Briar
Cold sweat dripped Briar’s forehead. He wished his hands weren’t bound behind his back so he could wipe the matted hair from his face. Through the darkness, he could see alphas emerging from the woods, prepared to compete for their prize.
Him.
The makeshift arena in the middle of the forest clearing was already soaked with alpha blood, and victors were dragging off whimpering omegas from Briar’s decimated pack. He squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn’t have to see his best friend Edrik being dragged past him by a member of the Bloody Fang—the pack that had raided Briar’s home and stolen everything from him. Surely, some omegas would be won by alphas who would treat them kindly, but anyone unfortunate to end up in the Bloody Fang’s pack would have a hard life. Edrik would probably be impregnated as soon as he went into his heat and be used to breed more alpha pups for the Bloody Fang.
Briar prayed to the moon that the Edrik’s alpha would treat him well, though he knew the chance of that was slim.
“We have one last captive to auction off!” The Bloody Fang’s pack master announced to the crowd of snarling wolves. “But of course we saved the best for last.” He licked his lips. “The last alpha standing gets to take home this unmated omega—and no, your noses don’t deceive you—this little toy has yet to go into his first heat.”
A cold wind carried a surge of alpha pheromones that sent shivers down Briar’s spine. At least half the alphas had been saving their strength for this fight. It was a rare treat for an alpha to get to play with a vulnerable omega going into his first heat. Briar was sure there were alphas in the crowd prepared to die for the chance to torture him—and even more prepared to kill for it.
Auctioning off omegas in the arena was how the Bloody Fang paid off their debts to other packs. They need a lot of food to keep their army of savage beasts running, more than they could ever hunt themselves, so tributing packs were spared from their attacks and given the chance to compete for the abducted omegas.
A lump grew in Briar’s throat, but he refused to show any emotion. It would only give more pleasure to his captors. As the forest exploded once more in the chaos of a fighting wolves, testosterone and alpha pheromones blanketed the air so thick he could choke. He was sure they could smell him too and it was driving them into a frenzy.
He closed his eyes, refusing to watch the arena. It didn’t matter which alpha won. His life was as good as over no matter who took him home. If he was lucky, he might go to an extra cruel alpha who’d want to kill him almost immediately. At least then his suffering would be short.
The sound of snapping snouts and whimpering shrieks began to die down and Briar dared to gaze at the arena. There were only two wolves left fighting for him. He could tell from his scent that the smaller wolf was a member of the Bloody Fang, but the larger wolf had a scent unfamiliar to him. Not surprising. Alphas came from hundreds of miles away to get their hands on captured omega playthings.
All Briar could tell about the strange alpha was that he was ferocious. Snapping fangs closed around the Bloody Fang alpha's neck again and again, forcing him backwards. There was no restraint when the larger alpha slashed out with his claws. The wolf was prepared to kill.
Briar struggled to keep his breathing even. He never thought he’d wish to end up in the claws of a member of the Bloody Fang, but it was that or be awarded to this strange, savage alpha. His skin turned cold at the thought.
A yelp echoed through the trees as the savage alpha raked his claws down the Bloody Fang alpha’s side, but the other alpha lunged forward, grabbing the strange alpha by the throat and pinning him to the ground. Relief washed over Briar as he could see the fight was as good as over. The strange alpha could either concede, or have his windpipe ripped out.
Briar looked away, because he couldn’t bear the violence. Tears threatened to well in his eyes, and he desperately wished he could wipe them away. He didn’t want his new owner to see his weakness.
He looked back to the fight as a howl of shock went up from the crowd. He couldn’t believe his eyes—the battle was no longer between two wolves—the strange alpha had shifted back into human form and now had his hands around the other alphas jaws, wrenching them open. The Bloody Fang alpha must have been just as taken off guard as everyone else, because he was thrown back by the strange alpha, whose hands were now around his neck. Briar held his breath. He’d never heard of a shifter fighting a wolf in human form.
