Part 1. Lost

Ava woke up from a particularly vicious nightmare, gasping for air and gripping her chest like her heart would fall out any moment. Sweat rolled down her forehead, lips parted at the sudden movement. The sound of her blood rushing echoed in her ears.

She squinted, adjusting her eyes to the sudden light streaming down in the shed.

The omega only had the fleeting memory of being chased in the woods by something until it sank in that trees, middle of nowhere, actually surround her. It's been a week now.

Her pack-house was miles away, and she had no way of finding a way back home. Everything the omega had was now lost. Why did she have to be so impulsive? In her head, Ava believed she's helping her pack members and saving them by tracking a rogue. Karl. That's his human name.

Karl has been terrorising her pack, especially the omegas by the river. He forcibly tried to stake his claim on them, grab on to them and sometimes even went as far as scenting them. The whole thing disgusted the omegas and made them fearful.

She couldn't sit back and do nothing. That's why Ava went to the shore by herself and tracked the rogue. A long game of chase ensued, and during that, she lost track of time and her path, finding herself in strange territory. The rogue Alpha was nowhere to be seen, leaving her behind in an unknown land.

For the first few days, Ava tried hard to locate the way back, howling for hours to no end. Nothing happened. The forest was dark, mysterious deep, boding long trees where voice merely echoed. Somehow all the routes she took ended up in the same place. She's close to giving up.

The omega found herself often shifting, mainly to hunt for her food. She fed herself by hunting small animals, rabbits or ferrets, trying to conceal herself in shadows. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention by killing boars and deers.

On the second day, she's tired of sleeping on the massive logs of trees, muscles feeling sore. Ava scourged for a place to sleep and fortunately found an abandoned shed. As the omega had nothing with her except the clothes she carried, it wasn't a problem to stay there.

Looking around, she bitterly realised that no one would dare come looking for her. Even if they did, it would be nearly impossible to track her with the number of neutralisers she had sprayed on. Not that she actively seek that path, only concealing her identity as an omega because of the attacks on their kind.

The omegas are hunted on a large number, some auctioned off to wealthy, older Alphas while others are used as knotwhores. The term itself cause shivers to run down her spine. Knotwhores are forced to take knots from the Alphas and give them a male Alpha.

Wiping the sweat off her face with her long-sleeve, she fumbled around, trying to blink the sleep off. Upon closer inspection, the omega realised the thick trees in front of the shed blocked the natural light.

Getting on her feet, the omega stepped out of her hiding point, sighing in content from the warm burst of sunshine she received. Ava still felt the remnants of dread somewhere deep in her mind, but the daylight was like a drug to the omega, and she stood in front of the sun for few minutes.

Something crunched behind her, dried leaves probably followed by a harsh sound of breathing. Ava swallowed the lump lodged in her throat, clenching her eyes shut and hoping that it was just a wild animal passing by.

As the sound got louder, she couldn't stand still anymore. The omega whirled around to face the foreboding scent rolling in, and she didn't have to wait long before the typical and excessively tall, muscular Alpha came ambling through the break in the trees. He was shirtless, save for the jeans resting low on his lips. Another rogue. She huffed, finding the dark black eyes boring into hers.

Rogues could be easily recognisable; after banished from the pack, their eyes natural colour is replaced by the darkness. The wolves believe it's how the moon goddess intended for them to be for the rest of their miserable lives.

The intruder stopped short when he was met with the sight of a curvy short omega, and he cocked his head to the side in interest. She thought that no one apart from her resided in. Who was he? Something revealed in his eyes, the change causing her to freeze on the spot. What did the Alpha want? Ava pressed her lips together.

"Well, aren't you just delectable little creature, standing all alone in such a huge forest," The rogue purred as he ominously stalked forward, the hair on the back of her neck standing up.

Not that Ava needed to mention it, but this wasn't good. The Alpha was far too close for her to rely on her wolf. She did not have any sharp object with her, for crying out loud.

Inconveniences such as these would never stop the omega from making a valiant effort, though. Ava sucked in a sharp breath. "What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious by now?" The laughter grated against her ears, causing chills running down her spine.

"Get the fuck away from me!" She snarled, holding her ground, narrowing her eyes at him. "Or else I will hurt you"

The rogue's mouth dropped open in astonishment, taken quite aback by what he'd just heard, but then the corners of his lips turned up in a decidedly delighted grin. "That's impressive for an Omega. Tell me, just what are you doing out here all alone, lovely? Did your mate abandon you? Threw you out?" He asked, resuming his advance toward her. "Don't worry I can take care of you"

Omega. He referred to her by the true status and not the one she's been portraying. Did the rogue sniff her true scent? How did he find out? She internally cursed, trying to keep a brave facade.

"I'm not an omega!"

"You cannot fool me", The rogue growled as he launched himself in her direction, ready to sweep the omega off.

Ava was on the defensive side of the fight, scrambling to keep away from his claws. He's fast, she thought, backing up far enough to strike again and shooting herself forward without stopping to think about it. The Alpha dodged again, and—as if that wasn't bad enough—he took advantage of her exposed back, snatching the omega from behind.

The rogue encased her neck with a beefy arm, another hand seizing her wrist to keep from any sudden movement.

Ava had counted on this, though. The Alphas loved to dominate the omegas, show their strength through sleazy tactics. Nothing she hadn't encountered before. Biding her time, the young woman was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

She was momentarily distracted, extremely disturbed when the omega felt hot, rancid breath sliding down her neck, and an entirely inappropriate and ill-timed erection pushing against her round bottom. Was this Alpha for real? Ava thought under her breath, mouth twisted with disgust.

"What are you going to do now, omega?" The rogue breathed hotly near the shell of her ear as the vice-grip he had on her wrist grew impossibly tighter, ultimately forcing her to drop onto the forest floor. Red hot fury bubbled in her stomach, and she began chanting the familiar phrase.

Something snapped in the distance, breaking her mantra. The young woman cracked an eye open in curiosity, and a pair of slender feet came into her view. Her throat went dry all of a sudden, palms clammy and gripping on the sleeves of her shirt.

Mate. The internal voice instantly shot through her ears, causing her knees to wobble. Through her blurry vision, she managed to look up, taking in the thick scent of another Alpha. Lemon and strong vanilla. Her eyes rolled back, chest filling with warmth.

Green emerald eyes bore into hers; long brown hair was tied behind his head, the other pieces flowing down his defined chest like a waterfall. His jaw clenched when he noticed the rogue holding her by force. Before she knew it, her mate threw the rogue on the ground.

They began throwing punches at each other while she backed away into the nearby tree, watching as her mate clawed the rogue's throat out in an instant. Blood splattered all over his face as he stood up, walking towards her.

"Are you okay?" Came his husky but soft voice, instantly furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

Taken aback at the genuine concern in words, Ava looked up to meet the face of this superior Alpha, blinking dumbly. He just saved her from that rogue.

The Alpha smiled and bent over as he held out a huge and firm hand, offering to help the young woman off the ground, and Ava eyed the hand as if it was a snake. What if he turned out to be just like this rogue? Did he recognise her as his mate? Why wasn't he reacting? She had so many questions in her mind.

Shaking her head, she accepted his outstretched hand, eradicating any questions she had quickly.

"Thank you very much but—" As Ava tried to take a step further, she tripped, causing her to fall into his chest, and everything went blank.