WILD

five

She was tired.

She couldn't keep up like this. It was pitch black outside, and the only reason she was able to see is thanks to her wolf's vision, and it was still hard to see where she was going. Her wolf was begging her to give in and to stop this stupid endeavor for freedom that she wasn't ever going to have, but she was too strong willed.

Her legs were aching and her paws were probably bleeding at that point, but she didn't want to give in. Giving in and letting this alpha have her would mean that she loses everything dear to her. Her opportunity to fall in love on her own terms, to have her freedom, to see her father again. She didn't want to give that up. She couldn't give it up.

But it seemed as if she had to.

Her vision was beginning to blur and her heart was screaming at her to take a breather, hammering away at her rib cage. Her whole body was aching, and her running was becoming sloppy and sluggish.

Then she tripped.

Or more like her paw got caught between two large stones and she couldn't get it out.

She face planted and then frantically stood up in confusion. Lorena looked behind her to see her back paw caught and it wasn't budging no matter how much she pulled. She panicked, watching the alpha run over to where she was stuck, doing a sort of cocky victory lap and then stopping behind her.

The black she-wolf threw a fit, assuming the worst. As he approached her from behind she started crying and whimpering, making all kinds of noises to try and keep him at a distance.

Alpha Orion wasn't trying to mount her at the moment, but the way she was crying and whimpering made him feel like a monster, so he decided to explain himself in a language she could understand. He shifted into his human form and stood up. He moved to her side and reached out his hand to her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Lorena highly doubted that and started to thrash around, snapping her jaws at his outstretched hand. But Orion wasn't stupid and didn't have his hand anywhere near where she could bite him.

"If you sit still, I can help you release your leg, okay?" Lorena paused and looked into his gray eyes, not trusting him. Her poor paw was starting to hurt, and once he freed her, she could pick up running again, no problem.

Once she let him get close enough, Orion went behind her again and looked at how her paw was lodged in between the rocks. To him, it looked pretty bad, and he knew she was going to need medical attention. She probably couldn't feel it, but her leg was almost completely cut open and it was bleeding profusely. There was no doubt that she would recover quickly, but she needed to let him take care of her and he knew she wouldn't allow him to fix her up.

The second he pulled the rocks apart to release her, she shot off like a bullet, but didn't get far because a fierce pain shot up her leg. She howled so loudly that Orion was pretty sure she shook the trees. He ran over to her and crouched down beside her, careful to keep his dangling glory away from her snapping jaws.

"Can you shift for me? I'm not going to hurt you or rape you, I'm just trying to help. If I don't tend to your wound it can and will get infected."

Lorena decided that it was time to give in. Well, at least her wolf did. She was hurt, and she couldn't run any longer, so there was no point in just laying out in the cold night, letting her wound get infected. This was the end of the line, and as much as she hated to admit it, she did need the alphas help.

Then maybe, once she was better, she would run.

She whimpered and reluctantly shifted, covering herself up the best she could. She noticed that Orion had no issue with showing all of his naked glory to the world, but despite being comfortable with her nudity she'd rather not have him see her completely immodest, lest he get any bright ideas.

He grinned and gently lifted her off of the ground, her hissing as her ankle dangled in the air, swaying around. She tensed as she felt his muscles ripple when he walked. Her wolf seemed content with the situation, but she was so angry with herself. How could she let herself get caught so easily? She hated herself and her clumsy ass legs.

And Vera! Was she okay? Had the alpha that caught her hurt her for fighting him?

She started squirming at the thought and was rewarded with the sound of Orion's chuckle reverberating through his chest. "Do you have to fight me literally every step of the way, little one?"

She hadn't been trying to fight him before, but now she was. How dare he call her that? "I'm not little, you oaf! And I have to help Vera, so put me down! I'll limp if I have to."

He shook his head in amusement. "No. Besides, we're almost there. And you can't do much of anything on that leg."

"But Vera-!"

"Vera is fine," he interrupted, assuming she was talking about the little blonde girl she was with. "She's with her new mate and he isn't going to hurt her. He's going to take good care of her and breed her, as he's meant to do."

Lorena wanted to counter him and argue just for the hell of it, but she thought against it. There was no point, not after hearing the finality in his voice. But the fact that he thought being forced by a man to breed wasn't any big deal disgusted her and made her even angrier. She did manage to hold her tongue despite all of that.

They finally approached an extremely small cabin and she sighed in relief, anticipating the exact second that she was out of his arms. They got inside and to her surprise, it was actually nicely furnished. There was a fireplace, two couches, blankets galore, and a small kitchen with a small fridge. The whole setup was actually a bit confusing, though. If they were in the middle of nowhere, how was there electricity and how did they keep the place stocked?

He set her down on the couch gently and then walked over to a door she hadn't even noticed once they walked in. He reached in and pulled out a large, oversized sweater that looked like it would fit him and swallow her. He slipped on a pair of sweatpants he found before walking back over to her.

Neither of them said anything as he helped her into the sweater. She just looked past him at the wall, feeling a sense of defeat. Of course she had gotten caught. This was now her mate, and there was nothing she could do about it except be so difficult that he would have leave her alone because he couldn't tame her.

But she was too tired to do anything right then. Her body was sore from being so tense and from running for what must have been miles in no specific direction. She dared herself to actually look at the man she was somewhat destined to be with forever and if she was honest with herself, he wasn't bad looking. He had a very nice jawline— it wasn't nonexistent, but it wasn't so sharp he looked like a bicycle seat— he had beautiful gray eyes, and he was built like an ancient god.

But looks aren't everything, she reminded herself.

"I never got your name." His somewhat deep and perfect voice startled her out of her staring contest with his pecs and she jumped a little.

She crossed her arms. "You don't need to know my name."

He scoffed. "Of course..." He should've known that taking the kind and gentle approach would never work with anyone as stubborn as her. She was as unmovable as a boulder, and he had to match her energy.

He cleared his throat, turning on the voice full of authority that came so naturally. "Let me rephrase that: what is your name, omega?"

Lorena scowled at being called omega. She did have a name...a name which she hadn't given to him yet. She sighed. He had won this battle.

"My name is Lorena. Not that it's any of your business."

He chuckled, genuinely amused at the woman's spunk. "Is that so?"

"Yes. I don't plan on being here long. Just fix my leg up so I can run again."

He stood up and laughed deeply, finding her to be hilarious at this point. He knew that it was moments like these that were going to make putting up with her that much more worth it. "You're not going anywhere, little one. I have selected you as my mate. You belong to me now," he informed her.

He saw a look of pure hatred on her face, and then one of confusion. Just when he had thought she got the message, she smiled.

"Well, I guess we'll see about that, won't we?"