Omega Hunted by Linsey Moon

15

Leaving allthe wood they had gathered in a pile, Nick and Savannah run in the direction of the screaming omega. They are careful not to make too much noise, not that much could be heard over the sound of the omega’s screams. After a few minutes they reached a breakaway in the trees and saw a girl run past.

Savannah grabbed Nick’s shirt and tugged to get his attention. “That’s Corrine. We’ve got to help her. I can smell her fear.”

“I know,” Nick said. “So can I.” His voice sounded like he was barely restraining his anger. He flashed Savannah a look that made her draw up to an immediate stop. “Stay here.”

Even though he wasn’t her alpha, nobody was, she felt the power of his alpha command wash over her. She knew she could defy it easily since he had not claimed her, but the look in his eyes told her she wouldn’t like his reaction if she did. So she nodded her agreement.

Nick turned back to the opening in the tree line just in time to see Roman run by laughing as he chased Corrine. Savannah’s skin paled. She hadn’t spoken to Roman, but his scent was a warning of its own and she knew he was not a good alpha. Not the kind of alpha any of the omegas would be okay with if they were claimed by him. Just another reminder of how Nick’s idea that this was the best path and gave the omegas the best chance at choice was utter bullshit.

Nick grabbed her hand and they ran around through the brush and stayed out of sight. When they stopped to lay eyes on Corrine again, she was about a yard behind them heading their way.

“I’ll grab her as soon as she gets to us,” Nick said. “Roman might be willing to chase her when he thinks nobody’s watching, but he won’t break The Lady’s rules with an alpha witness. The consequences for breaking her rules are severe. She doesn’t like when people try to circumvent what she’s set up here and make up their own rules.”

Savannah couldn’t even imagine what kind of punishment The Lady would be willing to dole out if she got angry. She was willing to kidnap and drug omegas just to make some cash. Anyone willing to sell off other people’s lives like she was doing was undoubtedly willing to do anything when she was pissed off.

Corrine was almost to their hiding place and Nick was about to step out to grab her and get her away from Roman. Just before he moved to step out, the trees a few feet ahead moved and Shen stepped out right in Corrine’s path. She couldn’t stop and ran right into him. She was running fast enough to make him take a couple steps backward when her smaller body slammed into his.

Corrine stumbled backwards and fell on her ass. Shen laughed and bent down to grab her. Corrine swung her arms frantically trying to beat him away, and Shen burst out laughing. He wrestled her to the ground and Savannah gasped.

Nick shot her a look that made her silence herself again, but she kept her glare on Shen. He was at least twice Corrine’s size and as an alpha his strength far exceeded hers. He didn’t need to wrestle her, and the laugh that kept bubbling out of him made it pretty clear this was all just a game to him.

“Stop playing,” Roman said, his accent thick with humor. “We can play with them as much as we want back at the cabin. Best not to let one of The Lady’s spies find us out here hunting in daylight.”

“You better let me go or I’ll tell her!” Corrine yelled.

Shen and Roman laughed and Shen wrapped his arms around her, capturing her around her waist with her arms flailing. No matter how hard she tried to swing her arms or kick her legs it made no difference other than to spur Shen and Roman’s laughter further.

Savanah pushed Nick’s arm. When he turned back to look at her she jabbed her finger in the direction of the two rule breaking alphas and Corrine.

“You have to help,” she whispered.

When she looked their way her eyes widen in disbelief as she watches Roman holding Corrine’s hands together behind her back while Shen ties a rope around them. Then they moved to her ankles. After those were secured, Shen picked her up and threw her over his shoulder and Corrine screamed in his ear. Shen slapped her ass making Roman throw his head back in a loud belly laugh.

“Oh, this one’s going to be fun,” Roman said.

Savannah gripped her hands in fists and gave Nick one last glare. When he doesn’t show any sign of moving to go after them, she passes him by stomping her feet when she walks by him.

Nick grabbed her arm. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I think it’s obvious,” she said, pinning him with a glare. “I’m going to help Corrine get free.”

“You don’t actually think I’m going to let you go off on your own after two alphas who clearly have no sense of morals.”

“You don’t have to let me do anything, but I’m going.”

“Fine,” he snapped. “Then I’m coming with you.”

“Don’t put yourself out. You can take the wood we collected back to the cabin and check on Kasim.”

His grip on her arm tightened. “Not a chance. If you’re going, I’m going.”

She began walking in the direction Roman and Shen went with Corrine without looking back at Nick and said, “You’re free to do as you please.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re stubborn,” Nick said, while he easily stepped up beside her.

Her father came to mind. “Maybe a few times,” she said. How often had he called her stubborn and warned her it would one day be the thing that got her in trouble? She would always get so mad when he accused her of being stubborn. She would give just about anything to hear him say it right now.

She couldn’t allow herself to get lost in memories and sadness missing her parents. She had to keep her head in the game if there was any chance of saving Corrine…of saving herself from being claimed by one of these alphas and escaping.

