KNIGHT

 

I was more familiar with the woods near Oliver’s camp than anywhere else in the Timberlands. I remembered walking with him through the same area after we escaped the territory of the fierce wolves. But there was no telling what was lurking in the darkness.

As the sky grew darker, my surroundings became harder to distinguish. The trees. The brush. Even the animals lurking in the shadows sounded different.

“Which way do I go?” I sighed to myself.

I looked up at the stars and I still couldn’t tell which way to go. But after having left the camp, I knew that all I had to do was keep heading west. If I didn’t run into the fierce wolves, they would eventually run into me.

I’d left all my things back at the fox camp. I wouldn’t need any of the supplies where I was going. If I somehow made it through my encounter with the wolves, I would be able to survive anything. Some salve and bandages wouldn’t have made a difference.

I’d been walking for several hours. There was a twinge of slight pain in my knee. The exhaustion was beginning to get to me. A few more days until the snow came meant I didn’t have to hurry but the sooner I got it done, the sooner I could end the threat that loomed over the camp.

I kept moving until I made my way through the trees. A small river rushed through a spot that split the forest in two. It reminded me of the time I bathed with Oliver. I knew I wasn’t in fierce wolf territory though because my surroundings didn’t feel threatening.

I collapsed on the ground and leaned up against a massive stone. I scooped some of the water from the river next to me and swallowed it. My throat was parched. My body was sweating. My muscles ached. The pain in my knee made it swell.

“My last legs…”

There wasn’t much left inside of me. It didn’t matter though. I would use all of it until I was completely empty to deal with the fierce wolves. However many there were, I would stand up to them until the end.

I rested against the stone with my eyes closed. I sighed deep breaths to refill my lungs. It was peaceful out in the woods. A cool wind blew through the air and against my face. The owls hooted in the trees. The water rushing next to me was soothing.

I chuckled softly to myself as I remembered my life in the city. If I were back in my house, I would be listening to the sounds of Dirge. The constant construction in the center of the city. The traffic in the streets. The howling of the wolves in Pandora.

I’m going to miss it…

I knew something like this could happen. Leaving the confines of Dirge wasn’t the safest idea in the world but it was the right one. There was some comfort in knowing that my sacrifice would be remembered by someone close to me.

Oliver…

The Omega fox.

I could see him when I closed my eyes. It was like he was right there in front of me.

His shimmering green eyes. His fiery red hair. His freckled cheeks. His lean body.

But more than anything, I remembered the friendly look on his face. The curiosity as he stared at me after I regained my senses from the avalanche. Just from a glance, I knew he was someone special to me. Now I understood that he was my life. Everything I’d ever done up to this point led up to him.

I wasn’t sad when I thought about him, knowing that I’d never see him again. I would take my memories of him wherever I went, regardless of what happened to me. If my life ended at this moment, I would smile because he would be the last thing on my mind.

My pleasant memories of Oliver were interrupted when the crack of thunder filled my ears. I opened my eyes and looked upward. A bolt of lightning filled the sky and struck the tree next to me. My heart leaped into my throat and I jumped to my feet.

The clouds had appeared out of nowhere and the rain started to pour. I held my hand out and caught some of the soft drizzle.

“Of course,” I sighed. “Perfect…”

I looked around and searched for a place to take shelter. But before I did, I grabbed the branch from the tree that had been struck by lightning. Flames burned on the end of it. They were my only means of staying warm.

I walked up the coast of the small river before I eventually came to a set of stones. There was a cavern just off to the side. I stepped inside of it and held the makeshift torch up. The place was completely barren with nothing but dirt on the ground.

“This should do…”

I grabbed a bundle of sticks and made a fire for myself. With the storm raging outside, I huddled next to the flames with my arms around myself.

“This is just great,” I sighed.

I kept my focus despite my circumstances. I closed my eyes to try and rest. The thoughts of my Omega constantly swirled in my mind.

I was resting peacefully next to the fire when I heard something just outside of the cavern.

My eyes shot open.

I turned my head and looked out into the raging storm. I couldn’t see anybody but I could sense something or someone out there.

“Hello?” I called out. “Who’s there?”

I got up to my feet.