Rough hands squeezed tight around the wolf's throat, sending a whimper shivering out into the night. A cruel grin spread across the man’s face, a laugh rumbling from his chest. Briar felt sick. Finally, a long, one noted howl rose from the wolf. Defeat. The savage alpha had won.
He dropped the Bloody Fang alpha in the dust, losing all interest in the whimpering creature as he turned to the auction block. He licked his lips as he strode from the arena toward Briar, eyes fixed intently on his prize. Briar looked away and dug his nails into his palms, hoping that the pain would distract from the fear threatening to rip him apart.
“Guess I’ll be taking this little one home with me.” A rough hand caressed Briar’s chin, forcing him to look at his new owner. The alpha was well over six feet tall, towering over every other shifter there, packed with muscle, strong jaw covered in thick brown stubble. His deep brown eyes bored into Briar’s.
“What pack did you say you were from?” The Bloody Fang’s pack master asked suspiciously.
“Sunset Cove Pack.”
The pack master sniffed the air and scowled, but one glance from the larger man made him snap his mouth shut.
“Unbind my prize,” the alpha growled. “I can’t wait to vent some of this adrenaline.”
A sick smile spread over his face that sent fear shuddering down Briar’s spine. He’d never been intimate with an alpha before. Never wanted to. And the thought of being taken forcefully and savagely by this beast of a man was too much for him to bear.
The pack master chuckled as he moved to slice the ropes binding Briar. “You’re going to have fun with this one.”
The alpha’s hard eyes met Briar’s as he said, “Yes, I will.”
Terror bit into Briar and he knew this was his last chance. It was crazy, and he’d probably die, but he had to at least try to save his life. As soon as his feet were free, he dashed, shooting between both alphas and scrambling for the trees.
Behind him, he heard the pack master laugh. “He’s your problem now—you go after him.”
His heart pounded in his chest as he made it to the tree cover, shifting into his wolf form so he could run faster. Howls rose up behind him and he knew he was being pursued by every alpha still capable of running.
He was too determined to feel any fear now. His lungs burned as he pushed himself faster, sensing the alphas growing closer, but Briar would keep going until he collapsed dead from exhaustion. He wouldn’t let those monsters take him.
Not alive, at least.
A noise to his left startled him, and he made a sharp dive into the underbrush, wriggling through roots and thorns, hoping that the earth would help cloak his scent. The fire in his lungs spread to his muscles as he emerged from the brush and broke into another run. The sound of howling was growing fainter, and he allowed himself to hope that he might really escape.
Another rustling in the trees—this time to his right—he made a quick bolt to his left, zig-zagging as he ran. He pushed himself to run faster, but he could see a shadow trailing him, closing the space between them. He sniffed the air.
It was the strange alpha—the man who’d taken down a wolf with his bare hands.
Briar barely had time to register this before a hard body collided with his, pinning him to the earth, and smacking his head against a rock. He fought back, snapping and snarling even though he knew he didn’t stand a chance against the alpha.
“Quiet,” the alpha snarled in his ear.
The omega in Briar begged to submit to the alpha’s orders, but his will to survive overrode his most basic nature to obey an alpha's command.
“If you do what I say, I’ll save your life,” the alpha hissed. “Now shift.”
This time Briar couldn’t resist the order. His body shifted against his will until he was pressed skin to skin with the hulking alpha, both of them completely naked. The alpha grabbed him by the hands, yanking him to his feet. “Come with me, and don’t try to get yourself killed again.”
A whimper escaped Briar’s lips as the alpha hoisted him over his shoulders and began tromping through the trees. He gave one last attempt at escape that only made the alpha land a hard blow against his bare ass. Pain radiated out from the alphas rough palm, forcing Briar to bite back a whimper.
“I said cut it out,” he growled. “We have to get out of here before we both get torn to pieces.”
“Why would you be in danger?” Briar asked with bitterness in his voice. “You won me fair and square.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” The alpha chuckled darkly. “But I’m guessing they won’t let me keep you to myself once the figure out I’m a rogue alpha.”
