by J. L. Wilder
In the anguish of losing Zoe, he had almost completely forgotten about this other threat. Now it slammed back to the forefront of his mind with the force of a punch.
He shifted quickly, knowing that he would be more difficult to track in his human form. Though he was more vulnerable like this, he had to consider the fact that he would likely be unable to fight them no matter what form he was in. He was alone.
No, the better strategy right now was to hide.
He looked around quickly. There were no felled logs, no convenient caves. The best way to conceal himself would be to go up a tree. But he would have to move quickly. If the bears saw him, if they even saw the branches moving, it would be all too easy for them to follow. Bears were natural climbers. Wolves were not.
He grabbed the lowest branch of a nearby oak and swung himself up. As he climbed, he glanced back toward the pond, hoping that Louis would stay where he was. He thought his friend was probably far enough away to avoid the notice of the bears, but he didn’t want to test that theory.
Xavier climbed as high as he dared, until the branches began to bend under his weight. He moved in close to the trunk of the tree and pressed himself against it, waiting to see what would happen next.
Below him, a bear slowly nosed its way into the clearing.
Xavier felt as if his hackles were standing up all down his back. It was a strange feeling to have in human form when he had no hackles, but he couldn’t deny that the feeling was there. Just looking at them gave him an overwhelming sense of danger. He wanted to run.
He wanted to fight.
But neither of those would be the right response. He knew that.
You have to stay here. You just have to stay where you are until they leave.
It was agonizing.
It felt wrong.
It was not what a wolf would do. It was what a human would do.
And, Xavier realized, a week ago, he wouldn’t have been able to do it. A week ago, he would have tried to run away from these bears, as he had done when he and Louis lived up north. And then they probably would have had to relocate again.
As it was, it was possible that the bears still didn’t know they were in the area at all.
There was a rustle, and two more figures entered the clearing. To Xavier’s surprise, they were human also. He could tell they were the other two bear shifters, though, because of the way they approached the bear. They weren’t surprised or afraid. They treated the bear like a member of their family.
“They’ve got a bunch of alphas with them for protection,” one of the humans said. “That’s got to be what happened to the two we lost. Those alpha wolves must have killed them.”
The bear snorted.
“Listen,” the other human said. “I don’t care what they did. We’re talking about a group of, what, twenty omegas? It’s a buffet. We only need to get a few of them on their own.”
The glee in his voice chilled Xavier. He sounded completely unperturbed by the subject of the deaths of two of his friends. And the way he talked about omegas...
Wait a minute. A group of twenty omegas? In this area, there could only be one group like that.
And Xavier knew exactly who it was.
They’re talking about Zoe. Zoe and her class.
They hadn’t attacked Zoe by chance that day. It had been a planned assault. They had intentionally tried to pick off an omega, no doubt to make use of her for the purposes of sex or breeding. Xavier had heard of alphas, especially rogues without a pack, doing such things.
They’re so wild that they didn’t even care about the fact that she’s a wolf and they’re bears. They would have taken her and used her anyway. The idea sickened him. If he and Louis hadn’t found Zoe when they had...who knew what could have happened to her?
Then another thought, an even more grotesque one, came to him.
He and Louis had been wondering what could have caused the bears to come south. They had been fairly sure that the bears hadn’t known about their own migration.
But what if the bears knew that Omega University was sending a class here?
Zoe had told Xavier that the school sent students camping every year. Maybe the bears had known to expect it.
Maybe this was a planned attack.
I have to warn them.
He had to find his way to the camp and let Zoe and her friends know that as long as they stayed, they would be under attack. He had to let them know that it would never be safe for them to come back because if these wild bears knew they came here, there was no telling who else might know.
These woods weren’t a safe place for a group of omegas anymore.
He felt the itch beneath his skin, so powerful and overwhelming that he wanted to shift right then and there. He took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. If he shifted now, he would fall out of the tree and land in the bears’ laps. There were three of them. He would lose that fight before it started.
He ached to run to Zoe’s side. But he had to wait.
“It’ll be dark in an hour,” one of the men below him said, his voice drifting up. “We’ll go then. I want us to have as many advantages as possible. We know they’ve got alphas guarding them, but if we sneak up on them in the dark, we might be able to get the drop on a few of those omegas before the alphas even realize anything’s wrong.”
“Best case scenario,” said the other voice, “we capture three or four of them and get away before anyone notices.”
“Do you really think we have a chance at pulling that off?”
“Your idea of going in the dark is a good one,” the second voice said. “We’ll be able to figure out where the alphas are. They can’t be everywhere at once. They’ll probably be patrolling the perimeter of the campsite. So once we figure out their pattern, we’ll just slip right past them. Easy.”
They sat down under Xavier’s tree and began to pass a bottle of whiskey back and forth, talking about trivial matters. The bear, meanwhile, paced back and forth in front of them as if to say that he was ready to go right now.
Xavier’s heart raced. Apparently, they didn’t mean to leave from this spot until they were ready to go to Zoe’s camp and attack.