There’s someone there… I know it…

I slowly took a step forward, peering into the darkness outside of the cavern. As soon as I did, a figure emerged. A small red fox scampered its way into the cavern and shifted into the man who was just in my thoughts.

“Oliver!”

“Knight!”

He rushed up to me and wrapped his arms around me. I held him close and squeezed him tight.

It felt like a dream to have him out here with me but I didn’t care.

I wanted to keep him in my arms forever even though I knew I couldn’t.

I pulled away from him and looked down into his eyes.

There was no concern. There was no worry. He didn’t look like he’d been crying. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn there was a smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?” I said.

“I left.”

“Oliver—”

“There’s no way I could just let you walk out of my life like that. I can’t. I refuse.”

“Oliver…”

I was happy to see him. But him being out here meant that he was just as doomed as I was.

“I know,” he said. “I know why you did what you did. You’re sacrificing yourself because you want me to survive. You want me and our child to flourish.”

“What good will you be to our child if you freeze out in the snow or get killed by the fierce wolves the same as me?”

Oliver wasn’t listening to me. He just shook his head and stared intensely at me.

“I won’t go back,” he said. “I don’t care if it means this is my last night here with you.”

“Our child…”

“Our child would be destined for the same miserable life that I have lived. I am the lowest Omega in the skulk. They would have to make their way through life the same as me. I would not wish that on anybody. Just because they are alive doesn’t mean it’s a good way to live.”

“But they wouldn’t. Anita gave me her word—”

“I know Anita. I’ve known Anita all my life. She gave you her words because it would only encourage you to do what you were planning on doing.”

Oliver looked away from me and sighed.

“She won’t admit it but she is jealous,” Oliver said. “She is jealous that one of her Omegas is fated to someone outside of the skulk. She would never be able to view my child as one of her own. They would always be an outcast.”

Oliver turned back to me.

“This is the right decision,” he said. “This is the choice. Nothing you say will change my mind.”

“I…”

I tried to prove him wrong but nothing came to me. I looked down into his eyes and couldn’t help but laugh.

“You are the most stubborn Omega I’ve ever met,” I said.

“We have mated,” he replied. “We were meant for each other. Does that really surprise you?”

“No, I suppose it shouldn’t. Come here. Lay with me.”

I took a seat next to the fire and Oliver took his place next to me. He rested his head upon my thigh.

As I stared at the flames dancing in front of me, I enjoyed the feeling of having him by my side.

“I will not go back there,” he said. “We will deal with the fierce wolves ourselves. I believe in you.”

“Perhaps…”

I looked down at Oliver. He looked so peaceful with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.

I wanted to do anything I could for him. It wasn’t just about our child. I’d brought this fate upon him. I had to save him.

And then it dawned on me.

The skulk would be the only way Oliver could possibly make it out of this.

“Maybe there is a way,” I said.

“A way for what.”

“A way for all of us to make it out of this.”

Oliver slowly sat up.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You don’t care for the skulk,” I said.

“You now realize that? I left them behind to face the unknown because I know they don’t care for me.”

“But they do. You will see that when we go back.”

“Wait… What are you saying?”

I smirked at him. I put my hand to his cheek and caressed it with my thumb.

“You are a stubborn Omega. Too stubborn for your own good. You didn’t listen to me when I told you to stay behind.”

“Because I would rather be with you. It doesn’t matter if it were only for a day.”

“I know. Then you will be by my side when we return to the skulk.”

A smile slowly formed on Oliver’s lips.

“What are you up to?”

“You want to stay by my side,” I said. “But the safest place for you is back with your brethren. Then stay by my side when we go back to see your brethren.”

“Okay,” he said with a nod. “I trust you more than anything. You know that.”

“I know, Omega.”

I leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. From the corner of my eye, I could see the storm raging just outside of the cavern. Oliver pulled away from me and turned around.

“There is still time,” he said. “We can at least wait through the rain before we head back. Would that be all right?”

I nodded.

Oliver laid down on the ground again and rested his head upon my thigh. I ran my fingers through his hair.

Even though plans had changed, there was another daunting task still in front of me. Heading back to Oliver’s camp was not something I had planned on but I was going to make the most of it.

I refused to let him down now.