” hecommented.
“Not like I have a choice,” Igrowled.
“You always have a choice. We can all stop and rest until you’re ready to continue.” He added more gently, “You don’t need to pushyourself.”
“I’m not,”Ilied.
Virgil’s lips went tight, then he realized there was no more use arguing with me. I was stubborn as an ass, and he knew that as well as I did. He sighed and went up ahead to chat withWoodrow.
To my surprise, he was quickly replaced by Colin, who slowed down tomypace.
“He’s kinda serious, huh?” he asked, gesturing toVirgil.
“He’slikethat.”
Colin stared into my eyes. My fur bristled. Then I realized he was looking atmyscar.
“Nasty wound, there. What happened?” he askedsympathetically.
I almost sighed. How many times did I have to tell this story? Maybe I should just wear a sign around my neck, or hand out business cards with my whole life storyonthem.
“Got attacked while running a mission for Gunner,” I explainedshortly.
Colin’s brows raised. “Gunner did thattoyou?”
“No. The omega I was trying to bring back for him.” I grunted. “When I failed and came back to report what happened, Gunner tried to kill me.” I thought about mentioning Virgil had saved me, but I was strangely irritated with him right now, so I didn’t bother. “I barely escaped withmylife.”
“That’s horrible,” Colin murmured. There was genuine sympathy in his expression, which I appreciated. “So… Wait. Let me just get this right. Youarean omega, right?” He sniffed the air again then chuckled. “You still kinda smell like an alpha, so it’sweird.”
“Yep. Born as an omega, identify as an omega, have heats like an omega, all that jazz,” I muttered. “I just had to hide my identity so Gunner would take meseriously.”
