The semi-circle began to close in with Rock in the lead. He stared me dead-on, his eyes blazing with jealousy and hatred. In a way, it was kind of flattering. Little old Morgan the unmated omega had causedthisbig of a fuss and pissed off so many alphas simply by existing!
But my joking mood evaporated when Rock suddenly lowered his antlers and charged. It was a bluff and I knew it. I didn’t budge, but when the tines of his antlers stopped just a foot away from my chest, I knew this was getting dangerous fast.
I noticed one of the bucks from the herd kept looking off into the distance, as if checking something, but I was too busy to investigate further.
The other bucks, encouraged by Rock, took turns charging one by one. None of them touched me but it was only a matter of time before someoneaccidentallybroke the skin.
I backed up warily. I didn’t want to fight, but I didn’t want to turn tail and run away either. This was my home. My herd. And my only crime was having antlers that were too fucking big, for gods’ sake.
Rock charged again, this time stopping right in my face. His breath was sour. “Take a hint, Morgan. No one wants you here. And no alpha in theworldwants to mate with you.”
His last remark felt like a slap. I backed up, startled by the blunt and cruel comment. An ugly feeling churned in my stomach, making me both sad and furious. I wanted to kick Rock. I wanted to cry.
“That’s not true,” I muttered darkly.
“It is. And we both know it. Why do you think you’ve gone unmated at your age? You’re undesirable, Morgan.”
My temper got the better of me. I roared and threw my antlers at him. Rock grunted, buffeted by the blow, and stumbled.
All hell broke loose. The other bucks charged. Despite the size of my rack, I was faster. I feinted, threw them off my trail for a second, then bolted in the other direction. I even managed to kick one of them in the nose.
“Ow!”
I snorted smugly. His fault for getting too close.
But I didn’t have time to feel satisfied. The bucks chased me relentlessly. My instincts just saidrun.
In my fear and anger, I didn’t notice the dark shape on the top of the hill until it was too late.
A dark-furred wolf lay with his muscles bunched to spring right in front of me.
I braked hard, twisting my body in the air so I didn’t run directly into the wolf’s mouth. The bucks behind me had backed off to a safe distance. I realized with sick horror that this is what they wanted all along—to lead me into the path of the wolf.
Fucking assholes.
Furious now, my body felt a burst of agility. I ran, my muscles burning. The wolf chased me in terrifying silence. I tried to be logical. It was hard as hell for a single wolf to take down a grown buck, but not impossible. I knew one good kick in the face was all I needed, but if I stumbled and tripped, it would be all over.
A string of colorful curses ran though my mind, aimed at both the wolf and the bucks. Mostly at the bucks. I couldn’t blame the wolf for being a wolf, but Icouldblame the bucks for being selfish, jealous dipshits. This was all their fault. I hoped their antlers fell off their heads and never grew back.
A rushing river glittered ahead. I felt a rush of hope. It looked too wide for the wolf to jump over, and if it swam the current would slow it down. It was the perfect opportunity to get it off my ass.
As I prepared to leap, I felt the wolf’s hot breath on my legs.
Fuck—
I sprang. I had a moment of glory before teeth grazed my leg, and I panicked. I kicked, lost my balance, and fell into the river.
The cold water was a shock. My waterlogged body bobbed in the current, but when I kicked hard, I hit the bottom. I gritted my teeth and tried to swim in the direction of the opposite bank. My antlers, once a curse, were now evenmoreof a curse because they weighed me down.
I didn’t want to look back and see where the wolf was. I didn’t need that kind of negativity in my life when I was already dealing with this shit.
With some effort, I half-kicked and half-swam to the shore. It was probably a miserable, pathetic sight but I was too annoyed to care. I didn’t drown, at least, and I wasn’t being eaten just yet. I hauled my large body fully on to the ground and grunted. I was soaking wet, but there wasn’t a wolf clinging to my leg, so that was good.
Still uneasy, I risked a glance at the other shore. The wolf wasn’t there. I looked around wildly and found him only a few feet away, shaking the water out of his fur. While I was struggling in the water with my massive body, he must have swam smoothly across.
I reared and boxed the air with my hooves to intimidate him, but he confidently avoided them. Whoever this wolf was, he was no pushover.
But I wasn’t either. I stomped all four hooves on the ground and lowered my antlers, ready to scoop him up and toss him back in the current. But with my fur still soaked, my movement lagged. I couldn’t move as fast as I wanted to.
