Omega's Run

by A. J. Downey

  “Maybe not. But I think I have an idea that she’ll respond to.”

  She wouldn’t say more than that, no matter how I bugged her, so after a few minutes we shifted back, again with me rolling around on the ground like an idiot. It only happens when I go full wolf, I swear, and I have never been able to figure out why. It doesn’t happen with my hybrid shift. I pushed the thoughts aside and Ava and I raced each other back to the house.

  I’m proud to say that she beat me, but only by a tails length.

  We slipped inside and showered. The temptation to fuck her again was strong, but she wanted to go talk to Macy and I needed to see Markus and William so we just showered quickly and dressed again in clean clothes. I found my pants and vest on our bed. They smelled like Markus so it appeared that he had collected them and brought them in for me after I’d left them out on the edge of the property.

  Ava lifted up on her toes and gave me a deep, searing kiss, before she turned and sauntered away in search of Macy. For a moment I worried about letting her go alone, but I was confident my girl could protect herself, so I let her go and stalked off in search of my brother and his Arbiter.

  I found them in the dining area again. Seated at the same table from the day before. No one else was around and as I approached I caught the tail end of their discussion.

  “... seen anything like it before. I’ve never even heard of anything like it before,” Markus was saying. “To make the change without the full moon to show her how to do it... it’s unprecedented William.”

  “I get that, Markus. Really, I understand. You’ve only said it about thirty times now. But that doesn’t really mean anything to me. Ok, it’s unprecedented. Splitting the atom was unprecedented until someone did it. So was climbing Mt. Everest, swimming the English Channel and any number of things that normal humans have done over the centuries. What you haven’t explained is exactly why that’s got you chasing your tail like a lunatic.”

  Markus glowered at William. “I am not chasing my tail, Boy. But you have to admit this is strange, isn’t it?”

  “Who cares?” I asked and pulled out a chair next to William. “She did it; freaking out about it isn’t going to change anything, right?” Markus nodded, reluctantly.

  “I guess,” he muttered and I had to smile, seeing the old man acting more like a petulant child than the aged Arbiter that he was.

  “We’ve gotta settle on what we’re going to do after the full moon,” I said, interrupting William just as he opened his mouth to tease Markus. I could tell by the smug grin he was trying to hide that he was going to rib the old man, and while normally I would have been happy to join in, but there were more pressing matters to discuss.

  “Well, we’re all heading to Arizona to link up with the rest of the pack,” William said. “We’re at about 98% confirmed from the out of state members. Only twenty or thirty haven’t yet responded.”

  “I haven’t figured out what Ava and I are going to do yet, but we’ll have to decide sooner rather than later.”

  “You’ve got an idea though, don’t you, Boy?” I glanced over at Markus, not for the first time, impressed with his insight.

  “A few thoughts have been circling,” I admitted. And they had. Ever since Colorado I had an idea that had made more and more sense the longer I thought about it. “Got a few questions that could help settle it though. Got a minute Markus?”

  “For one of you youngins to pump me for information again? Sure. Why not?” he muttered.

  “Thanks. Ava is a Median. What does that mean, long run, for her?”

  “Well, for one she’s gonna keep getting these visions, dreams, whatever they are, and she’d better listen to them. They’re trying to tell her something important when they happen.”

  I nodded and motioned for him to continue. “On top of that it’ll be good to have her around when going into or even just through another pack’s territory.”

  “Why is that?”

  He hummed, pinching his lower lip thoughtfully for a moment before he shrugged. “I can’t give it a solid explanation, really. Medians are sort of considered like priests, or priestesses in this case. Shaman type characters. There haven’t been many and if she’s with you, a pack will, more often than not, welcome you as honored guests. As long as you and your people are respectful and don’t cause any trouble you’ve basically got an open pass to travel anywhere without stepping on any toes.”

  I mulled that over for a minute before a question occurred to me. “But how are we supposed to prove that she’s actually a Median? I mean, anyone could come in and say ‘oh, this member of my pack is a Median, we request a place to sleep for the night and we’ll move on in the morning,’ ya know?”

  Markus shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya, Pup. But any wolf-kind worth their salt is gonna know something’s different about yer girl. I could tell right away she was different, I just didn’t know what it was until she mentioned that dream she had. That’s when it all clicked and come together.”

  “What’re you thinking, Remus?” William asked, staring intently at me.

  “The Alpha Wolves gave me an idea. An excuse for us to move around, even a way to claim some territory. If I plan it right, we can grow a small pack and start taking the fight to the Hunters.”

  William and Markus both raised a brow at that one, giving me nearly identical incredulous stares. “You’re going to hunt the Hunters?”