Briar sucked in a gasp. Only the most vile, cruel alphas were exiled from their packs, sentenced to death if they ever enter pack territory again. He would be better off dead than in the hands of a rogue alpha.
The alpha threw him to the hard ground, and Briar immediately began scrambling for escape, but the alpha stopped him by pressing a foot to his back, slamming him back into the dirt. “I thought I told you to stop trying to get yourself killed.”
Briar bit back a whimper as pain shot up his spine. The alpha kept his foot planted firmly on Briar’s back as he dug through a bush, finally emerging with a black leather backpack. He took an apple from the bag and dropped it in the dirt next to Briar’s face.
“Eat.”
He didn’t need to be told again. He’d been tied up for two days without food and only just enough water to keep him from fainting. He devoured the small morsel ravenously, only to look up and see the alpha chuckling.
“You can have this too.” He held out a square of cold meat and a canteen of water. “But only if you promise not to try to get away again. I really don’t have time to keep chasing you down.”
Briar licked his lips as he took the meat, gulping it down in one bite and washing it down with the water. His stomach grumbled for more.
“Now hold still.”
Maybe it was just that he was tired of running, or maybe it was the possibility of getting more food, but Briar couldn’t resist the compulsion to obey this time. He lay on the ground as the alpha dug through his bag, finally fishing out a box of first aid supplies.
“Give me your arm,” the alpha barked gruffly, tearing off a strip of gauze.
“It’s fine,” Briar said, trying to hide his injured forearm behind his back.
“I can’t have you bleeding all over the place, leading the other alphas right for us. It’s bad enough that you smell irresistibly fuckable from miles away.”
Heat burnt Briar’s cheeks, and he didn’t resist when the alpha grabbed his arm and began applying salve to the deep bite marks he’d been given when his pack was attacked. The alpha's touch was surprisingly gentle, and despite himself, Briar found his pulse relaxing in response.
“My name’s Briar, by the way,” he said in a hushed voice.
“I’m Rohan,” The alpha said, tying a bandage tight around Briar’s arm, but don’t talk unless I tell you to.”
“Why are you—”
“I said shut up,” he hissed, throwing his body onto Briar’s, pushing him into the bush.
A few feet away, something rustled in the trees. Briar’s heart thumped against his chest as he felt the heat of Rohan’s body spread through his. He’d never had an alpha this close to him, and the heavy scent of his skin made Briar’s head swim.
“Just a deer,” Rohan murmured as he helped Briar up. “We have to get away from these savages as fast as we can.”
He took a wad of clothes from his bag and tossed them at Briar. “Put these on before you freeze to death. I can’t let you shift back into your wolf or your scent will be even stronger and you’re already almost too much for me to resist, let alone all the savages tracking you.”
Briar grabbed the clothes and tugged them on over his naked body, feeling only slightly less vulnerable. Rohan slipped on a pair of worn jeans and took a small vial from his pocket, spritzing a cloud of mist all over his body. Scent masker.
“So that’s why you smell so strange.” Briar stared at the hulking man. “You’re using a scent masker to hide that you’re a rogue.”
“I thought I told you not to talk. Aren’t omegas supposed to listen to alphas?”
“My parents always told me I’d make a terrible mate,” Briar grumbled under his breath, pressing his lips shut.
To his surprise, a small laugh rose from Rohan’s lips. “Trust me, an alpha would kill to be your mate. Too bad this stuff won’t work on you.” He chucked the vial of scent masker back in his bag. “An unmated omega’s scent is much, much too enticing to be hidden.”
Briar swallowed heavily, his voice dropping to a whisper as he asked the question he didn’t really want the answer to. “What are you going to do to me?
“Well, first I’m going to gag you if you don’t shut up like I told you to,” he barked, grabbing Briar by the waist and slinging him back over his shoulders. “But other than that, all I’m doing is saving your sorry little hide.”
“Why—” Briar didn’t get any further into his question before a wad of bandage was shoved into his mouth.
“Don’t worry about why.”