They followed Roman and Shen several yards away from the cabin where they had left Kasim. The trek was far enough that Corrine lost her fight about halfway and stopped struggling against her bindings and trying to get free of Shen’s hold. Eventually the heavy brush began to open up and Savannah spotted another cabin a couple yards ahead and Shen and Roman were headed straight for it.

The cabin wasn’t the only thing she noticed. There must have been a window opened because she caught the sweet scent of two omegas on the breeze, but their scents were tainted with the tinny scent of fear and pain. Another stronger scent made Savannah pause in her tracks and she balled her hands into fist. It smelled like burnt cedar wood and some kind of awful spice that made Savannah turn up her nose.

There was no denying it was another alpha as potent as the smell was to her omega sensibilities, but that was just proof that all alphas are not equal. This particular scent was the kind that would send Savannah running as fast as she could in the opposite direction. She couldn’t imagine anyone would allow such an alpha to claim them by choice.

“Do you smell that?” she said quietly to Nick.

“Yes.” The word sounded strained and she glanced over to find him looking barely restrained with his upper lip pulled back in a snarl as he stared in the direction of the cabin.

Corrine wasn’t the first omega these two had captured, and they clearly had a third alpha on their team who had stayed behind doing god knows what to the omegas already captured inside the cabin. They didn’t have a way of knowing if the other omegas were captured during the active hunt time or daylight like Corrine had been, but Savannah would bet it was the latter.

There was nothing honorable about these three omegas. It wouldn’t surprise her if they waited until daylight so they’d have an unfair advantage since most of the alphas wouldn’t be pursuing the unclaimed omegas pursuant to The Lady’s rules.

Nick put a hand on Savannah’s shoulder making her pause to look up at him. He looked more serious than she’d seen so far from him. “We need to keep our distance until we see the right opportunity. Three alphas on one isn’t a risk I’m willing to take when you’re on the line. I know you want to save the other omegas, but if we have any hope of getting them away from these assholes you’re going to have to listen and do everything I say. Do you think you can manage that?”

Normally Savannah would balk at the obvious insinuation she couldn’t follow directions but she had been deliberately obstinate since they’d met, and he was helping her get to the other omegas. It wasn’t the time to worry about egos. Never mind the fact these omegas would be hunted again the moment the sun set. This game they’d been forced into was crooked enough without allowing the alphas with the advantage to take it further by breaking the only rule that gave the omegas some relief.

When Roman and Shen were a couple feet from the door to the cabin it swung open and the scents from inside swirled on the wind, stronger than before. Savanah covered her nose with the back of her arm trying to drown out the alpha’s awful scent when Lucas Frost stepped out to hold the door for the other two alphas.

The rundown Savannah had gotten on Lucas was his money and claim to his ticket to this event was through his oil executive father’s money. He’d never done anything to make a name for himself. Savannah remembered he wore a snake mask at the ball the day before. Clearly his mask was chosen to fit his personality because the sight behind him nearly made Savannah throw up the very little she’d eaten over the last few days.

Through the doorway inside the cabin were two more omegas with their arms tied to something above their heads which were hanging in defeat while their bodies hung limply from the ceiling. They had to be exhausted from the pain of hanging like that.

Corrine tried to escape her captors again and Lucas started laughing. The sound of his laugh sent chills down Savannah’s spine. It was the closest thing to what she would imagine evil sounded like.

“You got a feisty one this time,” Lucas said. He smacked Corrine on the ass as Shen carried her by him into the cabin.

The door closed behind them once they had Corrine inside so Nick and Savannah moved closer to hear them, but stayed hidden in the tree line.

“We should roll some dice for dibs on this one,” Shen said.

“No way,” Roman said. “We should get the one we chased down. Since I chased this fiery one down, she’s mine.”

“I caught her!” Shen yelled.

“Boys!” Lucas said. “You’re arguing over nothing. These three aren’t worth the rope we used to restrain them. They certainly aren’t good enough to carry on my bloodline. We need to capture more.”

“If you’re so unimpressed with our catch,” Roman said, “you go catch your own. I’m taking a break.”

A few minutes later the door to the cabin slammed open. Shen and Luca walked out and Savannah could hear Lucas grumbling but couldn’t make out what he said, just something about people being lazy. What a joke coming from him.

Once Lucas and Shen were gone from sight, Nick turned to her. “I’m going to go to the front and call Roman outside. You do not budge until you see him come out that front door and engage me. You have to be patient. When he’s out the door and focused on me, you sneak to the back and get the omegas out. You’ve got to be quiet and do your best to stay low. Out of the wind.

“Letting you go out into the open where he might catch your scent is risky, so I’m hoping if you stay down low the wind won’t pick up your scent enough for him to notice it’s different from the three omegas he’s holding captive. I wish there was another way, but the only other option I see ends with him in a body bag.

