Chapter 11
Josh
Something cool and wet was pressed against the right side of Josh's face. It was a wonderful contrast to the pounding in his forehead. He tried to bring a hand up to his face, but found that he couldn't.
His eyes snapped open and he recoiled against the harsh sunlight. A moan escaped his lips. He blinked, eyes watering, as his vision eventually cleared. The forest ahead of him was slightly doubled and seemed to be moving on it's own. His arms were tied behind his back. He couldn't move, and he couldn't shift without breaking his arms. His ankles were also tied.
"You're awake," came a voice, just out of his field of vision.
Last night's events came rushing back. Slade showing up at his door, the fight, and most importantly, Jacob, fully shifted, disappearing into the forest. Josh relaxed slightly. Jacob was no doubt at Foxhold by now. Brighton was there. Brighton would take care of him.
Maybe it was the concussion, but Josh somehow managed to push his fear down. Jacob was safe. That was all that mattered. What happened to him now was going to happen and there was no point in getting worked up. Besides, if Josh was going to die, he'd rather die calm and defiant than crying and grovelling. Also, he didn't want to give Slade any satisfaction.
"I can hear you thinking." Slade finally moved, sitting down cross-legged in front of him.
Josh suddenly became very aware of his nakedness. Usually, he wouldn't think anything of it, but Slade was leering at him, and he felt more exposed that he ever had. He slowly pulled his legs up to his chest in an attempt to hide himself.
Slade laughed and leaned forward. Josh recoiled as the alpha brushed his hair out of his face. "What's going on?" Josh asked, voice raspy.
"You think that because your kid is out of reach that you have nothing left to worry about? Then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought."
Josh remained silent, watching Slade warily. He tugged slightly at the ropes at his wrist but they held. Slade was going to kill him. He was sure of it. The cynical part of him wished the alpha would just get it over with.
Slade raised an eyebrow. "You don't get it, do you? Our kid may have escaped me, but your kid certainly didn't."
That got Josh's attention. "What're you talking about?" he croaked.
"Did the alpha knot inside of you?" Slade asked.
Just like that, Josh's carefully constructed calm cracked and turned to dust. He inhaled sharply, staring at Slade wide-eyed.
"It never even crossed your mind, did it?" Slade asked, looking unbearably smug.
"That doesn't mean anything," Josh said after he finally found his voice. A shudder ran down his spine. Slade had been there, somehow. He'd been aware of Josh and Brighton while they had been none the wiser.
"Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
"What?" Josh blinked dumbly.
Slade ran a hand over his face. "You really are a slow bitch, aren't you?" He leaned in close. "One way or another, I'm getting my heir. Even if I have to wait a bit longer than I thought."
"It won't be yours," Josh said. He yelped when Slade slapped him across the face.
"No one else has to know that, do they?"
The alpha was insane. He had lost his fucking mind. Josh flexed his hands again and groaned in frustration. He didn't bother to ask what would happen to him after. He was pretty sure he knew.
"And even if you're not pregnant now," Slade said slowly, "we can always fix that little situation ourselves. Can't we?"
Ice filled Josh's veins and he increased his struggle again. This couldn't be happening. He'd rather die before he let Slade touch him like that. His mind raced, desperately trying to find a way out of this situation. He took several deep breaths and reminded himself that panicking wasn't going to solve anything.
Brighton. The name nearly escaped his lips. If he thought he'd regretted sending the alpha away before, it was nothing compared to the unbearable shame crashing over him now. If Slade was right, and Brighton's baby was growing inside of him...
He couldn't let that happen. The thought of this deranged monster raising Brighton's child was unbearable. A prickly feeling washed over him. He could practically hear his wolf inside of him, itching to get out. He wondered what the chances of breaking out of his bonds were.
Slade patted him on the cheek. "You just sit tight for a second while I take care of business, if you know what I mean. I'll be right back and then we'll get going, alright?"
Yeah, sure. He'd sit tight alright. The second Slade was out of sight, Josh started scouring the ground. A sharp rock would do. He managed to pull himself into a kneeling position. After a moment of fruitless searching, he let out a frustrated snort.
There had to be something else he could do. The rope around his wrists and ankles weren't very thick. If he could only just shift slightly, he could break out... He groaned and thumped his head against the grass. He was screwed.
There was a reason that partial shifts were almost never done. For one thing, few shifters had a use for it. Shifters that did practice partial shifts did it mainly for meditation. It took practice and patience. Two things that Josh didn't have at the moment.
It was almost hopeless, but he had to try something.
Breathing deeply, Josh closed his eyes and concentrated. He didn't think about Slade's promises, or the fact that he could be back at any minute. Josh put every last bit of focus on what he needed to do. He didn't even let himself think about what would happen if he failed.
It was hard. Harder than Josh could have imagined. His body didn't know what was happening. It expected fur and teeth; not this strange, quivering halfway. Sweat beaded on Josh's forehead. His body trembled. He hadn't expected it to be this painful. Precious time kept passing.
Finally, he was rewarded. His fingernails started to grow and sharpen. He quickly halted the transformation. Black spotted his vision and he gasped for air.