Which means I’m going to have almost no time.
He wanted to do this with Louis by his side. His chances would be better. But he wouldn’t be able to afford the time it would take to go and find his friend. He wouldn’t be able to leave until after the bears had left. Then he would have to take a longer route to avoid crossing their path, but he would also have to arrive before them so that he would be able to give the omegas a warning.
This is going to be impossible.
When the bears left, he would have to run like he had never run before in his life. He wouldn’t have a single second to spare.
And if I fail...
He shuddered to think of it. If he failed, it could mean a horrible fate for Zoe. What those bears would do to her if they caught her...he couldn’t think about it. He forced the thoughts out of his head. It was too much, too painful, and he needed to focus.
He ran his hands over the bark of the tree, letting the sensation of the texture center him. He let the scent of bear in the air, which grew stronger with each passing moment, keep him edgy and angry. He wanted a fight. He was glad there was going to be one.
He wouldn’t think about all that might be lost.
Finally, the sun sank low on the horizon. The two men below him got to their feet. A moment later, the stench of bear was three times as strong. Xavier looked down and almost clawed a gash in the trunk of the tree at the sight of them.
They set off, single file, into the trees.
Here we go.
Xavier climbed down as quickly as he could without making noise. The moment his feet hit the ground, he resumed his wolf form, feeling as if he could breathe again. The panic that had filled him, the anxiety that had seemed to swell within him over the past few hours—they had drained away now. In animal form, he
was strong and confident, and he had a plan. He knew what he needed to do.
He began to run.
The bears weren't far ahead of him. It was easy enough to follow their scent. But he didn’t want them picking up on his, and he didn’t want them to see him when he passed them, so he detoured several yards to the left.
I really fucking hope this works, he thought.
His course plotted, he dug in his feet and began to run as fast and as hard as he could.
It was harder than he had ever run in his life. But the only thing he could think about was Zoe. Somewhere, on the other end of this frantic chase through the darkened woods, she was waiting, with no idea what was coming for her.
Either Xavier would reach her first, and he would find a way to make her safe, or else he would be too late.
If the bears get her, I will never forgive myself. I will always know that she would have been safe if I hadn’t sent her back.
It felt as though it would be a miracle if he could somehow pass the bears and reach Zoe first. But his world would be destroyed if he failed.
Xavier ran faster.
Chapter Eighteen
ZOE
“Tonight will be our last night here, everyone,” Professor Browning said. “I want to get moving quickly in the morning, so I expect you all to get up with the sun and strike your tents quickly, without being told to do so.”
Zoe sighed. This wilderness trip had been so much less, and yet so much more, than she had ever expected. She couldn’t believe it was coming to an end.
“You’ve been moody since you got back to camp,” Daphne observed. “It’s him, isn’t it?”
Zoe hadn’t talked to her friend about Xavier at all. Just the prospect of mentioning his name was painful. But she knew she wasn’t hiding her feelings very well. “Yeah,” she admitted.
“It’s for the best that you were separated from him, you know,” Daphne said.
“He imprinted on me, Daphne.”
“I’m sorry, but you don’t know that, Zoe,” Daphne said. “An imprint...you can’t imagine how powerful it is. I don’t think you would have been physically capable of leaving one another if it had really happened. I think he was lying to you.”
Zoe knew her friend was trying to help, but there was nothing helpful about being told she had just imagined the most foundational experience of her life. She said nothing. She stared into the flames of their huge bonfire—the fire Professor Browning had started with the lighter in his pocket—and wondered whether Xavier had a fire tonight.
“It will be good for you to get away from him,” Daphne said. “You need to move on. Logan will help you. I’ll get him to introduce you to some of his friends. We’ll find someone to really imprint on you, and you’ll forget all about what happened out here.”
What would Daphne say if she knew the secret Zoe was concealing?
Zoe had done her best to avoid showing any sign of her pregnancy. She studiously kept her hands away from her stomach, even though she felt an overpowering urge to rest them there. She ate and exercised normally. Daphne had no reason to suspect anything.
And yet, Zoe felt completely different. She felt as if she were wearing her pregnancy visibly, as if her body was already swollen up with the weight of her litter. It amazed her that no one around her could see anything, that no one had said anything. How could they not know?
But clearly, they didn’t. It was against school rules for an omega to become pregnant. As soon as Zoe was found out, she would be asked to leave. If anyone knew her secret, that would have happened already.
She would just have to try to get as much education as she could in the time that remained to her.
Tomorrow, they would be leaving the woods behind. They would be going back to school. And once they did, Zoe knew that there would be no chance of her ever seeing Xavier again.
It’s not as if I can come up here alone and look for him. That would be beyond dangerous. And she knew that he would never come to Omega University to find her.
Everything would be over.
She didn’t want to sit outside any longer, the way some of the others clearly did. She didn’t want to watch the fire die down to embers and think about the fact that her dreams were dying along with it. “I’m going to bed,” she said, getting to her feet.
