DONOVAN

 

The sun had risen. It was the middle of the day in Kai’s clearing and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I looked up into the infinite blue and clenched my jaw.

“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt… much.”

The words were followed by a burning sensation across my chest. It was hard to describe the feeling of having your flesh melted. I didn’t realize until now that it was something to be proud of. The intense pain lasted for a few seconds before beginning to subside. The smell of burning skin filled my nose but I was able to breathe easier.

I looked down and saw that my wounds had been sealed. I sighed a deep breath and laid out on the grass, my vision focused on the blue sky in front of me.

“Are you all right?” Lucas asked. “How do you feel?”

“How do I feel?” I said. “I feel like I just escaped from the most vicious pack I’ve ever encountered. But I’m all right.”

“What happened? How did you escape?”

“One of the wolves was watching over me… Rukai was his name. Do you know him?”

“I do…”

“I convinced him to undo my binds so he could fight me, one on one. It gave me the opportunity to escape.”

“That wasn’t a good idea to challenge Rukai like that.”

“Oh? And I suppose going to the caverns to save me was a good idea?”

“Goro and I had everything under control. You saw that for yourself.”

I gingerly pushed myself up from the grass and sat up straight. Lucas was right next to me, staring at me with clear concern in his eyes.

“I told you to go back to Dirge,” I said.

“It didn’t matter if I went back to Dirge. Mordecai would call the Primals. They would look for me eventually.”

“Maybe they would. Maybe they wouldn’t. You shouldn’t have taken that chance. You should have been there for Megan—”

“Don’t bring Megan into this!”

He’d raised his voice so suddenly that even he was caught off guard.

“…I’m sorry,” he said. “But you know I couldn’t just leave you.”

“It was all part of Mordecai’s plan. He was using me as bait so he could lure you back to the pack. That’s the exact opposite of what we were trying to accomplish.”

“I know. And I’m sorry that I risked everything. I couldn’t… I couldn’t just leave you.”

He put a hand up and caressed my cheek. Another reminder that he was an Omega, the sincerity in his eyes was undeniable.

I sighed a deep breath and regained my focus. While Lucas and I spoke to one another, one of the bears continued tending to my wounds.

Goro stood off to the side. He was talking with Kai about something. What it was, I didn’t know. It didn’t matter. There were more important issues that Lucas and I had to deal with.

“He knows,” I said. “The other wolves have probably awoken by now. They’ve told Mordecai what happened. I can’t imagine he’ll be too happy that both of us have escaped.”

“No, he wouldn’t. Then again, Mordecai was never happy.”

Lucas managed to smile despite the circumstances. He and I both knew that the end was near for the both of us, one way or another. Now it was just a matter of figuring out the best way for us to meet it.

“I’ll go back,” he said suddenly.

“What?”

“I’ll go back to the Primals. It’s the only way to avoid any further bloodshed.”

“Lucas—”

“No, it’s all right.”

He took my hand in both of his. He squeezed it tight as he looked at me. His deep-brown eyes were hypnotizing in a way. His stare intense but as sincere as it always was.

“I’m tired,” he said. “I’m tired of running away. I left my pack because I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. It was wrong of me. I’m a Primal. I belong with my people. I should never have left in the first place. This is the right thing to do.”

“And you think that’s the right decision?”

“Yes. I was not meant for Dirge.”

“And would Megan agree with that?”

“I…”

He paused. His words stuck in his throat. His eyes glazed over. He and I both knew that it wasn’t the right decision.

“You’re just gonna leave her behind?” I asked. “You’ll forget about her—”

“I won’t forget about her. She’ll always be with me. You’ll always be with me. That will make the life I have to return to more bearable. Donovan, please…”

He kept his hands tight around mine.

“…You’re wealthy. You have the best that life can offer. Please watch over her. Provide for her everything she wants.”

“What she wants, what she needs is an Omega. An Omega like you.”

“There are other Omegas in Dirge.”

“They’re not you.”

“What would you have me do then? There’s no other way…”

I pulled my hand away from his and caressed his face. I touched him gently. He closed his eyes and sighed. His skin felt like it was vibrating. All of the anxiety and frustration and stress and fear… It was all coming to the surface. I could feel it. I could smell it. I could see it. I wanted him to be free of all of it.

“Do you feel that?” I asked.

