Page 39 of Knot Our Omega

But they are yours. They’ve always been yours.

I ignored her reasoning as I disappeared down the hall, finding my nest. I dug around in the closet, taking out one of the worn duffels I came here with the first day, and threw in a few articles of clothing before grabbing a piece of my men’s clothing. I may be leaving, but I wanted a piece of them and their scent with me to comfort me through this journey.

Luka was still at the door, though their muffled conversation couldn’t be deciphered. I stepped lightly down the hallway, walking past the sleeping Alfie and Felix to the back door. I stopped for a moment, memorizing their sleeping faces before I escaped out the back door.

I was going on foot. I hadn’t run in ages. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Any start I could get would be to my advantage, though I doubted they would come after me. Not when they were distracted by their new omega. I could only hope they forgot about me and left the agency to cut their losses regarding me.

He will chase you. You will pay.

Pay? I doubted it. What could my alpha—or would it be former alpha—do that would be more painful than the hurt I was already feeling?

Putting forth all the power I could, I pumped my arms and moved my legs, running toward the tree line in the distance. The sooner I was out of sight, the harder it would be for them to catch me and drag me back.

They won’t drag you back to the institute.

But what if they did? You saw her.

I knew it was said to trust your omega, she knows best. But right now, I was having a hard time trusting her word when they got exactly what they wanted dropped at their feet. She insisted I was theirs, and though I did wear their mark, freshly imprinted into my skin, I wouldn’t be the first case of a rejected omega. I doubted I would be the last either. Omegas got rejected for smaller things. We were supposed to be cherished, but so often, we were discarded like trash.

They do cherish you.

I couldn’t deny my omega spoke the truth there. They did cherish me. And now that they had someone else, I refused to stick around long enough to see that cherishing change into disgust.

Breaking into the tree line caused relief. They no longer had a visual on me, and I was free to disappear and branch out on my own. Hopefully. Assuming I wasn’t worth the agency tracking me down.

And if you catch in your heat? Do you think the alpha would let you go with his child?

That didn’t happen.I rolled my eyes at my omega.

Didn’t it? How do you know?

I sure hoped it didn’t happen. It was my first heat. Catching on the first heat didn’t really happen, right? At least, that’s what they taught at the agency. But how often had the agency been wrong about so many things thus far?

My steps were quick as I pushed through the brush, using the trees to keep my balance as I walked through the uneven ground. I wished I’d had the foresight to have better shoes. I wished I had thought about this being a possibility, but I was so caught up in being wanted, for once. So caught up in the desire to fulfill my only purpose in life that I didn’t have much foresight at all.

I moved until the light grew dim, making it harder for me to see where I was going. I wished I had a light, wished I had prepped for situations like this, prepped for being rejected.

You’re not rejected; you’re our alpha’s omega.

I ignored my inner omega as I used the rest of daylight while squinting to push through the brush. What did she know anyway? Her wanton behavior got us into this mess. My foot rose, attempting to step over a log, when I first heard it. An unfamiliar growl rose into the darkened sky, threatening me with its power. The force of it slammed into me, making me stumble in fear as my body quivered.

Suddenly everything was extra loud as sounds poured in from all directions. Threats were everywhere, tangled in the breeze, in the crack of the leaves, and all I could do was run. I pushed forward frantically, my feet moving fast as I blindly felt my way in the dark. The noises grew louder. More intense and vicious as they followed me, shouting their reminder that I did not belong there. I was an intruder into their space and not welcomed in their woods.

Another roar, a different one, tightened my skin with nerves. It was close. Too close. Closer than I could outrun for sure, but damn it, I had to try. I had to get away from whatever beasts hunted me.

Would they find me? Mourn me? Regret not picking me after I died?

They would protect you with their lives,my omega whispered as a whimper escaped me. Oh, how I wished that was true. But even if they would opt to protect me with their lives, what a predicament I had gotten myself into.

The branches rumbled, the ground shook, and I worked my legs faster. A branch stretched out, snagging my shirt as I passed, whipping me backward as I slammed against the ground. A whimper escaped me as the stomp of somethingapproached, and I fought to stand, trying to get my footing while slick mud made me skate across the ground. I gained some ground, even while I slid, my arms flailing like windmills as I tried to keep upright. Just when the slick ground dried up, and my feet were stable, I took a single step before I was slammed into from behind, the weight and force so strong I couldn’t fight against it, though I tried. I wiggled and screamed, kicking back against the weight as he pinned me against a tree.

My face was buried against the rough bark, my voice raw as a clawed hand slammed down next to me, its fingers flexing into the rough bark as my eyes focused on its long nails. Breath was hot against my ear as a rough voice whispered, “You ran, Sydney.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

LUKA

“You ran, Sydney.” The voice of my alpha mixed with my own as I fought to keep myself under control. Did she not know? You never run from an alpha. You never hide. It was a game for us, a hunt we couldn’t resist, and from the moment I saw that note, I knew I’d find her and I’d bring her home… but not without a punishment first.

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