“Believe me, the consequences The Lady would shell out for that are far worse than what those omegas are going through right now. She wouldn’t just punish me. So stay low and be quiet.”

“I’ve got this,” Savannah said. “You just worry about keeping his attention and I’ll get the others out.”

Savannah watched while Nick walked straight out into the open and pounded on the cabin door. Then he took several steps back from the cabin and yelled, “Roman, I know you’re in there and I know you’ve broken the rules. Get your ass out here!”

Savannah was bouncing on her heels while she waited for Roman to come out and answer Nick’s challenge. She didn’t have to wait long. The door to the cabin slammed open so hard it bounced off the outer wall of the cabin and Savannah was sure she heard the sound of wood cracking.

“That’s big talk for someone who needs to mind their own business,” Roman said when he stepped out of the cabin.

Savannah waited until the door to the cottage slammed closed behind him, then she took off for the back. She kept her knees bent, making herself stay as low to the ground as possible without dropping to all fours and crawling. She found an open window at the back of the cabin. It must have been the way she’d been able to scent Lucas and the other omegas so easily.

When she popped her head up to look inside her eyes locked with Corrine’s and Corrine started trying to shake her body free of the ropes that held her tied to the open boards that spanned the ceiling. Her reaction made the other omegas shimmy in their bindings until they were able to see Savannah too. Eyes wide they all started to try to shake free.

The only saving grace was the cloth secured in each of their mouths prevented them from yelling out. Roman certainly would have heard them then, and no amount of distraction on Nick’s part would have stopped him from coming into the cabin and catching Savannah. She frantically waved her hand then covered her lips with one finger giving the other omegas the signal to be quiet.

After waiting a minute to make sure Roman had not heard any of the movement made by the girls in their attempts at getting her attention, she started slowly climbing inside through the window. She didn’t so much as breathe while she moved her body through the opening. This was one time being an omega was an advantage. Anyone bigger wouldn’t have fit through the window without having to risk opening it wider. Even a beta would have been too broad for the narrow opening. Savannah fit right through with no more than a slight snag of her clothing on an exposed nail when she made the final landing inside.

She went to untie the omegas she knew had been left hanging by their arms the longest because she knew they were the ones closest to being at risk of permanent damage. Savannah had seen both of them at the dance charade they had been forced to put on for the alphas the day before, but she hadn’t spoken with them and didn’t know their names. What she did know what they no longer looked like the bright, beautiful omegas The Lady had dressed them up to be to show off for the alphas.

Their dresses were dirty and torn. Most likely a repercussion of being chased through the trees and treated like animals by the boneheaded alphas who captured them and strung them up like they were nothing more than a prize. That’s probably all those heinous alphas saw when they looked at any of the omegas.

The ropes were bound too tight around their wrists for her to undo with her fingers. Likely pulled tight from their body weight pulling down on the knot for however long they’d been forced to hang there suspended; not to mention any added tension from their struggles before they ran out of the strength to fight. Savannah made her way to the kitchen and sighed in relief that this cabin, like the one she had rested in with Kasim and Nick, was fully stocked. She grabbed a knife from the butcher block by the stove and rushed back to the first omega.

She cut both of the weary omegas down, careful to catch them before they could fall to the floor and alert Roman to what she was up to inside. She could hear him and Nick talking out front, or arguing was more like it. A whole lot of Roman telling Nick to fuck off, and Nick telling Roman a real alpha wouldn’t need to break the rules to claim an omega. That made her scoff. Every alpha here was breaking rules according to the DOA, and even though the omegas hadn’t had a choice in coming, they would be considered conspirators if the DOA ever found this place.

Savannah cut Corrine down last, while the other girls helped each other out the back window. Then she helped Corrine out and followed right behind her. Corrine turned to her the moment her feet were on the ground outside the cabin.

“Thanks,” Corrine said, “and I’m sorry for ditching you before. And now.”

Savannah’s mouth dropped, but Corrine was already turning her back on her and the other two omegas. She watched in shock while Corrine ran for the trees without an ounce of compassion for the others or Savannah who had just saved her, and without being quiet so she wouldn’t alert Roman to their escape.

“Crap!” Savannah smacked her fists against her thighs. She looked at the two weary omegas. They hardly looked like they could run, but they didn’t have much of a choice.

“We’ve got to get out of here. Now,” she said.

The three of them started rushing towards the forest. They barely made it a couple feet before she heard Roman.

“What the hell is this Faulkner!” Roman yelled. “Stealing my omegas?”

Savanah looked back and saw Roman running straight for her and the two omegas who were barely keeping themselves upright. Everything froze for her and her feet stopped. The other two kept going, not that they were moving much faster than standing still.

Her eyes widened when she saw Nick running full force at Roman. He tackled him to the ground like a wrecking ball.

Nick threw his head back and his blazing eyes met hers. “Run!”

She didn’t have to be told twice. Savannah turned on a dime and grabbed the hands of the other two omegas and they ran into the trees as fast as they could.