OLIVER

 

I slept as well as I could that night. The sound of the rainstorm was comforting as I made myself at home in a small cavern. The place was out of the way and abandoned, so I didn’t have to worry about any intruders. There were places like this all over the Timberlands that nobody knew about.

Silas and Eve sending me out to gather more food did have its silver linings. For one, I didn’t have to deal with them. Second, it gave me a chance to explore some of the woods.

I awoke early in the morning to get my day started. My belly rumbled with hunger but there was more than enough to satisfy me.

I started gathering. I picked the fruits from the brush. I picked up the acorns that had fallen on the ground.

It was the middle of the day when I heard it.

There was no mistaking the sound of a rockslide. They thundered loud enough to shake the ground and the trees. The birds chirped louder. The beasts lurking in the shadows howled. I was never afraid of them because I was never anywhere near them. My skulk set up camp far away from the mountains, so we were never in any danger.

Of course, Silas and Eve sending me out to gather more food meant I was farther from the camp than usual.

I didn’t pay any attention to the avalanche. The loud rumbling was just another sound that was common in the Timberlands.

I whistled softly to myself as I found another fruit tree in the distance. The small berries glistened with rainwater underneath the sunlight. My mouth watered at the sight of them.

I walked up to the bush and picked one of the berries off.

“Ah…”

I stuffed it into my mouth and smiled as I savored the taste.

“…So juicy and delicious.”

I was picking berries and stuffing them into my bag.

Then I smelled something.

“What is that?”

If I knew any better, I would have thought it was the scent of an Alpha. The lead Alpha of my skulk had an unmistakable smell. I almost thought I’d smelled it for a moment but there was no reason for Anita to be all the way out here to gather food.

I laughed as I shook the thought out of my head. But as I continued to pick the fruit off the bush, the scent only grew stronger.

I raised my head up and looked around. My surroundings didn’t seem to be any different from what they usually were. Trees. Small animals skittering through the brush. Birds chirping on the tree limbs.

But there was someone else here with me. I knew there was. The scent was so overpowering, it flooded my nose and almost clouded my thoughts.

I stood up straight and listened closely. That’s when I heard movement. I turned toward the trees it was coming from.

I swallowed nervously as the sound grew louder and the scent grew stronger. A figure emerged from the darkness between the trees.

A man walked out with his head down, limping forward. I didn’t know him but it was clear he was injured.

“Dammit…”

I listened to him mutter to himself. I took a step back as he moved closer to me. He took a few more steps before he turned his head up and finally saw me standing right there in front of him.

My eyes widened.

He looked nothing like anybody I was used to seeing. His hair was so dark, black like the sky at night. His skin wasn’t as pale as the others in the skulk. His eyes were brown and slightly narrowed. His jaw was covered in a bit of scruff. The features of his face were so chiseled. There was no question he was an Alpha.

If that weren’t strange enough, he was wearing more than I was used to seeing. A pair of pants that covered him completely and a long-sleeved shirt that covered his top. Despite his clothes, I could see how broad his shoulders were and how bulging the biceps on his arms were.

I immediately took a step back and put my hands up.

“Please,” I said. “Don’t hurt me… I… I’m just out here picking fruit for my skulk. You can have it if you want.”

I grabbed the strap of my bag and took it off my shoulder. I held the bag out to him.

He stared at me and gave me a puzzled look. I swallowed nervously, waiting for him to do something.

Maybe he was going to yell at me.

Maybe he was going to attack me.

Maybe he was going to get angry.

I braced myself for everything.

But all he did was smile at me, his teeth gleaming white.

Confusion replaced the fear that I just felt.

“Look at me,” he said, his voice deep and smooth. “Do I look like I’m in any position to hurt anybody?”

I was so distracted by his scent and his stature that I didn’t realize that he was injured. A cut above his eye leaked some blood. His clothes were covered in dirt. And he appeared to be favoring one leg, stepping forward with a limp.

“The avalanche,” he said. “I was caught in it.”

“You… You were caught in the rockslide?”

“Yes.”

“You must not be from around here if you got caught in a rockslide.”

He smiled at me again. There was something so charming about the way he looked at me. When he started laughing again, I couldn’t fight my own smile.

“I’m not interested in taking your food, Omega,” he said. “I’m not interested in attacking you. I… I just need to find a way back to my expedition somehow.”

“You’re injured. The first thing you need to do is take care of those injuries.”

“I lost most of my supplies in the avalanche. But I think I still have something to help take care of these injuries. Would you mind helping?”

The stranger seemed sincere. I had no idea who he was. If I had any sense, I would run away as far as I could. But the look he gave me told me that I couldn’t just leave him out here.

“Let’s get out of the sun,” I said. “We need to find some shade to rest and save your energy.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Can you walk?”

“A bit.”

“Here. Let me…”

I slowly walked over to him. He was significantly taller than me, so I had to look up at him. It was hard not to get distracted by his smell. Everything about the Alpha made it hard for me to focus on trying to help him.

