RUDY

 

My feet dug into the soil. I felt the cold against my soles because of the tinge of snow on the grass. I let out a satisfying sigh as I made my way through the woods.

“This is great, isn’t it?”

I held my arms out and exhaled a deep sigh.

“There’s nothing quite like the Timberlands when the storm is coming.”

“I don’t know if the storm coming is anything to celebrate. I wasn’t built for such bitter cold. I don’t know how you can deal with it.”

“I never said I enjoyed the storm. But the time before the storm comes…”

I exhaled another deep breath through my nose and smiled at my companion.

“…There’s no better feeling.”

George raised an eyebrow at me.

“I don’t get it,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“This,” he said, holding his arms out. “It looks just like the forest we’ve been living in all our lives. The only difference is there’s a snowstorm coming. How can you think this is anything special?”

My grin grew even wider. I put a hand on his shoulder and nodded.

“You’ll understand one day,” I said. “One day…”

He rolled his eyes at me.

George was a young Omega, so I couldn’t blame him for the obliviousness he tended to have most of the time. But he always humored me when I spoke about things I knew he wouldn’t understand.

“You’re just like the elders in the herd,” he said. “You’re always telling me that I’ll understand things one day. I’m sick of hearing it. One day… I wanna understand now—”

“Stay patient,” I interrupted him. “You’re still young. There will come a time when you will understand all of the things you have questions about. For now, I think you should just appreciate the peace and serenity that surrounds you.”

“Whatever you say.”

I marched forward through the trees with George right behind me.

It was late in the afternoon and the sun was just beginning to go down.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it matters. Why would we be walking somewhere if it didn’t matter?”

“Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.”

“There you go with that elder talk again…”

“It doesn’t matter where we’re heading. Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the herd and enjoy a nice walk through the Timberlands.”

“We’re walking pretty far from the herd. Knox won’t be too happy that we journeyed so far.”

“The journey isn’t so far that we won’t make it back when we need to. You’re free to return if you want to.”

I stopped in my tracks and turned around. I looked at the indecisiveness on the young Omega’s face. I kept smiling at him and he eventually returned it.

He was younger but he was an Omega the same as me. I knew that he couldn’t turn me down.

“Knox thinks we’re gathering supplies for the coming snow,” George said.

“We are. We’re just traveling a little farther from the herd than normal. When we return to the camp, we’ll have gathered our fair share of food. Ahh… I think we’re here.”

I walked forward through the trees until we came to a split in the forest. A river rushed right before us, splitting the Timberlands in two.

I inhaled a deep breath and enjoyed the smell of the woods. It was exhilarating to be out here in the open.

George stepped forward with the same curiosity on his face he had this entire time.

“What is this?” he asked.

“It’s a river.”

“I know what it is. I mean, why did you come here? What are we doing here?”

“We’re here to enjoy our freedom from the herd. Didn’t I tell you this was the perfect opportunity for us to get away?”

“Yeah but…”

I didn’t bother trying to convince him. I knew he was willing to come along with me.

“Come on,” I said. “Help me with this.”

I gathered a bundle of sticks and set them down near the water. George and I worked together to build a small bonfire. We lounged around the flames, sitting across from one another as we enjoyed the coming of the evening.

“This is what I’m talking about,” I said as I stared up at the sky. “The last night before the big snowfall. And we get to enjoy it here, out in the open.”

“This is pretty nice. I think I’m starting to get what you mean.”

“You see? You’ll get it eventually.”

“I guess… But there are still a lot of things that confuse me.”

“Answers will come with time.”

I laid on my back and stared up at the sky.

“Rudy… Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Have you ever… laid with an Alpha before?”

I paused for a moment, making sure I’d heard his question correctly. I slowly sat up and saw the inquisitive look on George’s face. I couldn’t help but smile at his innocence.

“How old are you?” I asked.

“I’m 15. You know that.”

“I do. I just wanted to make sure.”’

“Well? What does that have to do with my question?”

“I’m just curious… Where is this coming from?”

The sheepish look on his face told me everything. Red cheeks. Unable to stare back at me. I never intended on teasing the young Omega but he wasn’t making it easy for me.

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “It’s just… every Omega in the herd has an Alpha to serve. I wonder if I’ll ever get to that point.”

“Why? Is there a certain Alpha that caught your eye?”

He shifted his eyes away from me. His cheeks were so red, his face burning hotter than the flames in front of us. I couldn’t help but chuckle softly to myself.

“It’s okay,” I said. “It’s natural for an Alpha to stir those feelings inside of you. When you’re old enough to lay with an Alpha, I’m sure you’ll get that opportunity. Then perhaps you’ll even mate with one of them.”

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“No, I suppose I haven’t…”

He raised his eyebrows at me, his hands out in curiosity. I wasn’t about to answer his question so quickly.