“Feel? Your hand?”

“No. Not my touch. My heart. Do you feel it?”

When he opened his eyes, a tear streaked down his cheek.

I’d never met a man like Lucas before. I’d never met a man I wanted to do everything and anything for.

“I want you to do something for me,” I said.

“Yes. For you. Anything.”

“Nothing.”

“W-what?” he stuttered.

“I want you to do nothing.”

“I… I don’t understand.”

“You asked me if there were another way. There is.”

I slowly worked my way up to my feet.

I was exhausted. My stomach was empty. My throat was dry. My body was bare. But I still had enough strength in me to do what I had to do.

Lucas got up to his feet and kept staring at me.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I will challenge Mordecai for leadership of the pack.”

“What?” he exclaimed. “You can’t do that. You’re not in the pack. You’re not even a wolf.”

“I’m a jaguar. I am an Alpha. My people no longer live in shadows. We’ve learned to live as men and find success as individuals. But something Rukai said to me reminded me of who I am.”

“What was that?”

“The heart that beats inside of me hasn’t changed. My ancestors changed the rules of which to live by but they cannot change my heart.”

“That doesn’t matter. Mordecai only has to accept challenges from his own pack. Why would he do this when he could just kill everybody and take me back?”

“Because he is a Primal. From what I’ve seen, they are true to their hearts more than any of us. He has too much pride to back down from my challenge. Doing so would admit that he wouldn’t be able to defeat me. It would bring shame on him from the other Alphas in his pack.”

“…And they would challenge him for leadership…”

“Yes. Killing me would establish his dominance. A jaguar from Dirge. He will be the only Primal able to make that claim.”

Lucas looked away from me. My hand against his cheek, I felt him beginning to calm down. His heart was still thumping inside of him but the concern was not as strong as it was before.

“If I die, then I will have died anyway,” I said.

“There’s no other way?”

“No. I will not let you relegate yourself to the life you ran away from. Not when there’s still a chance you can escape it.”

“Why?” he said as he looked back at me. “Why are you doing this? Are you doing this for your own ego? Are you trying to save Dirge? Is it because of Megan? Or some arrangement you made with Goro—”

“You,” I cut him off. “I’m doing this for you.”

“If you’re doing this for me, I don’t want you to do it.”

“It’s too late. I’ve already made my decision. When Mordecai comes, I will issue my challenge.”

Lucas sighed in resignation. There was nothing else he could say to convince me otherwise. He knew it.

He put his hands on his hips and shifted his gaze away from me.

Kai and Goro walked up to us after noticing that neither Lucas or I were speaking.

“Goro explained the situation to me,” Kai said. “It appears the Primals have arrived to this part of the Timberlands.”

“That’s right,” I said. “If we were to retreat back to Dirge, they would destroy everything in their path trying to get to Lucas.”

“Then it’s for the best that we end this now.”

“When Mordecai comes, I will issue a challenge to him for leadership of his pack.”

“Are you sure that will work?” Goro said.

“I only spoke to him once. But if he is the wolf I think he is, then he will have no choice but to accept.”

“Mordecai won’t be coming alone,” Lucas said. “He’ll call Primals from all over the Blood Woods. There will be enough packs here to overrun here all the way down to the Shadowlands.”

“Why would the other Primals come, too?” Goro asked.

“Even though they’re different packs, they share the same blood,” Lucas said. “It is in their interests to make sure I return to the pack. I was the first and only Omega to leave. It would be dangerous to let the other Omegas know it was possible.”

“However many packs there are, just know that we stand with you,” Kai said as he put a hand on my shoulder. “The evil in the hearts of the Primals can be tamed. This Mordecai sounds like a dangerous man but I know that he will be able to see reason.”

“I don’t want him to see reason,” I said. “I want him to see that he has to do this to prove he’s the Alpha he claims to be.”

“I wish you the best. For now, I suggest you rest. If you’re planning on challenging him, you will need your strength.”

“I’ll get you guys something to eat,” Goro said. “The fish in the lake are plentiful.”

Kai patted me on the back and excused himself. Goro made his way over to the lake and jumped inside. I was again alone with Lucas.

I didn’t say anything. I just stared at him. The two of us knowing what was coming, we smiled at one another.

I didn’t know how this would end for us. The only thing I knew for sure was that we would do it together.