“She’s had a little bit of water and some painkillers,” Rory growls protectively.
“Right, let’s set up camp,” Kota says decisively.
“No!”
Rage blinds me. I turn and stare at Rojer.
“No, we aren’t stopping. We need to get home.”
“She’s injured.”
“So carry her,” he snarls. “You’re big strong heroes.”
Rory steps up beside me, his face an expressionless mask.
I can see Cyn flexing his fingers, no doubt eager to pull his knives out, and Dakota has gone languid, his body totally relaxed, an amused smile on his lips.
“We really can’t afford the delay,” Kevin says.
The tension mounts. The fires of rage burning so cold between us, but then I shrug.
“Sure. Let’s do it.”
I turn and carefully pick her up so her head is resting on my shoulder.
We grab our packs and start walking.
“Where’s my pack?”
I keep walking.
“You fuckers! Where’s my pack?”
I turn and see Rojer, all red-faced, his hair messed up, dirt and blood on his clothes. He’s not nearly fucked up enough yet, but we’re getting there.
“I didn’t see it up there!”
Rojer charges me, but Cyn, Rory, and Dakota step in front of me, their bloodlust filling the air.
“Now, guys, can we just calm it down?” Quincy asks nervously.
But we can’t. Our pheromones are at full strength now, and there is an injured omega in our midst. One that half our camp wants to protect and the other half wants to destroy.
It’s been coming to this point, but it got here faster than I anticipated. I inhale the sweet smell of our omega.
No one has ever smelled so intriguing, so desirable. That thread of weakness in her scent makes it even more intense, it calls all my instincts out. She’s hurt, vulnerable. It throbs in me. My teeth ache with the urge to bond her.
I sigh and shift her in my arms before I turn and walk away. They follow; what else were they going to do?
But the tension is getting dangerous, and I see them watching her. A wounded omega is easy pickings. They won’t be able to stop themselves. Our instincts are driven by the two distinct camps of aggression: predator or protector, and our civilized trappings are falling away.
They want her so badly the air throbs with it. Rory has an almost constant growl coming out of his mouth. Dakota and Cyn are flanking me, their rage crystallizing.
We find her campsite, and I stop without asking the others. Our tent is set up, and this time, Cyn crawls inside with her while the betas cower off to the side. Rojer, Kevin, and Nathan set up their tent not far away, practically salivating as they stare at the tent.
We get the wood, start a fire, and cook a very basic meal. Quincy finds water, and we boil it, and when it’s cool and the night is filled with biting bugs, we share it out.
She sleeps through it all.