“Well?” he asked.

I was unable to contain my laughter.

“There are many strong Alphas in the herd,” I said. “On occasion, I’ve caught the attention of a few of them.”

“What was that like?”

I smirked at his continued curiosity.

“I won’t tell you what it’s like,” I said. “I’ll let you experience that for yourself.”

“You know, you’re not that much older than me. Just five years. That’s not that big of a difference.”

“But it is a difference. I’m still you’re elder.”

“I guess…”

He sighed a deep breath and turned his attention back to the fire.

George looked up to me. I saw a lot of myself in the young Omega. We looked similar, too. Messy blond hair. Green eyes. It was the same as everybody else in our herd. Of course, George had a youthful face and he was smaller, so it was easy to tell that he was one of the younger men in the herd.

But more than anything else, I knew he looked up to me because he was one of the few willing to go on journeys with me through the woods. Most of the others stuck close to the camp. George, on the other hand, had a curiosity the same as I did when I was younger.

As the sun started to go down, I felt the undeniable chill in the air. I laid comfortably on the grass with the rush of the water right next to me.

“We should probably be heading back soon,” he said. “The sun will be gone and it will be harder to see.”

“What’s wrong? You’re not afraid of the dark woods, are you?”

“I’m not afraid!” he exclaimed. “It’s just… I’m sure Knox will be wondering where we went. He’ll be worried.”

“Knox worries too much.”

I sat up straight and smiled at George.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “We’ll get back to Knox and the herd tonight. If he intends on scolding either one of us, I’ll take the blame. I’ll say I forced you to come along.”

“…Thanks, Rudy.”

He smiled softly at me.

What is that?

I was about to smile back at him when I noticed something strange. The concern that appeared on George’s face so suddenly told me he noticed it as well.

“Do you sense that?” he asked. “There’s something… There’s something out there.”

We both turned toward the forest on the other side of the river. I peered through the trees, trying to look for whatever was lurking.

“There’s someone…”

I sniffed the air. My gaze narrowed as I continued to try and make out what I saw.

I stood up straight. Just as I did I immediately saw the man emerging from the woods.

He wasn’t from the Timberlands. I knew that much because he was fully-clothed. From his head down to his toes, he was wearing pants, boots, and a leather coat to cover him. A bandanna over his mouth masked half of his face.

And then there were his eyes. A stare so sinister that even from this distance, I knew something was wrong.

He reached at his waist and pulled up a small blade. He raised it into the air, motioning as if he were going to throw it.

“Look out!”

I dived to the ground and covered George. The metal clinked across the grass, just barely missing the both of us.

“Rudy—”

“Get back to the herd!” I yelled at him. “I’ll hold him off!”

“But—”

“Now!”

The young Omega shifted into a small deer and thankfully followed my instructions. He scampered through the trees and headed back toward the herd.

I worked my way back up to my feet and watched as the man stood in the same spot.

“Listen,” I said with my hands raised. “I don’t know who you are or what you want but I don’t want any trouble. Please—”

He raised his hand up and threw another knife at me. It was clear that he had no interest in talking to me.

I had to do something. I couldn’t just run back to the herd because he would probably follow me. If that was the case, I had to do everything I could to lead him away from George and the others back at camp.

I gritted my teeth and shifted. I rushed at the stranger as he raised up another knife. I made my way across the water as quickly as I could. Just before he was able to throw it, I stuck my antlers into his side. He howled in pain as he fell to the ground.

I shifted back and stood over him.

“Please,” I said. “I know you’re not from around here. Return to where you came from and there will be no more trouble—”

Without warning, he grabbed a small knife from his waist and slashed at me. I managed to move out of the way but not completely. The slice across my thigh drew blood and made me stumble back.

“Dammit…”

The stranger worked his way back up to his feet.

“I don’t want to fight—”

He kept moving forward, that furious look in his eyes. There was no point in trying to reason with him now.

I shifted back into a deer and rushed back at him. I tried to hit him with my antlers once again but this time he was ready. He slashed me on the side of my leg and drew even more blood.

I grimaced in pain.

I couldn’t keep this up. I didn’t know what he wanted but I had no intention of finding out.

Before the man could attack me any further, I rushed into the trees and ran as fast as I could. The sound of him stalking me through the brush was loud.

I have to get away… I have to get away…

I moved away from where I knew camp was. I had to lead the stranger as far away from the others as I could.

I was running so hard that my lungs started to burn. My heart pounded inside of my chest. My legs became sore. I couldn’t ever remember a time I’d run so hard before.

But I kept moving until there was no sign of the stranger behind me.

I ducked into the brush and hid underneath it.

I closed my eyes and calmed myself the best I could.

I couldn’t smell or sense anybody around me. For now, I was safe. But with the sun going down, there was no telling how long that would last.