Page 55 of Ruled By The Alpha

The Unexpected Visitor

by

Merel Pierce

Chapter 1

Riden scowled out at the ruined landscape, contemplating the choices that brought him to this desolate wasteland.

He wanted to say it was worth it, but his growling stomach and dwindling supply bags had other thoughts.

Six months he’d spent in this miserable, isolating hell, and he wasn’t any better off since his banishment from the protected, walled-in portion of Old Meridian. With the rest of the ruined city all around, he’d thought he could make a relatively comfortable life for himself with what had been left behind, but he’d been wrong.

He preferred the high rises at the center of downtown for strategic purposes. You could see everything for miles around. But there were enough packs of lowland scum in the city that it was a risk for even an Alpha to hole up alone in a building where they could corner you. They weren’t above murdering for a few supplies or cannibalizing people when resources ran short.

That aside, the bastards had picked the streets they lived under clean of most valuables and resources already.

It was hard to believe it had only been five years since the war destroyed their society. So much had changed.

Of course, those changes were precisely why he’d found himself ostracized and expelled from one of the few large remaining populations in this part of the country. He couldn’t stand quiet while Alphas turned Omegas and Betas, who once had equal rights, into livestock and broodmares against their will.

So, they banished him.

The worst part had been the look on his poor parent’s faces when the officials publicly shunned him and sent him out the gates. Riden wondered if he’d ever forget the sound of his mother sobbing.

At forty-three, he wasn’t a child, but he was still his aging parents’ only son. They’d always been close, so it hit them hard. He could only hope they hadn’t been harassed too much for being related to him once he’d gone.

Riden sighed and turned away from the view of the crumbling city in the valley below, shaking his head to banish the regrets that pressed in on him when the loneliness became too heavy a burden.

Miles up in the wooded mountains surrounding Old Meridian, the isolation was palpable. But that made it ideal. Isolation translated to safety out here.

Many banished members of society took up a nomadic lifestyle, traveling in bands when they could find one that would take them. Sadly, there were more Alpha than Beta beyond the city walls, and it was rare for a band to have more than one Alpha unless they were family.

He’d not found an Alphaless band yet. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. It was a lot of responsibility, being in charge of other people and their needs. At least alone, he was the only one he had to worry about. It didn’t stop him from missing human contact.

The sun was slipping toward the horizon. Here in the canopy of trees, the sky already seemed darker, the shadows longer. While he wasn’t particularly concerned, it was always wise to be back at camp before nightfall. One never knew what monsters lurked in the darkness.

He adjusted the sling over his shoulder and the two rabbits he’d caught slapped beside his pack. It wasn’t much for an Alpha of his size, but it was certainly better than nothing. Game wasgetting slimmer in this part of the forest, and Riden knew he’d need to move on soon.

The walk back wasn’t long, but as he neared camp, a foreign scent invaded his senses. It was faint at first, and he couldn’t quite place it. A little sweet, a little musky. Familiar, but…not. The closer he got to camp, the stronger it got. But it wasn’t until his mouth started watering and his cock jerked in his pants that he realized what it was he was smelling.

Unmated Omega.

“What the…” the words faded in his throat as he scanned the ever-darkening trees in search of the source of the delectable smell. An Omega? Out here? He’d never heard of such a thing. How could something the administration considered so valuable have been discarded? “Gotta be imagining it.”

Despite the declaration, he couldn’t deny what his senses told him. As he closed in on his camp, the stronger the scent became. It wasdefinitelyOmega. No trace of Alpha or Beta pheromones on the air, either. Just that one heady, enthralling scent.

Riden slowed down, choosing his steps more carefully to minimize the sound of his approach.

Nothing looked out of place on the perimeter above the rock overhang he’d set up camp under, but as he moved around to the one approachable side, he could clearly see the incline down to the rock shelf had been disturbed. Two identical slide trails in the dirt and gravel marked the intruder’s descent, and her scent clung to the rocks where she’d put out a hand to steady herself.

He paused and angled his head, straining to listen for sounds of life below as he considered what he’d do if the Omega were still in his camp.

The cliff face dropped off a good thirty feet before the mountain slope opened up beneath it. It was a long, dangerous fall. It was one reason he’d chosen the spot. No one was goingto sneak up on him from below, and they’d make enough noise picking their way down onto the ledge from above that he’d be ready to defend himself by the time they landed. But if a desperate Omega was picking through his things and he startled her, he was afraid she might take a leap.

Thief or no, he didn’t want that.

Riden eased down the path, the practiced placement of his feet on boulders and protruding roots aiding in a quiet descent.

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