Running From An Alpha by Rachel Starkie
Chapter 1
Running. Always on the move. Zoya had been pursued for nearly a year. After the mysterious death of her father, she had no choice. As an Omega of her pack, neither fate nor the pack would be kind without his protection.
She moved through the thickets of trees and branches, pulled her hood down to protect her face, swiped her spiky light brown hair back. With a smile, she thought about that first act of rebellion. Chopping off her hair. The females of her pack were made to keep long locks as a sign of feminity and show they were ready for mating. Zoya broke with those ideas as soon as she split with her pack, long after he rejected her.
With a head shake, Zoya moved faster. Being out in the open was always a risk. She didn’t have time to think about him. She had to get back to her latest hiding place. A cottage she had found in her wandering. A little for rent flyer at a truck stop. It was an excuse to stop and regroup. She paid for it using a store of cash that her father had stashed. As her protector, he made it his life’s goal to prepare Zoya. He was both respected and feared in the pack, but his views on social standing made him unpopular in certain circles. He knew that a day would come that Zoya might have to run if only to save herself.
Once settled, she made a few inquires and soon had the place covered in magical wards to alert and protect her from harm. Again cash had been the trade of choice. It wasn’t the easiest thing to carry in an electronic age, but it was virtually untraceable and left few questions when enough of it was thrown around.
The return to the cottage was bittersweet, as Zoya knew her pursuers closed in. Their goal was to drag her back to the pack—to the Alpha that only wanted to possess her, not love her.
She had managed this long, keeping ahead of them, as something always tipped her off, giving her time to run again. She had not had any signs, but she had been here a couple of months, and while it was comfortable, that was the problem. Running meant just that. She had to keep moving. At least until she could find her tribe. Some group that would take her, care for her, and not betray her.
Inside the safety of her cottage, she pulled off her hoodie, her green eyes catching a glimpse of her disheveled appearance, making her smile. This was her, unrestricted and unapologetic. Her stomach gurgled. She needed food. Making her way to the kitchen, she started to rummage only to feel her wolf rise up in warning. Scenting the air, she knew before she turned that she was not alone, that he had found her.
Her body went rigid. Why didn’t her wards give warning? Had they been faulty? Were they rigged to get her found? Anger, fear, and the need to run consumed her as she heard his sigh. She turned, a lump in her throat, and found him leaned into the doorframe as though his presence were accepted. As if she welcomed his towering frame, his pitch-black bed-headed coif, or those penetrating blue eyes that now had her transfixed. Then there were his pouty lips, lips that carried a smirk that made the fear subside and the desire to punch him come into focus. This was the mate that rejected her, the one that made her yearn with passion and burn with hatred. Made her wolf want to show her belly and her teeth.
“Hello Zoya,” his smooth voice rung in her ears, making her glare.
“Hello Sean, what do you want?” She knew but needed to put on the face. Needed to keep her knees from going weak. Her eyes narrowed as he tried to close the distance. She shifted her stance, keeping the kitchen island between them. Part of her wanted him, yearned for him to say he was there for her. That he wanted to claim her for himself, not for their sniveling excuse of an Alpha. This is the closest Sean had come. So often, he was on her heels, but never this maddeningly close.
“I have come to take you home,” his tone was matter-of-fact, laced with condescension.
A humorless laugh followed by a snarl erupted from her. “My home was gone the moment my father died. I will not be a toy for anyone.” Her wheels spun as she spoke and calculated just how she would escape this time.
“Come now. It is not that bad. You will find another male to take you in,” Sean made it sound simple. Made it sound as if he could care less for the woman that once shared his bed.
“No thanks.” The thought of letting any other male apart from him touch her made her sick.
“Now come on, Zoya, we have been at this for a year. Let's stop, okay? Come home, and everyone will forgive you. Lost in your..”
Smash! A bowl goes sailing past him, and his eyes go wide.
“I am not some weak child that needs the pack to keep me safe. By the council law, any wolf can leave their pack when they wish. You have no right to hunt me down and force me to return!” Growling, her eyes flash with fury.
Sean returned the aggressive posture. “Listen, Zoya, he will not let you go. You know he wants to claim you. So why don’t you just give in?”
“I will never let the bastard who ordered my father’s death touch me. You were the only one I allowed. You rejected our bond. Why the fuck would I let another have me?” Zoya roared, losing herself to the temper she learned from her father.
Sean sighed, “I already told you. You are not my..” He was cut off by a dishrag covered in flour being thrown in his face. By the time the dust cleared, the back door had slammed, and Zoya was gone.
***
Ooh-that is never gonna wash. A few steps behind at the edge of the property line, Dale, Sean’s younger brother, watched. Sean made him stay back, wanting to capture Zoya himself. Dale had shrugged, knowing that it would be an entertaining moment. He just wished for popcorn. He watched her outsmart Sean again. Not that it was hard. Sean was built for braun, not brains.
As soon as the door slammed, Zoya’s paws hit the ground running. In wolf form, she was faster than Sean. Her small lean body an advantage. It made her faster, and in the thick underbrush being able to maneuver was vital. As an Alpha caste, Sean was built for brute force, and although his endurance could match her own, he did not know these woods. Dale sighed. It was again time to give chase.
***
Zoya heard the ground as it rumbled with heavy footfalls. Pushing her body, she raced to a rocky track, lept into the river that ran through the forest, and let the current carry her along. If she were lucky, they would lose her scent. She had only seen Sean but knew that his brother would not be far behind. She and Dale had been close once. Though that seemed like a lifetime ago.
Zoya shook out her thick fur at the riverbed and moved up the mountain to an outcropping that signaled the small entrance to her cave. Compressing her body, she pulled herself inside. There was no way that either of Sean’s forms could fit through the cracks, so she knew that she would be safe, at least for a little while. Dale might have fit, but Sean was overprotective and frankly so pompous and prideful that he would never let his little brother have the credit for capturing her.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness, moving deeper until space opened. She could hear her heart drumming and her panting as it echoed through the cavern where her emergency stashes were hidden. Shifting back to her human form, the cracks in the overhead allowed just enough light that she could see as her pupils dilated and adjusted. Zoya was smart. She learned that running meant going light, but some things could not be lost. Somethings she needed as anchors, so these things she hid away from her resting places. She would miss the more creature comforts, like her laptop, but she could replace it. Her documents and photos were saved on a server, accessible from any laptop that had internet. Just because she was a shifter and part of a pack didn’t mean they were without modern technology. They appreciated a roof over their head, good food in their bellies, a warm bed at night, and there was always porn for most males.
Things she indeed lacked tonight. Here it was a tattered sleeping bag for her bed and survival bars to feed her growling belly. Choking down a gross tasting bar, she laid down, too tired to move on yet. She needed to rest, regroup and decide what her next move was to be. It had been months since Sean had gotten so close. She was getting tired and running out of places to hide. Perhaps the mountains, or maybe further. Her body was weary, and she welcomed the darkness of sleep.