Page 1 of Guarding the Runaway Omega

Chapter One

Jasper stumbled over a tree root embedded in the soggy ground, tripping him up as if it had been lying in wait for him to race by, as though it were keeping him from escaping his horrible fate at the hands of the shifters who’d been holding him captive. He slammed to the ground, scraping his cheek and knees against more roots and a large rock. As he lay there, shivering, his skin stinging from where he’d hurt himself, he realized the rain had picked up in intensity. He’d succumb to the elements if he didn’t find shelter soon.

Get up!

His wolf screamed somewhere inside of him, but Jasper couldn’t find exactly where he was, couldn’t call him forth the way he hadn’t been able to for weeks.

How long since they injected me with the shifting suppressant? Will it ever wear off?

All he had on was an over-sized T-shirt—not even shoes—let alone anything to give him the time. Darkness had already descended when he’d made the escape his fellow prisoners had deemed a death sentence, but Jasper hadn’t been clear what time it was then either.

He sucked in a deep gulp of air then slowly let it out. The thick drops of water falling from the sky had picked up a quicker pace, the rain pounding against the evergreens and carpet of needles and leaves, creating a deafening backdrop to the forest. He closed his eyes, his futile attempt at focusing against the cacophony of the weather preventing him from hearing if anyone was on his trail. But it was no use. Even his sense of smell had been thrown out of whack by the suppressant.

Wait.

Jasper’s eyes flew open. Something… He didn’t know what he’d scented, it had gone by in a flash, but it was the first odor he’d encountered since he’d been locked up that didn’t make him want to retch. No, what he wanted to do was inhale this mystery aroma as deeply as he could then lick whatever the source of it was until his tongue went dry.

Jasper gasped, pushing at the forest detritus with his heels to scramble away from whatever had just whooshed past him. He hid behind the enormous spruce that he was still convinced had been out to get him. The scent wafted past in the wake of the creature that had to be nearby, however, he now worried it was an evil lure, another trap the way everything else had been recently.

Nothing—or no one—could be trusted.

“You’re hurt.”

Jasper yelped then slapped a hand over his mouth. Fuck. Even his night vision was screwed up. He hadn’t realized anyone was nearby and now he’d gone and alerted them to where he was.

“Who are you?” Jasper wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

The face of a rugged man—who was probably only in his early twenties but had the presence of a much older soul—appeared in Jasper’s view. If only his senses hadn’t been tampered with so badly, he’d be able to discern this stranger’s features better.

This stranger who is the source of that maddeningly enticing aroma.

“My name is Hawk. Why are you out here like this, little wolf?” Hawk tilted his head. “You’re shivering, and I know you hurt yourself when you fell. Why don’t you just shift? I’ll turn around if you’re self-conscious.”

What? On occasion, new shifters who weren’t accustomed to nudity in front of strangers would be bashful, but that was normal since first shifts happened at puberty. As he was almost nineteen, he’d already been shifting for five years. And since he’d spent the past few months imprisoned sans clothing, the last thing he was shy about was being naked in front of Hawk. But Hawk’s offer revealed a very important thing about the stranger.

He thinks I can shift. That meant he wasn’t a part of the group of shifters who had been injecting him and the others. Fucking bastards. It still didn’t mean he could trust him, though.

“I’m not in the mood to shift right now. Maybe later.”

What if Hawk knew the shifters who had done this to him? Maybe he’d been sent to track him down, and if Jasper admitted to not being able to shift, then Hawk would know he was the escapee.

And he’ll take me back to them.

Hawk sighed. “I don’t understand why you don’t want to shift, since you’d warm up and heal those cuts and scrapes, but maybe you’re going through that rebellious phase now that you’ve begun to shift. Still, I’d like to help you to at least get out of this storm.”

He totally thinks I’m a kid! Jasper hated being teased all the time about how small he was. And it’s what’s gotten me in this mess too.

“Dude, I’m not a kid. I’ve been shifting for over five years, got it?”

Hawk stared at him from dark eyes that seemed black. If only he had the full range of his night vision, he could get a better sense of what Hawk looked like. His scent was damn attractive, so Jasper imagined the rest of him must be too.

“Oh, I see. I apologize.” Hawk extended a large, square hand to Jasper that he could just make out in the blackness. “As I said, my name is Hawk. What’s yours?”

Jasper narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the offered hand. His teeth had begun to chatter, and the stinging of his cuts was only getting worse. And I’m fucking starving. He hadn’t been getting fed all that well for the past few months, either. He didn’t care to muse as to why.

With a sigh, Jasper made a decision that would either save or end him. He’d likely find out soon enough which one it would be. He slid his hand into Hawk’s and Hawk gasped as soon as their skin touched.

The fuck? “Uh, I’m Jasper.” He frowned. “What’s wrong?”