ASHER
I ran until my lungs felt like they might burst. The forest blurred around , trees beca shadows, and the moonlight beca streaks of silver cutting through the darkness but I couldn’t outrun my scent. It poured off in waves. It was thick, sweet, and unmistakably inviting. Each step I took left a trail that any wolf could follow.
My wolf form was faster than my human body, leaner and built for this but the heat was slowing down.
Every few minutes, a wave of heat and excruciating pain would crash over , my legs would wobble, my vision would blur and I’d have to stop and pant, trying to catch my breath while my body scread for sothing I couldn’t give it.
Behind , the howls were getting closer.
They were spreading out, searching in patterns. So had caught my scent trail and were following it.
I pushed forward, ignoring the pain, the hea,t and everything except the need to run. But then another wave hit, stronger this tim;, it was so strongthat my legs gave out completely.
I collapsed in a small clearing, my body hitting the ground hard and my wolf form whimpered, and trembled. The heat was peaking, Slick coated my hind legs and my pheromones exploded outward in a burst so intense I could taste it in the air and the scent changed.
Before, it had been sweet, and warm, saying an oga in pre-heat but now it was intoxicating, overwhelming and undeniable Pure Oga in desperate need of an Alpha.
I tried to stand but my legs wouldn’t hold . I tried to run but my body wouldn’t obey because the heat had pinned,vulnerable, exposed and the wolves were coming.
I could hear them now, not just behind anymore but all around . Closing in from multiple directions.
They’d caught the scent change and knew exactly where I was.
The first wolf burst into the clearing. It was large, gray with drool dripping from its mouth. He skidded to a stop when he saw . His nose lifted, scenting the air then his lips pulled back in sothing between a snarl and a whine.
Oga in heat and unmated.
Two more wolves entered the clearing, then three more and then a dozen. All Alphas, all drawn by my scent and all staring at with hungry eyes.
My wolf form tried to crawl backward, it tried to make myself smaller but there was nowhere to go, I was surrounded.
One of the wolves took a step closer. His head lowered, and his body language scread intent.
Mine. Claim. Breed.
Another wolf growled. A warning and challenging the first. Then another.
The Alphas were starting to circle. Starting to posture. All of them wanting the sa thing and that was and they were going to fight each other for the right to claim .
I pressed myself against the ground and whimpered. My wolf form was terrified. Every instinct was screaming at to submit, to bare my throat and to let one of them claim and end this torture but I couldn’t.
I had to run, I had to get away, I had to—
A howl cut through the air snapping out of my thoughts.
It was different from the others. It was deeper and more commanding. Every wolf in the clearing froze.
The sound ca again, closer this ti, echoing through the trees and then he appeared. A massive black wolf pushed through the crowd.
It was larger than any of the others, easily twice my size, his fur was dark as midnight with eyes that reflected silver in the moonlight.
Alpha, powerful, and dominant.
Reed.
My wolf form recognized him imdiately. Sothing primal in responded to his presence even through the fear. The other wolves backed away and gave him space. Their body language shifted from aggressive to submissive.
Reed stalked into the clearing, his eyes swept over the other Alphas. A low growl rumbled from his chest.
Mine. The ssage was clear. Back off.
So of the wolves whined. Others growled back but none of them challenged him. Reed was too big, too strong and too dominant. He was the apex predator here and everyone knew it.
Reed’s gaze finally landed on . I was still pressed against the ground, still trembling and still coated in slick and heat pheromones. His nostrils flared, taking in my scent and processing what he was slling.
Then his whole body went rigid, recognition flickered in those silver eyes.
He knew.
He knew it was .
Asher Graham, the student who’d challenged him, fought him, fought with him, and refused to submit was an Oga, not just an Oga but an Oga in heat, and Asher was his.
Reed took a step towards , his body language changed, it beca predatory and possessive.
I tried to scramble backward but my legs still wouldn’t work. The heat had pinned. Reed kept coming slow and deliberate like he had all the ti in the world because matter of fact he did.
I couldn’t run, I couldn’t fight, I couldn’t do anything except lie there and watch as he approached. His wolf form was terrifying up close. All muscle and power and dominance, and he lowered his head, his nose ca to my throat, scenting properly.
I whimpered, pressed myself flatter against the ground, and bared my throat in submission because my wolf form couldn’t help it. Oga instincts were overriding everything else.
Reed’s tongue ran along my throat. Tasting and claiming. Then his teeth found the spot where my neck t my shoulder and bit down, not hard enough to break skin but hard enough to send a clear ssage to every other wolf watching.
Mine.
The other Alphas whined, so started backing away, accepting Reed’s claim but a few stayed, growling low and challenging.
Reed released my throat and spun to face them. His lips pulled back, and his teeth bared. A snarl ripped from his chest that made the trees shake.
The challenging wolves hesitated but one of them stepped forward anyway. A Large brown Alpha who wasn’t backing down. He wanted and he was willing to fight Reed for the right to claim .
Reed’s body coiled, prepared to attack and I lay there helpless watching and knowing that whoever won this fight would claim , would mount , and would breed whether I wanted it or not.
The brown wolf lunged and Reed t him mid-air. They collided with a sickening crunch. Teeth and claws and fur. Rolling across the clearing in a violent tangle. The other wolves backed away and gave them space.
This was a dominance fight now. Alpha against Alpha. The winner takes the Oga, the winner takes . I wanted to run. I wanted to use this distraction to escape but my body wouldn’t move. The heat had paralyzed. All I could do was watch and whimper and pray that—
What?
That Reed won? The sa Reed who’d declared war on ? Who’d humiliated ? Who’d told I was nothing?
Or that the other wolf won? A stranger who would claim without knowing who I was? Who would breed and bond and destroy whatever was left of my life?
Either way, I was fucked.
Reed had the brown wolf pinned now. His jaws were around the other wolf’s throat. One bite and it would be over. The brown wolf whined.m, submitted and went limp. Reed held him there for another mont. Making sure the submission was complete then he released him.
The brown wolf scrambled away, its tail between his legs defeated and Reed turned back to .
Blood stained his muzzle, his sides were heaving but his eyes were locked on mine with an intensity that made my wolf form tremble. He’d won, he’d proven his dominance and now he was going to claim his prize.
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