"Move it," I don't turn around, but I can hear her ragged, raspy breath behind my back. "Lift your feet higher, Alina. This is a forest, not a ballroom."
Branches lash against my leather armor. The scent of decaying needles and damp earth fills my nostrils, but through it, a thin, honeyed thread of her sweat breaks through. The wolf inside me snarls, claws scraping against my ribs. This scent isn't enough for him. He needs her to run faster. Or for her to fall, so he can sink his teeth into her throat.
"Cale... slower..." her voice breaks into a cough.
"Are you deaf?" I vault over a fallen trunk and pause for a moment, looking at the Thorn brothers. They move steadily, their breathing barely noticeable. "We're on a trail. The beast won't wait for you to shake the debris out of your shoes."
"She can barely stand, Boss," Rain spits on the ground, bypassing Alina. "Why do we need this dead weight? She's just ruining the trail. Creaking like an old wagon."
I shift my gaze to the boy. Rain puffs out his chest, adjusting his sword belt. In his eyes is a mix of excitement and disdain.
"I don't recall asking you," I cut him off. "Watch the flank. If you miss a single broken branch, you'll become the bait yourself."
"I'm just saying..." he cowers under my gaze. "What use is she? An Omega in the thicket. It's a joke."
"Go, Rain," one of the Thorn brothers shoves his shoulder. "Get to work."
Alina stumbles. I hear the dull thud of her body hitting the ground and a sharp, broken exhale. The group freezes. Jake takes a step toward her, reaching out a hand.
"Back," my growl makes the teenager recoil.
"She fell, Cale!" Alina lifts her head. Her face is covered in mud, hair sticking to her temples. "I can't... anymore..."
"Get up."
"My legs... they..."
"Get up, I said!" I take a step toward her, looming over her. "There are no servants here. No soft featherbeds. You wanted to know what it's like to be part of the pack? This is it. Mud, sweat, and blood."
"You're a monster," she whispers, her fingers clutching the tree roots. Her fingernails are torn, dirt blackening beneath them.
"I am your Alpha. And if I say walk—you crawl if you can't stand."
"Look at her rags!" Rain howls with laughter, pointing a finger. "Look, Boss! She's turned them into mush."
I lower my gaze. The rough leather of her shoes has darkened, soaked with moisture. No, not just water. Something red is seeping through the seams. My gut twists with a sharp, pulsating pain. An electric shock hits me through the bond—her feet are burning; every step is like walking on broken glass. Anger flares instantly, clouding my vision with red.
"What did you just chirp?" I turn to Rain.
"Well, I... she's just clumsy," the boy takes a step back, sensing the air around him growing heavy. "A limping Omega will only spook the big game. We should just leave her somewhere..."
I close the distance in two strides and seize him by the throat. Rain wheezes, clawing at my wrists. His feet leave the ground.
"You're going to decide who I leave behind?" My voice sounds like the crack of breaking bones. "You, a pup who hasn't even wiped his mother's milk from his lips?"
"Boss... let go..." he rasps, turning red.
"One more word about her being 'useless,' and I'll leave you here. Without a knife or boots. Let's see how you sing by dawn."
I hurl him into the bushes. The Thorns remain silent, averting their eyes. Jake pales and starts frantically checking his bowstring.
"Moving out," I turn back to Alina. "Get up. On your own."
She rises, her whole body trembling. I see her bite her lip until it bleeds to keep from screaming. In her eyes is pure, concentrated hatred. Good. Hatred is better than despair. It keeps the heart beating.
We turn off the path. Ahead lies a thick raspberry thicket and a rocky scree.
"Tough stretch here, Cale," one of the Thorns mutters. "Maybe we should circle around the lowlands?"
"No. Straight through."
"There are thorns as tall as a man there," Jake pipes up.
"Then we'll hack a path. Alina, forward. You'll walk right behind me."
"You... you're doing this on purpose," her voice is barely audible.
"I'm teaching you to survive."
"You're killing me!"
"If you die from a walk in the woods, then you aren't worth the air I waste on you."
I walk into the thick of it. The scent of her blood grows thicker. A metallic, sweetish aroma mingles with the scent of pine needles. It drives the wolf mad. I feel her every step. Every muscle contraction. Every flash of pain in her wounded feet. It is torture for both of us, but I will not stop.
Twilight falls upon the forest suddenly, as if covering it with a heavy blue blanket.
"Camp here," I point to a small clearing sheltered by a rock ledge. "Thorns—firewood and perimeter. Jake—handle the carcasses we bagged. Rain..."
"Am I on lookout?" the boy is still rubbing his neck, glancing sideways at me.
"You're cleaning the pots. And God help you if I find a single speck of grease."
