DONOVAN

 

Bathing in the river left me with a slight chill. My clothes on and huddled next to the fire, I couldn’t help feeling the cold that had overcome me.

“Things change this deep in the woods,” Goro said to me.

“What’s that?”

“The weather. Your body has gotten so used to the comforts of Dirge that it’s having trouble adjusting.”

“Jaguars were never one to roam around the forest. My people come from the south, near the Shadowlands. We roamed the prairies. We found our way in the desserts. I’m not ashamed to admit that the Timberlands are foreign territory.”

“Good. Other Alphas would have let their pride get the best of them. They would swim in the river and drown themselves if it meant proving their dominance.”

“In my heart, I am a jaguar,” I said. “There is no mistaking that. But I am a man, too.”

I sighed. The air was so cold that my breath exited my mouth like Steam. Goro was content, his shirt off and his belly bulging with fish. Lucas rested peacefully next to me. His sleep was so calm that he was barely moving.

“A Primal,” Goro said. “It’s strange to think someone so meek comes from a pack so savage.”

“He may be a Primal but they are not all the same. He’s proven that already. I haven’t known him for a long time but I know that he is an Omega more than anything else.”

“His heart doesn’t rest easy. He is bothered by it.”

“The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can all return to Dirge. Lucas may be putting everything on the line but I assure you, I’m just as anxious to finish this more than either one of you.”

Goro yawned and stretched. He leaned back against the log he sat next to with his arms extended on both sides. The lumbering bear of a man looked like he was right at home.

“When this is over, you’ll get what’s coming to you,” I said to him.

“I know. You’ve never backed out on your word before. You treat my people well.”

“Perhaps I should treat them even better. Toiling in the woods and collecting lumber must be getting tiresome for you and your brethren.”

“We understand our role. We have carved out a nice place for us in Dirge. Those of us who have remained in the woods, like my brother Kai, are content. There is nothing more you need to do for us. We can take care of ourselves.”

“I’m sorry for even suggesting it.”

“I won’t take any offense. Just don’t bring it up again.”

Goro smirked at me then closed his eyes. It was only a few seconds until he started to snore.

The nighttime was peaceful. I could tell it was late because of how high in the sky the moon was. I felt an eerie calmness wash over me. The same feeling I had when I was on my balcony looking out into the ocean. Even the water rushing next to me felt like it was more serene than it was earlier in the day.

It was so quiet…

But then I heard a rustling in the trees. Not in the woods next to me but in the forest on the other side of the river.

Something’s there…

I got up to my feet and looked out into the darkness between the trees. There was nothing but black. But it wasn’t just an empty void. No, there was something there. I was sure of it.

There were eyes on me. I knew there were. I could feel it in my bones.

A sudden gasp from Lucas waking up startled me. I turned to him and saw that his eyes were open wide. His mouth hung open as he struggled to breathe. When his stare met mine, Lucas told me everything I needed to know just from the look on his face.

“Primals… They’re here.”

He shifted into a wolf immediately. Dark-brown fur covered his body, a thick mane as shaggy as the hair on his head when he was human. The concern in his brown eyes hadn’t disappeared.

I turned back to the forest across the river and saw the eyes I felt staring at me. One pair of yellow eyes that seemed to shine in the darkness.

Then another.

Then another.

Then yet another.

More than a dozen wolves started to creep out from the shadows. Their fur gray but smooth. The moonlight reflected off of their fur and made them stand out in the darkness. But it wasn’t their fur or their eyes that were so alarming. Their teeth were vicious. Sharp fangs dripping with saliva that looked like poison. A single bite would have punctured someone to leave them bleeding to death. Even from this distance, I could see how dangerous they were. I could feel it.

The wolves all lined up as they faced us. A silver one stepped forward. I assumed he was the lead Alpha of the pack.

“Goro,” Lucas snarled at him. “Goro, wake up!”

Goro’s snoring ended as his sleep was abruptly interrupted. He hopped up to his feet.

“What’s going on—”

He cut himself off when he saw the wolves on the other side of the river. More than a dozen of them were standing there, just waiting to tear us apart.

Goro shifted into a bear and stood by my side. The three of us were alone. Despite Goro’s strength, he wouldn’t be able to save us from all of them. The only way I could get us out of this was by talking. It might have been futile but I had to try.

“I don’t want to fight,” I said. “I don’t want any bloodshed.”

“There will be no bloodshed,” the silver wolf responded to me. “Come, Omega. Return to your pack and let the civilians return to their cities.”

“No, Mordecai!” Lucas responded. “I won’t return to the pack. I will never return to your pack?”

The silver wolf Lucas called Mordecai growled in response. The rest of the pack vocalized their own disgust. The howling of the wolves filled the night sky. It was deafening.

“You disrespect your own brethren,” Mordecai said. “You disrespect your own calling. You are an Omega. You were meant to breed with your pack! It is your duty!”

“No!” Lucas growled. “My duty is to bear the children of the pack, not to serve as your slave. I refuse to let you use me to satisfy your savage desires. I will not bend over and be treated as a thing.”

