Page 5 of Taming The Omega

That piece of information set the woman’s mouth into a hard, thin line of disapproval. “Very well, but you must come to me the moment it looks like something more than you can handle. I’ll speak to Lorcan in the morning about it.”

She said nothing more before gathering up bottles of medicine, pots of ointments, healing plasters and various bandages. She walked him through the use of each item, most of which he was already familiar with. The last two things she added were a small, battery operated lantern and a survival blanket. Stuffing them all into a bag that he could wear while in wolf form, she held it out.

“Promise you’ll return if he takes a turn for the worse or his injuries prove too serious for this to work.”

Taking the bag, he nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I will. I’ll have to stay out there with him, so if you don’t see me for a few days, please don’t worry.”

“I understand.” She headed for the door. “Come, we’ll get some bottles of water and food from the kitchen.” She dropped her voice once they entered the hall. “You’ll need to get him to shift to human form. These items work best when there’s no fur to get in the way.”

Caleb followed with the bag tucked under his arm. “I’ll try, but I think he’s been on his own for a very long time given how skinny and unkempt he is. I’m not sure I can get him to shift.”

Andrea stopped just inside the kitchen and gave him a tired smile. “You underestimate your strength, Gamma.”

Caleb frowned and held up the bag in one large hand. “I don’t think so, Healer.”

With a shake of her head, she said, “You misunderstand my meaning.” That cryptic reply was all he got before she started stuffing items into his free hand.

He added everything to the bag until it was as full as it could be. “Thanks. I’m sorry to wake you.”

“Never apologize for asking for my help. This is my purpose in the pack.”

Caleb slung the bag over his back, slipping his arms through the straps. He kept them loose, the slack being necessary to accommodate the bulkier body of his wolf. “Except this omega isn’t a pack member,” he felt compelled to point out.

The healer shook her head again. “You gammas are always so literal. Come, I’ll help tighten the straps once you’ve shifted.” She opened the kitchen door and stepped out onto the porch.

He followed. “That’s not necessary,” he said. “I’ll be fine.” He really didn’t like the idea of stripping down to his skin in front of a female, especially as they were alone.

“Don’t be silly.” Andrea gave him one of those looks that mothers seemed to always have ready for their pups when they were being difficult. “I am a healer and a shifter. You have nothing to be shy about with me. Come now,” she added with a quiet clap of her hands. “Time is not on our side.”

Regret washed over him. Of course. He was being stupid given that the omega lay terribly hurt and alone. Putting aside his own modesty, he shimmied out of his jeans and dumped them once again onto a nearby chair. He shifted carefully where he stood, feeling the weight of the bag sliding up his back. Andrea was by his side in an instant, repositioning it to a point below his shoulder blades and tightening the straps so that they were snug enough not to let the bag slip. There was nothing comfortable about the arrangement, but it was a simple system to help his kind move goods when they lacked arms and hands.

“There,” Andrea said, stepping back. “It’s as secure as it’s going to be.” She snapped her fingers. “Hold on.” She plucked up his discarded pants and stuffed them into the bag. “You may want these. Good luck and stay safe. I’ll make sure Lorcan knows where you are and not to expect you back any time soon.”

Caleb chuffed in appreciation before taking off. His speed was slower of necessity so as not to dislodge the bag. Still, he didn’t tarry, worry driving him to push his strength. Fatigue tried to eat away at him, too, but he ignored that and called up a new store of energy. Pack member or not, omegas were rare and precious, deserving of care and protection. His old alpha’s treatment of Will had been an abomination. If he didn’t think it would put the Rogue Pack at risk for war, he’d go rip Magnus’ throat out.

Knowing that course of action would be disastrous, he was left with this nagging at the back of his mind that he should have somehow known at the time the abuse was happening and done something about it. Never mind that he’d been a low-ranking gamma with zero power. Guilt still plagued him. This time, however, he could make a difference. Whatever the omega’s story was, the boy clearly needed help now. Caleb was the only one to provide it, whether the omega wanted it or not.

He reached the cave more quickly than he would have expected, his concern egging him on. Shifting back to human form, he caught the bag as it slid off him. He stood a few moments, catching his breath, before entering the tight space. His human eyes needed a few seconds to adjust to the gloom. He used that time to familiarize himself with the space and to confirm what his nose and ears had already told him—the omega was still alive and awake. Harsh panting filled the small space, and two bright, shiny dots of brown were trained on him.

As Andrea had said, time was not on his side, so he quickly opened the bag and pulled out the lantern first. He turned it on low to cast a warm glowing light. The glare from the omega’s eyes dimmed, but the poor thing’s breath still labored in obvious pain and his fur was matted with dried blood. He didn’t seem to have moved in all the time that Caleb had been gone, so he counted that as a win. Maybe it was simply a matter of the omega being unable to get up, but it could also mean that he trusted Caleb some. Or, maybe he viewed Caleb as a lesser evil than anything that would be outside the cave. Regardless, Caleb would take what he could get at this point.

He crouched down a couple of strides away from the injured shifter, dragging the bag with him. “I have some things in here that will help you,” he said, careful to keep his tone low and as soothing as a big, aggressive gamma could muster. “The healer of my pack told me that things will be easier if I treat your wounds while you have skin only and no fur. Do you think you can shift for me?”

On a whine, the omega seemed to shrink back. He shoved his muzzle into the crook of his forelegs and eyed Caleb suspiciously.

“I know it’s scary. It’s probably been a long time since you’ve taken human form, eh?” He leaned in closer. “I need you to be strong, now, for your own good.”

The omega whined some more, the sound pushing all of Caleb’s buttons. Instinct told him to back off, to not inflict stress on the weaker shifter. Andrea’s words came back to him, though. Not only about what was best in the long run for the omega, but also how he was stronger than he understood. Strong enough to change a reluctant omega? He was skeptical about that. And yet, there was really no choice. If he stood any chance at all of helping this poor creature, he had to do all that he could no matter how hard he found it.

He would not fail another omega by taking the easy way out and turning a blind eye.

Digging deep for a sense of authority, he hardened his expression and his voice. “Change now, Omega!”

The booming quality of his voice surprised even him. For a few seconds, he didn’t think it had worked. The omega jerked away, then started shaking. Suddenly and amazingly, a coppery skin-toned boy with shaggy black hair replaced the wolf. He stared back at Caleb with the same suspicious brown eyes and let out a heart-wrenching cry.

Shifting brought on its own type of agony. For a few seconds, the throbbing of Seth’s wounds were overshadowed by his body’s transformation. It had been so long since he’d dared live in his human skin, he’d almost forgotten what it felt like. The morphing of his bones and the snapping of his ligaments forced a scream past his lips that he couldn’t stop. As he lay upon his now-scratchy bed of needles and leaves, he panted through the pain. His vision clouded up briefly, but he kept his eye on the gamma crouched before him. No matter what the strange shifter said, Seth knew better than to trust him.

As the immediate effects of his shift subsided, he noticed a warmth trickling down his arm and hip bone. His wounds had opened with the change, and while his thoughts were clear enough to wonder if shifting back would help with the healing, he didn’t dare try it. The force of the gamma’s power held him in check. In the company of this larger, stronger shifter, Seth was helpless. He couldn’t keep from whimpering and trying to pull away even though his back was already up against the wall.

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