The Lycan Marked Me and Walked Away

Sienna

I was dead.

Maybe not yet, but soon. Very soon.

It all depended on how far away I could get from my pack. The path I was on was familiar from all the times I’d been out hunting for food. My lungs burned in my chest as I ran for my dear life, the muscles of my arms itching as though they were on fire.

I winced as something pricked the under of my feet, but I didn't stop to inspect it.

Fuck.

The pain from underneath my feet spiked up my leg.

It wasn't the first thing I'd stepped on since I'd begun running from the pack, and I knew it wouldn't be the last. I was running because of the omegas I had overheard. Omegas very unlike myself. I had seen the fear in their eyes as they whispered about me.

I knew if I'd stayed, I never would have made it out alive.

I moved my legs faster as I tried to outrun the panic clawing at my chest. My feet barely touched the ground before I forced myself forward again. The icy wind lashed at my face, stealing tears from eyes I’d refused to let fall.

Even then, I didn't stop. I'd known they would find out someday. I could only hide the truth for so long. The truth about myself. About who I really was.

I was supposed to be an omega, but I was nothing like those people. And now they knew it too. They'd seen the firewood I had barely touched, bursting into flames. Shame twisted my insides.

How stupid was I to have been caught?

If I'd been a few feet closer, I might have told a lie to cover it up. But the distance between the firewood and myself had been significant. I'd been reaching for it, but I hadn't touched it yet.

And still, the flames had started.

My hands swung by my side, propelling me faster and faster. My leg caught unto a branch and I tumbled forward. I reached out to break my fall, my face only missing a tree stump by an inch. The earth was muddy on this side, I woke have to be more careful.

My limbs shook as I stood to my feet and picked up my rac.

I could only imagine how surprised the omegas had been at the sight of the firewood burning, and my outstretched hand frozen in place. The had no doubt seen the light flickering in my palms before I'd fisted my hand and crushed it down.

After the incident m, I tried to go about my duty. It was a cold night and we'd been instructed to light firewood for an unplanned pack bonfire. Even though I'd gone back to work, I'd still been on the look out for the Omegas. Wanting to know what they would chalk the incidence as.

Maybe they would doubt their own sight.

Having powers as a wolf was rare enough and considered a sacrilege.

Having powers as an Omega?

Impossible.

I'd been convinced they would write the situation as no more than a prank, or a trick or the light. Unfortunately, they had turned out to be smarter than that. I'd been lucky as it was, to catch their whispers.

"She’s not normal."

She’s not normal. The words had wrapped themselves around my spine. My hand flew to my neck at the memory. Their voices had carried on.

"We have to inform the pack."

"We can't cover for her. If the Alpha found out—"

I hadn't stayed to hear the rest. I had grabbed what little I owned and ran. Only the mention of the Alpha, had brought me back to my senses. Because I knew how these stories ended. I knew what happened to wolves who were different. They were hunted and burned.

If the Alpha found out? I had a good idea what would happen. He would have me beheaded. Or staked. Bottom line?

He would have me killed one way or another.

Werewolves with powers were treated worse than a plague. Deep down everyone was scared of what they could wield with their powers, but no one would ever admit it. They'd all somehow agreed we were cursed instead, and we needed to be wiped off the face of the earth like the many others that had come before us.

I refused to be next.

The trees blurred past as I tore through the forest with the last strength I had. My legs were screaming in protest, my body shaking from exhaustion. I was tired as hell, but fear drove me forward. I didn’t know how long I had been running, only that I had to put as much distance between me and the pack as possible before dawn.

My eyes stung from where sweat rolled into them, but I didn't pay any attention to the sting.

Then I smelled it.

The hairs at the back of my neck peeled away from my skin. I skidded to a stop, my pulse hammering against my ribs. The trees around were different around this part. They stood taller and much more thicker. The air here was heavier, thick with a scent that made my stomach twist.

A scent everyone knew to stay away from.

This wasn't just a werewolf pack scent. No, this territory had been cloaked with a different scent to warn outsiders of what species lived here.

Lycans.

Panic crashed into me.

No, no, no.

My frantic escape had led me straight into the one place even worse than my pack. My chest was rising and falling rapidly, and I forced myself to slow down my breathing. Fear wasn't going to take back the mess I'd gotten into. I had to retreat. Now. I turned sharply, my heart pounding as I prepared to run back.

It was too late.

A deep, guttural growl rolled through the night.

Oh goodness.

Shadows moved between the trees. Huge figures appeared in front of me, ttaller than any werewolf I had ever seen. They hadn’t fully shifted, and they were still monstrous with extremely sharp teeth and sharper claws. Three pairs of glowing eyes locked onto me, filled with cruel amusement. I took a step back. They stepped forward.

No, no, no.

Another growl, closer this time.

Gods, no.

My muscles coiled, every instinct screamed at me to run, but then the biggest of them lunged. The fight was over before it even began. They had me pinned to the ground as one of them shoved a coarse, musty bag over my head. A scent hit me instantly, thick and suffocating.

My stomach twisted.

I barely had time to struggle before my limbs betrayed me, heavy and useless as they gave out under me. A dizzying wave of exhaustion crashed into me.

And then...

Everything went black.