“It is your duty!”

“Not anymore! I left! Leave me be!”

The tension between the two was undeniable. Despite the viciousness Mordecai and his pack were showing, I knew I had to speak up. There had to be a way to stop this.

“I want no bloodshed,” I said. “Please. Let Lucas go and return to the Blood Woods. Let us live in peace.”

“Stay out of this, jaguar!” Mordecai said to me. “You have no right to speak about someone in our pack.”

“He’s not in your pack any longer. He said it himself. He left of his own free will.”

“He has no free will. It is his destiny to return to us. And he will return to us, whether he likes it or not.”

The Primals all started moving forward. Violent wolves with undeniable savageness in their eyes. Just their stares alone would have shaken the strongest-hearted.

I gritted my teeth and stood my ground as they moved toward the water. There was no other way to stop them.

I shifted into a jaguar and remained defiant with Goro and Lucas next to me. As the wolves moved through the water, I readied myself.

“Protect Lucas,” I said to Goro. “No matter what happens. Protect Lucas… Protect Lucas…”

“I know,” Goro responded. “They won’t lay a claw on him.”

“I can fend for myself—”

“Don’t argue,” I interrupted Lucas. “Just stay back. They have every intention of taking you back. I won’t let them.”

We backed up as the wolves made their way across the river. Mordecai took the lead again.

“This is your last chance,” he said. “Walk away and we will spare you. There is no need for this, jaguar.”

“I won’t let you take Lucas.”

“So be it.”

He howled to the moon and the other wolves followed. They started to circle around us. More than a dozen wolves enclosed us into the spot of the forest clearing that we couldn’t escape.

Before they could attack, Goro stood on his hind legs and roared. He charged at the wolves as some of them converged on him.

I didn’t have time to pay attention to what Goro or Lucas were doing. I was too busy dealing with the silver wolf and three of his companions.

They were vicious. They snarled at me with savage bites. Their teeth clamped down so hard that they would have ripped through flesh and bone. I managed to evade them. The speed of a jaguar couldn’t be matched.

Outnumbered, I put up a desperate fight. And this was indeed a desperate fight. Dealing with four wolves was more exhausting than any scuffle I’d ever been in.

They swiped at me from every direction. I did my best to respond in kind. I drew blood from some of the Primals. The crimson streaked across their gray fur. They didn’t even howl in pain though. Hurting them only seemed to make them even more vicious.

I wasn’t looking when I felt a swipe across my back. A sharp claw dug into my skin and made me bleed. Another swipe across my face made me snarl in pain. I pushed it aside and continued to defend myself.

I knocked one of the wolves down and put him out of the fight. Then another. There were only two wolves left to deal with, one of them being Mordecai.

“Help! Help!”

Lucas’s voice filled my ears.

I turned and saw the Omega being pounced on by several Primals. I rushed over to him just as Goro did. The bear knocked away the wolves and I helped to bring Lucas back up to his feet.

I saw that both of my companions were now bleeding. Our most valiant efforts left us bloody but not yet beaten. But the wolves attacking us didn’t stop. Their fur was stained with red. The stench of their sweat filled my nostrils. They were going to keep coming at us until we were dead.

“Stop this nonsense,” Mordecai said. “You will not win. Spare yourselves and you may yet live.”

I clenched my jaw as the wolves started to stalk us once again.

“Goro,” I said. “Take Lucas and get out of here.”

“What?” Goro responded.

“Take Lucas and go back. Don’t stop until you’re free.”

“What are you saying? What are you—”

“I’ll hold them off.”

“You can’t—”

“I’m paying you, Goro! Do your job!”

I looked up at the bear and he reluctantly nodded to me. He grabbed Lucas in his arms and scooped him up from the ground.

“Wait!” Lucas shouted. “What are you doing?”

“Come, Omega,” Goro said. “We must.”

“No, we can’t. We can’t just leave him—”

“Get him!” Mordecai shouted.

Goro wrapped his massive arm around Lucas as he raced through the forest on all fours. The wolves all chased after him. I watched as Goro knocked them to the ground with his other arm and kept moving.

Before any of the other wolves could join in on the chase, I pounced. I tackled Mordecai to the ground and pinned him down. But the other wolves who stayed behind were quick to attack me. They slashed at me, drawing more blood from my skin.

My injuries piled up. The fight had drained me. I didn’t have enough strength to keep Mordecai on the ground. I had no other choice but to move off of him and defend myself.

I fell to the ground while the other wolves surrounded me. They all shifted and stood over me.

Men just as savage as they were when they were wolves looked down upon me. Their bodies naked, raw and bleeding, they stared at me with anger in their eyes.

Mordecai was silver-haired. His skin was fair and his eyes were yellow. The look in his eyes was more intense than the others.

“I warned you,” he said.

He put a hand around my throat and with the strength of ten men, lifted me up from the ground.

“You should have returned the Omega to us when you had the chance.”

I didn’t see his other hand as he swiped it across my face. The hard thud was swift.