The footprints are uneven, staggered. She was exhausted, possibly injured. The imprints show she was dripping water with each step. Fear grips me anew. The night air has grown colder, and if she’s wet, she could get hypothermia.
I push my pace faster, following her trail into the dense forest that covers much of the island’s interior. The darkness here is nearly complete, but my wolf eyes see everything—each disturbed leaf, broken twig, and smear of scent she’s left behind. She wandered in circles for a while, clearly lost, before heading deeper into the woods.
Her trail grows more erratic as I follow it, showing her increasing exhaustion. Small spots of blood appear occasionally where her bare feet caught on sharp stones or thorns. Each drop of her blood makes me growl with distress.
My omega is hurt, cold, and alone.
And then I smell the thick, unmistakable scent of another alpha. Not from my pack. He’s been here recently, following the same path I am now. Following Anya.
A red haze of rage clouds my vision. I push my limbsharder, practically flying over the forest floor, desperate to reach her before this interloper can. If he touches her, if he tries to claim what’s mine, I’ll tear his throat out without hesitation or remorse.
The scent of the other alpha suddenly veers away, heading east, while Anya’s trail continues north. He lost her trail. Good. But that means she’s still alone in the increasingly cold night.
Finally, I break through a thick patch of underbrush, and I finally see her.
She’s a small, shivering ball curled at the base of a massive oak tree. Her red dress is soaked through and clings to her body. Her hair hangs in wet strands around her pale face. Her lips are blue, her skin almost gray in the faint moonlight. She’s trembling violently, arms wrapped around her knees in a futile attempt to conserve body heat.
My heart constricts at the sight of her. So fragile. So human in her vulnerability. I approach slowly, not wanting to startle her, but a twig snaps beneath my paw.
Her head jerks up, violet eyes wide with terror as she spots me. A scream tears from her throat, high and panicked. She’s never seen me in wolf form. To her, I must look like a massive black wolf appearing from her nightmares.
I need to shift back. Immediately. I focus on my human form, forcing the transformation despite the pain it causes, shifting so quickly after the last one. Bones crack and reform, fur recedes into skin, muzzle shortens into a human face.
The transformation feels like being torn apart and reassembled, but I endure it silently.
Within seconds, I stand before her on two legs, naked and human again. Her jaw drops, her eyes widening impossibly further as she witnesses the impossible—a beast becoming a man before her very eyes.
“Anya,” I say softly, holding my hands out in a gesture of peace. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.”
“You... you were... a wolf,” she stammers through chattering teeth. “An actual fucking wolf.”
“Yes,” I say simply, moving closer to her trembling form. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. We are wolves. And you are our omega.”
Tears spill down her cheeks, mingling with the seawater still drying on her skin. “I…I thought you were crazy. Oh m-my God.”
“I know,” I murmur, kneeling beside her. “Now you know the truth. But right now, we need to get you warm. You’re freezing to death out here.”
She nods weakly, too cold to argue or resist. I slip my arms beneath her, one behind her back, the other under her knees, and lift her easily against my chest. She weighs almost nothing, this precious omega who’s turned my ordered world upside down in just two days.
I start running, cradling her against my bare chest, trying to share some of my body heat with her. Alphas run hotter than other wolves, but even my warmth isn’t enough to stop her violent shivering. Her teeth chatter so hard I fear they might crack, and her skin feels like ice against mine.
“I’m s-s-sorry,” she whispers against my neck. “I didn’t m-mean for you to come after me.”
“Shh,” I soothe, holding her tighter as I navigate through the trees. “We’ll talk later. Right now, we just need to get you warm.”
I run without tiring, my alpha strength making her weight insignificant. I’m acutely aware of every place her body touches mine…her soft breasts pressed against my chest, her thighs cradled in the crook of my arm, her head tucked beneath my chin. Even in this dire situation, my cock stirs with interest, hardening slightly despite my best efforts to focus on her safety.
The forest thins as we approach the house, lights glowing in the windows. I burst through the front door, startling Rex, who jumps to his feet from where he’d been pacing.
“Get the fire going!” I bark at him. “And blast the heater. She’s freezing.”
Rex springs into action, moving to the thermostat while shouting for the others. Marcus appears from the hallway, a thick blanket already in his arms. His eyes widen at the sight of Anya’s pale, trembling form.
“Is she…?”
“She’ll be fine,” I bark, comforting myself more than the others. “But we need to get her warm now.”
I carry her to the couch, setting her down as gently as possible. Her body is rigid with cold, her movements jerky and uncoordinated as she tries to sit up.