Alina simply collapses at the roots of an old spruce. She doesn't sit—she falls. Her legs tremble faintly, her fingers clutching the hem of her dress, which has been reduced to tatters.
"Don't even think about falling asleep," I snap, walking past.
"Leave me... just leave me..."
"Dinner is in half an hour. If you don't come to the fire, you stay hungry."
I walk to the edge of the clearing, pretending to check the traps. In reality, I am trying to steady my breathing. The bond is humming. It pulls me toward her, making me want to howl with the urge to scoop her up in my arms, lick those wounds clean, hide her from the whole world. But I am the Alpha. I must break her old self so that a new one can grow in its place.
The fire catches reluctantly. Damp wood hisses, releasing streams of acrid smoke. The hunters sit around it, uncorking their flasks.
"Tomorrow we follow the trail to the stream," the elder Thorn wipes his knife on his trousers. "Judging by the droppings, the beast is large. A male."
"As long as the Omega stench doesn't ruin everything for us," Rain grumbles, but immediately falls silent when he catches my gaze.
Alina is still there, in the shadow of the tree. A dark silhouette, lacking the strength even to crawl toward the fire. The cold begins to seep under clothes. The night forest is not a castle. Here, the air sears the lungs with icy moisture.
"Alina. To the fire."
Silence. Only the crackling of branches.
"I won't repeat myself."
She tries to stand, but her hands slip from the bark. She lets out a low, piteous sound—something between a groan and a sob.
Something inside me snaps. I cross the clearing in three strides.
"I can do it myself..." she whispers as I grab her by the elbow.
"I see exactly how you're doing it yourself."
I hoist her up with a jerk. She cries out as her feet touch the ground. The weight of her body feels like nothing. I literally drag her to the fire and sit her on a flat stone next to my spot.
"Sit."
"I'm cold..." her teeth are chattering.
"Jake, blanket. Now."
The teenager tosses over a folded woolen cloth. I drape it over Alina's shoulders. The hunters exchange glances. Tension hangs in the air. They see how I look at her. They see how my fingers linger for a moment on her neck, checking her pulse.
"Eat," I hand her a piece of roasted meat.
"I don't want it. I feel sick."
"Eat, or I'll shove it down your throat by force. You need your strength for tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? You... you're going to drag me further?"
"We aren't finished."
"Look at her, Cale!" She throws off the blanket, exposing her feet. Her shoes are torn apart; through the holes, angry red blisters and dried blood are visible. "Is this what you wanted? You wanted to torment me?"
"I wanted you to understand your limit. Now you know it. Now you can push it back."
"You're sick," she turns away, hugging her knees to her chest.
The hunters turn in one by one. The fire dies down, leaving only glowing embers. The night cold grows sharper. Alina is shivering so hard that the stone beneath her seems to vibrate.
"Come here," I tap the spot next to me.
"No."
"It wasn't a request. The temperature will drop even lower tonight. If you freeze and get sick, you become a burden. And I don't tolerate burdens."
"You just beat a boy for those words," she lifts her eyes to me. "You don't even know what you want yourself."
"I know I need heat to sleep. And so do you."
I don't wait for consent. I grab her by the waist and pull her to me. She tries to resist, pushing against my chest with weak palms, but I simply tighten the circle of my arms.
"Let go... Cale..."
"Shut up and sleep. It's just physiology. Shared warmth."
She freezes. Her back is pressed against my chest. I can feel her shaking. My nose is right against the back of her head. The scent... Gods, that scent. Now the smoke of the fire has been added to it, but the base remains—wild, primal Omega, exhausted, wounded, belonging to me.
The bond flares with new strength. It's no longer just pain or hunger. It's heat.
"Your heart..." she whispers. "It's beating too fast."
"The forest awakens instincts. Don't worry about it."
"It's pounding like crazy."
I tighten my grip, pressing her so close that no air remains between us. Her skin under the thin rags of her dress is searing. It's not just body heat. It's a fire flowing through my veins, burning away the remnants of my reason.
"Are you in pain?" I ask, my voice sounding more like a snarl.
"Everything hurts."
"Good. It means you're still alive."
I feel her gradually relax in my arms. Physical exhaustion triumphs over fear and pride. Her head drops heavily onto my shoulder.
The wolf within falls silent, satisfied. His prey is near. She is marked with his scent, his blood, his cruelty.
I close my eyes, but sleep does not come. The heat of her body burns me more than the flames of the fire that has almost gone out. In this silence, broken only by a distant howl and her steady breathing, I realize the test has failed. Not her test. Mine.
I wanted to prove she was a tool. Instead, I proved only that without this "tool," my world becomes empty and cold. And that truth scares me more than any beast we hunt.