He draped his arm around my shoulder. He limped forward until we were able to find a nice cluster of trees that blotted out the sun rays.

The Alpha leaned up against the tree trunk and reached into his bag.

“How bad do I look?” he asked.

I took a knee down next to him and examined his face.

“You’re bleeding.”

“Here.”

He held something out to me.

“Put some of this salve on it. That should deal with the bleeding if it’s superficial.”

I gave him a nod and did as I was told. I ran the salve over the cut on his face. The blood appeared to stop trickling out of him for the moment.

“There,” I said. “Looks like you’ve got a few bruises on your face, too.”

“Bruises I can handle. But my leg…” he said. “I’m not sure what happened.”

“Getting caught in a rockslide can do that. You should probably take a look at it.”

“Right.”

He reached for the top of his pants and started undoing them.

“W-wait,” I stuttered. “What are you doing?”

“I can’t see what’s wrong with my leg if I don’t take my pants off.”

“Oh… Right…”

I saw a subtle smirk on his lips. I looked away from him as my cheeks started to redden with embarrassment. I listened to the sound of him taking his pants off. I turned back to see him in his underwear. His legs were muscular and just as distracting as the rest of him.

Focus, Oliver…

“Is it okay?” I said as I put my hand up.

He gave me a nod.

I reached down and ran my hand along his knee.

“You’re not bleeding,” I said. “That’s good. There’s no risk of infection. Does it hurt when I do this?”

I turned his knee slightly and he gasped.

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

“It’s all right,” he said with a chuckle. “I just… wasn’t expecting it.”

I ran my hand along his knee but I couldn’t feel anything out of the ordinary.

“It doesn’t appear to be broken,” I said. “It just looks like you twisted it. But you’ll need to stay off of it for a few days.”

“Hmm… You have a lot of experience. Are you a doctor?”

“The elder in the skulk taught me how to deal with minor injuries. Nothing serious ever happens, so when it does, I know it when I see it.”

“I see…”

The Alpha let out a deep sigh as he examined his surroundings.

“I have to get back to the expedition,” he said. “I have to find them or somehow get back to Dirge.”

“Dirge? You’re from the city?”

“I thought my clothes would have given that away.”

“Oh… I’m sorry… I’ve just… I never met anybody from the city before.”

He smiled warmly at me.

“Let me give you some advice,” he said. “I’m not like everybody from the city, but there’s no need to keep apologizing to me. You’ve already done more than enough for me.”

“I haven’t done enough. Your leg isn’t any better and you’re no closer to finding your people.”

“The Timberlands are foreign lands to me. This is the first time I’ve ever been so far from the city. Your company is more than enough, believe me.”

The way he stared at me was hypnotizing. It’s like I forgot what I was thinking when I looked into his eyes. His charming smile and white teeth weren’t helping me.

Oliver!

A loud voice in my head made me regain my focus. I stood up straight and looked away from the Alpha.

“I don’t know if I can help you much,” I said. “But your leg is hurt and you won’t be able to walk for a few more days. And a rainstorm is coming. It would be best for you to find some shelter. I…”

“…You what?”

“…I would offer to help you come back to my camp and rest there but there’s no way you could make it there on your leg.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

I had already been away from my skulk for a whole day. Anita and the others were probably wondering where I was. But if I could keep myself safe, there was nothing for anybody to worry about.

I couldn’t just leave this man here. I had to do what I could to watch over him.

“I have a place,” I said. “A small cavern. It should keep us safe from the rain tonight. And I have more than enough food.”

He looked at me and smiled. I immediately felt embarrassed. It sounded like I was asking him out on a date.

“I’m sorry,” I said as I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have assumed you were interested. I was only offering my help—”

“What did I tell you about apologizing so much?” he interrupted me.

“I…”

My cheeks reddened again as he grinned at me. I didn’t know what he was thinking. I wanted to follow my gut and believe that I could trust him. So far, I didn’t have any reason to fear him even though he was still a stranger.

“You have a cavern you stay at?” he said.

“Yes. There’s no need to worry about the rain.”

“Is it far from here? I can’t walk very far and I don’t want you to have to carry me.”

“It’s not that far.”

“Good.”

He slowly pushed himself up back to his feet.

“Here,” I said. “Let me help…”

I grabbed his pants and helped him step back into them. As soon as he was fully-dressed, he looked down at me with a smile.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Oliver.”

“Nice to meet you, Oliver. My name’s Knight.”

“Knight…”

I couldn’t look him in the eye as he smiled at me. There were no Alphas in the skulk who looked like him. He was so distractingly handsome that I couldn’t think straight.

None of that mattered though. He wasn’t my kind. I was just a fox and he smelled like nothing I’d ever met before. Now, all I had to do was focus on helping him.

“Let’s go, Oliver. Take me to this cavern of yours.”