  “In a manner of speaking. And I have a way to do it that’ll keep us off official radar and legitimize our moving around the country.” I turned to William. “When you branded me, you wanted me to find something new. Something of my own. I think I might have an idea how to do that.”

  “What’re you thinking?”

  “I’m going to build my own pack. Going to build a pack of wolf-kind misfits with nothing to lose. A crew that, like I said, can bring the fight directly to the Hunters. With Ava’s knowledge and the right combination of strengths and skills, we could do a lot of damage to their power base here. Because, let’s face it, we did some damage last week, but I’d be willing to bet that Mathias already has new labs up and running, humming along at full speed.”

  They both nodded, but William had a pensive expression on his face.

  “I hate to say it,” he started and I interrupted him.

  “Then don’t.”

  “I hate to say it,” he said again, glaring at me and I sighed and leaned back in my seat, arms crossed over my chest. “But you’re an Omega. There aren’t going to be many wolf-kind that are going to be thrilled about an Omega as the pack’s Alpha.”

  “That’s why I’m only going to recruit other Omegas, or new wolf-kind if the situation arises where it’s necessary.”

  I’ll be honest. I took a slightly perverse pleasure in their dumbfounded expressions. Especially Markus. It wasn’t often that I was able to surprise the old wolf and twice in as many minutes was an especially rare treat.

  “An entire pack of Omegas?” Markus muttered once he’d managed to gather his wits. “That’s actually a pretty brilliant idea, Boy. But at the same time, it’s dangerous. Usually a wolf is made Omega for good reason. Some of the characters you’re likely to run into won’t be the kind you’d want to share a space with.”

  “And some of them made honest mistakes. Some of them are looking to redeem themselves for their poor choices. It’s only fair I give them a chance.”

  Markus and William couldn’t think of anything to say to that, so we just sat and talked about other things for a while. Unimportant things. It wouldn’t be long before my family, my pack, was on their way out of here and I would be separated from them again. But I took some solace in the fact that I finally had something to look forward to. When I’d left Washington, I’d wondered if an Omega could ever outrun his past.

  I finally understood that, no, you couldn’t outrun your past; that was impossible. The past would always be there. All you could do, was run toward a future of your own making. And do everyth
ing possible to make sure it was a future worth fighting for.

  For the rest of the day, people wandered in and out. Ava and Macy came in together about an hour later. Macy went to her table far away from us but I noticed that she sat a little closer than she had the day before. Ava slid into the seat next to me and said that she and Macy had worked some things out. She didn’t have any new bruises so I figured that it had been done through conversation, not confrontation. She was going to train Macy to fight while we were here, get her into a better condition to handle and protect herself.

  The next few days passed with a lot of the same. Chatting with my brother and Markus while Markus worked with Evan, trying to get the man to accept his new condition. It was tough going but it needed to be done or he likely wouldn’t survive his first change. Ava and Macy worked together, day and night, and by the end of the week I have to say that Macy had become a rather impressive student. Her instincts, power, and determination made sure she learned quickly. She was still really rough around the edges, but she had enough to build on and I was sure in a few months she would be a pretty deadly opponent. I was glad that I wouldn’t have occasion to fight her myself. Strong as I was, Macy was scary fast.

  The day of the full moon was a quiet one. Everyone felt a certain degree of nervous tension, but no one wanted to do much. We ended up lounging in a media room on the third basement level, watching movies and pigging out. The new pups in particular needed to build up their energy reserves. The changes took a lot, burned a lot of calories, and with our already rapid metabolisms it could be dangerous.

  As a group, the eight of us made our way out to the forest. Stripped of clothing we waited, just at the edge of the trees. Ava and Evan shivered slightly in the cooling air but the rest of us simply waited. When the moon came out and shone, brilliant and full upon us, I felt him stir.

  The wolf was awake. He was wound up and anxious. He wanted to play, he wanted to fight. He wanted to run.

  Ava made her change, swiftly, with minimal noise. Chloe was again preternaturally swift in her change and she padded over to nuzzle at my girl, the two of them bounced about a bit, playing as we waited for Evan. Evan still hadn’t changed.

  “Come on, Boy,” Markus muttered in his deep growl. He was holding back the change focusing on his self-imposed charge. “You can’t fight the wolf. You don’t want to, trust me. Just let it go. Work with the beast. Open up, just a little.”

  Evan shook and trembled, his hands balled into fists at his sides, every muscle taught and quivering with tension. Sweat stood out on his face and for a moment I thought we’d have to knock him out, let the change happen while he was unconscious so it wouldn’t kill him. But then it happened. With the usual sickening cracking and snapping that accompanied most of our transformations, Evan slowly vanished, and was replaced by a powerful red wolf. He stood nearly waist high on me, if I’d been a wolf he’d probably match me shoulder to shoulder. His coat was a deep tan with a cream undercoat, shot through with streaks of brilliant, gingery, red.