“It’s our last night,” Daphne said. “Stay.”
But Zoe couldn’t. She felt guilty about it, but she didn’t think she could stand another moment in her friend’s presence. “I need to rest,” she said. “We’re supposed to be up early tomorrow, and I’m tired.”
Before Daphne could utter another word of protest, Zoe turned and jogged back to her tent.
She had been so concerned, coming up there, that the sleeping roll she’d brought wouldn’t be soft enough, that she would be in too much pain sleeping on the hard ground. Now it seemed impossibly cushy. She pushed it to one side and lay on the canvas bottom of the tent, wrapped in her blanket for warmth.
If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine that she was back in the cave and that Xavier would be lying down beside her at any moment.
She fell asleep and dreamed of the way it felt to be held in Xavier’s arms.
ZOE WOKE UP TO THE sound of screaming.
Light flared through the canvas wall of her tent, and she thought something must have been on fire.
A snarl ripped from someone who was standing very nearby. Alpha, she thought with a shudder.
And then—we’re under attack.
The bears.
She felt frozen with fear. The last time she had come face to face with the bears, it had almost killed her. She wanted to leave her tent now. She wanted to go out and help her friends get to safety.
But she was carrying Xavier’s litter.
She couldn’t risk the babies. That had to be the most important thing.
She flattened herself against the ground. She could be smelled, of course. If the bears were able to get past the alphas, they would be able to find her.
But they probably aren’t looking for me. They’re probably just attacking a group of omega wolves indiscriminately.
That was...unless they had discovered what had happened to their two allies. The ones Louis and Xavier had killed. If they knew that, and if they had learned about Zoe’s involvement...
This could be revenge.
“All right, everyone just hold on,” a voice said. “It doesn’t have to be like this. Can we please talk? It’s urgent.”
Zoe’s adrenaline surged.
She knew that voice.
She burst free of her tent, running toward him with abandon, everything that had happened between them suddenly forgotten. The only thing that mattered was that he was there. She launched herself into his arms, ignoring the dumbfounded stares of everyone around her.
“Xavier,” she said. “You came.”
She heard the mumbles of the students around her, many of them sounding upset or disapproving, but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t allow herself to be separated from Xavier again.
I should never have agreed to leave him in the first place, she thought.
He squeezed her quickly and then held her back at arm’s length. He looked around. “Who’s in charge here?” he asked.
“Who the hell are you?” Logan asked.
“There’s no time,” Xavier said. “You’re about to be under attack.”
Professor Browning pushed through the crowd. “I’m in charge,” he said. “What do you mean, under attack?”
“Wild bears,” Xavier said. “The ones who attacked Zoe a few days ago. They’re on their way here.”
His hands were still on her, Zoe noticed. He wasn’t speaking to her or paying any immediate attention to her, but he was holding her.
She pulled him close, fitting herself in against his shoulder. He allowed it.
“Why would they come here?” Logan asked.
“I heard them talking,” Xavier said. “They’re hoping to
kidnap some omegas. They know about your group. I think they’ve been watching you. I ran here as fast as I could, but they can’t be more than a few minutes behind me. You need to be ready to defend yourselves.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment as that settled in.
Then Professor Browning spoke. “Alphas, make a perimeter,” he said. “Tight and close, inside the tents. Omegas, by the campfire, and stick together. No one strays from the group.” He turned to Xavier. “Young man—”
“Xavier.”
“Thank you for bringing us this information.”
“I fight with your alphas,” he said.
“Very well,” Professor Browning said.
“Wait a minute,” one of the alphas said. “He’s a feral alpha, isn’t he? Just like these bears he’s telling us about. Why should we trust him?”
Before anyone could provide an answer to that question, though, Zoe heard the sound of rustling in the woods. Something big was coming, and it was moving fast.
Xavier released her and shifted. Some of the other alphas began to follow suit. A few looked doubtful, but one by one, they joined the perimeter formation. Professor Browning shifted and stood alongside them.
Zoe backed toward the campfire. “Come on,” she said, grabbing Daphne by the wrist. “Help me get everyone together. We have to keep calm. If someone panics and runs, those bears will definitely get them.”
Her friend was on the verge of panic already. “There’s going to be a fight, isn’t there?” she asked. “What’s going to happen to Logan?”
“He’ll be safest if he doesn’t have to worry about us,” Zoe said. “Stay by me. This will all be over soon.”
One way or another.
If those bears found their way in, Zoe knew she would shift and go down fighting herself. She would never allow them to take her alive. She wouldn’t let her babies be born to that kind of life.
The first bear broke through the trees. It was dark, and Zoe couldn’t see him clearly, but she got an impression of the size of the beast. It was terrifying. It took everything within her to keep from turning and running away.
Beside her, Daphne trembled. Zoe clutched her friend’s hand. Some of the other girls screamed, but everyone kept their wits about them. No one moved from the safety of the bonfire circle.