He'd done it! He'd actually done it!
Quickly, he bent his middle finger and snagged at the rope around his wrist, scratching until it snapped. He then reached backward further and effortlessly broke through the rope around his ankles.
Without wasting another second, Josh jumped to his feet and launched himself into the air. He almost cried out at the relief of shifting completely.
An angry bellow from behind him only caused him to push himself harder. Now, Josh became very aware of every ache in his body. The pounding in his head spiked, causing his vision to blur. He didn't slow down though. Slade was crashing through the bush right behind him.
But the alpha had been carrying him all night. Before, he'd been too panicked to notice, but looking back, he'd seen deep purple bags under Slade's eyes and a slight lag to his movements. The larger wolf was exhausted. Josh didn't plan on wasting that advantage.
He had no idea where he was going. There was no familiar landmarks, no sound of running water to signal the river nearby. Josh couldn't even begin to guess how to get home.
Slade howled behind him.
He didn't have to find his way home, though. He just had to find a pack. Any pack. Someone with half a heart that could help him.
Is shifting bad for pups? Josh thought despairingly.
Desperately, he glanced up to the sky. The sun wasn't high, and Josh doubted he was out for the whole day, so at least he knew which direction was east. Slade had every intention of bringing him north.
Carefully, he curved and began to lead the chase south. Slade's growl behind him let him know that the alpha knew exactly what he was doing.
Confidence rising, Josh kept running. Though his legs ached fiercely, he didn't even entertain the thought of slowing down.
For the first time since this whole nightmare started, he felt something close to hope. If he could just hold on a bit longer, he would see Jacob again. He would see them all. He had thought he realized just how much he'd come to enjoy the company of the small pack at the time, but he knew now that that was untrue. He hadn't truly realized how important they'd become to him until they were gone. Ivan, Gavi, Aidan, and...Brighton.
Josh promised himself that if he got out of this, if he saw the alpha again, he would tell him just how sorry he was. That he'd been full of shit and had gotten it into his head that it was the right thing to do.
He'd tell Brighton just how wonderful that night had been, until he ruined everything. That Josh would take every awful word back if he could. He'd make Brighton realize just how much he cared about him.
How much he loved him.
Josh would get on his damn knees if that was what it took.
His exhausted body was starting to slow and his vision was blurring. But he wasn't the only one. Behind him, he could hear Slade panting and gasping.
If the large alpha wasn't going to kill him before, he was almost definitely going to kill Josh now. Josh could have laughed at how embarrassing this whole thing must be. Slade couldn't even keep his hostage for more than a few hours before it broke free on it's own.
Neither of them were going to last much longer. Josh knew that despite Slade's lack of sleep, he was the one with the head injury. Even now he felt...detached. At some point, the ache in his legs had faded and even his increasingly fuzzy mind knew that wasn't right.
Something had to give. Before his legs gave out beneath him. His ears pricked and he willed himself to hear something other than the constant snapping and crashing of the forest around him. A river, a voice, a car, anything.
He certainly wasn't expecting the faint scent of smoke, but it was better than running aimlessly through the woods.
Slade howled behind him furiously. Josh inwardly grinned. If the alpha was that angry, then he was definitely going in the right direction. He followed the scent of burning pine. Just a bit longer. Just a bit farther.
But it was getting harder to force his legs to move. His eyes drooped. He let out a whimper as his muscles started to seize. His head felt full of cotton. He didn't want to give up, but his body didn't seem to care.
It was a stray root that sent him crashing to the ground. Pain lanced through his head, but it was dulled by the tingling relief in his legs. He panted, body quivering against the forest floor. His throat was dry and every breath was raspy.
Sharp pain shot through his back leg before he found himself moving. He barely managed to lift his head to see Slade determinedly dragging him back. Too tired to care, he let his head thump back to the ground. Blearily, he wondered why the alpha didn't just get another omega. Certainly it would be far less hassle than this.
A howl echoed through the trees. There was something familiar about it. It took Josh a moment to realize that they had stopped moving. His eyes flicked down to Slade questioningly. The alpha was staring into the trees, frozen.
Then, without a sound, he disappeared into the forest.
Josh almost felt annoyed at that. Slade put all that effort into catching him, only to disappear without a word? Why do I almost feel like I just got dumped?
In his human form, he would have giggled.
There was the sound of more running, and for a second, Josh thought that Slade had come back after a small bout of insanity. But it came from the wrong direction. It came from the direction that he was running to.
A second scent reached him. Though his groggy mind couldn't quite put the pieces together, he leaned toward it. It was a sweet scent, and growing stronger. He couldn't remember why, but it made him feel safe. Home.
Then, the most beautiful voice he'd ever heard reached his ears. He perked up slightly as something crashed through the brush, calling to him.
"-oh fuck! Josh! You okay?"
He was now. A face swam into view. A really gorgeous face, in fact. He decided he knew this alpha. He must have. But he was too tired to think about that now.
"Just hold on, alright? Just stay with me?"
Where would I go? Josh thought, right before tumbling into unconsciousness.