  As each of the rest of us made our changes, I was the last to finally assume my full wolf and when I immediately started rolling on my back to relieve the maddening itch, many of the others started yipping and barking, laughing at my behavior in true canine fashion.

  I rolled and leapt to my feet, growling at them and leapt at William, teeth flashing halfheartedly in his direction. He dodged the attacked, shouldered me aside, and barreled past me toward Ava who leaped out of the way and barked once at him. As if by some unspoken signal, we all turned and dashed into the woods.

  Long into the night we ran. Eight wolves, howling at the moon, chasing the occasional big horn sheep, and generally terrorizing the local nightlife. It felt great to be part of a pack again. To run, and play, and interact with my own kind.

  I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed it during my time alone, and I was more determined than ever to build a pack I could love and be proud of. And with Ava by my side, I was sure that we could do it.

  Epilogue

  Macy

  I kept to myself on purpose. I hated this, hated everything, hated that lying bitch and everything she’d stood for. I was angry, I was heartbroken, and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about any of it.

  I stared across the room, huddled in on myself, and watched Evan, who was watching me. He didn’t understand, he couldn’t, and he wouldn’t listen to me so I avoided him, even when all I wanted to do was sooth the hurt that was raging just beneath his surface.

  I’d taken up a corner in one of the media rooms down on the second basement level of the bunker we were all staying in. It was two stories up top, but down below, it went down three. I liked it in here, despite being closed up underground again. It was cozy, like a den, the smell of old books a comforting thing. When I’d been human, I had always taken refuge from my fucked up home life in libraries and used book stores.

  I should have never let Miranda talk me into that camping trip…

  The door opened, dispelling the memories, and I could smell her before I saw her. Jasmine and some underlying metallic scent, rancid almost, chemical and manufactured.

  “Go away,” I grated, before she found me in the stacks of bookshelves, huddled in the corner on a beanbag.

  “Not going away, and not going to try and kick your ass again either. I have an offer to make you.”

  “I don’t want what you’re selling, bitch. So you might as well just go the fuck away.”

  “Macy, I’m trying to help you.”

  “Help me do what?” I demanded.

  “Fight better for one. Let me train you. Let me make you useful, and then let’s go get the sons of bitches.”

  “Why do you even want to help me?”

  “Because helping you, helps me… duh.”

  “What are you on about?”

  She rounded the corner and crossed her arms under her breasts, looking me up and down.

  “You can’t bring down an ages old secret society without a team of capable people.”

  I snorted, “You’d need an army to take down the Hunters.”

  “Not really, Sweetie. Honestly,” again she looked me up and down, “I just need Remus, you, possibly that fellow that was in the cage with you, and maybe one or two more on the outside.”

  Something about the look she was giving me both thoroughly scared me, and gave me pause. She was absolutely certain that she could do this. Like scary certain.

  I considered what she was offering and finally, I nodded slowly, “Okay, I’ll drink the Kool-aide. When do we start?” She smiled and it was an icy thing that sent a shiver of dread down my spine.

  “We’ve started already; I just need to get you caught up.”

  I eyed her mistrustfully, but I did need training. I needed to be far more capable than I was. They’d grabbed me too easily… I didn’t know where else I could get the kind of training she was offering so…

  “Okay,” I agreed, and my wolf seemed pleased about it.

  I thought at it, hard…

  I hope you’re right.

  Of course it hadn’t steered me wrong, yet.

  About the Authors

  A.J. Downey is the internationally bestselling author of The Sacred Hearts Motorcycle Club romance series. She is a born and raised Seattle, WA Native. She finds inspiration from her surroundings, through the people she meets, and likely as a byproduct of way too much caffeine. She has lived many places and done many things, though mostly through her own imagination… An avid reader all of her life, it’s now her turn to try and give back a little, entertaining as she has been entertained. She lives in a small house in a small neighborhood with a larger than life fiancé and one cat.

  She blogs regularly at www.ajdowney.com. If you want the easy button digest, as well as a bunch of exclusive content you can’t get anywhere else, sign up for her mailing list right here.

  A California native and avid reader, for Ryan Kells, making the transition from reader
to writer was simply the next logical evolution. He enjoys a number of genres from paranormal suspense to dystopian post-apocalyptic. All of his work contains a romantic spin with a decidedly erotic flair.

  www.facebook.com/authorajdowney

  www.facebook.com/authorryankells

  Published 2016 by Second Circle Press

  Book design by Lia Rees at Free Your Words (www.freeyourwords.com)

  Cover art by Cover Your Dreams (www.coveryourdreams.net)

  Text copyright © 2016 AJ Downey, Ryan Kells

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved