Page 9 of Stray Omega

Embla whined at them softly.

Can’t you help me? Dog-friend, remember?

Smoke just whined back and lowered his ears as if to say, Sorry, but there’s nothing I can do.

The lead alpha, Ark, seemed to notice this exchange. His heavy brow furrowed, and he cast his gaze back and forth between Embla and the dogs.

Meanwhile, Orwen simply grew impatient and tugged once more at Embla’s leash, but the omega refused to budge. That leash might keep her from retreating to her burrow, but it didn’t mean she had to follow these alphas willingly.

Then again, they didn’t need her to be willing.

With a frustrated growl, Orwen yanked harder on the leash. The collar cinched around Embla’s narrow throat, choking her. She was pulled face forward onto the ground, but she quickly sat up again, glaring at Orwen defiantly.

Another growl. Another yank.

This time, Embla was not caught off guard, and she braced herself against the tugging. The tightness of the collar hurt, but she leaned back hard.

There was just one problem.

Orwen was over twice her size, and he was all muscle. The alpha tugged again, this time with a touch more pressure, and Embla found herself being dragged along the forest floor, her naked butt sliding on the carpet of dead leaves. She clawed with her fingers and kicked with her heels in an attempt to find some purchase, but it was no use.

Embla gave a muffled snarl through her cloth gag.

But the mean alpha only smirked at her. The look in his dark eyes said he would meet her defiance with his own alpha stubbornness. He would drag her butt across the entire Zone if that’s what it took.

Rage surged through Embla’s veins like fire. She was angry at this alpha for treating her this way, but she was even angrier at herself for being so small and helpless.

It was the alpha pack leader who finally came to her aid.

With a slashing motion of his hand, Ark signaled at his second to leave off dragging Embla along the ground. When Orwen didn’t cease immediately, the pack leader barked a harsh command that Embla actually understood.

“STOP!“

Orwen obeyed his boss and let the leash hang slack. Embla snickered, but the cloth gag made it sound more like a cough. Meanwhile, the dogs just continued to look on silently, as if waiting to see what would happen next.

After a moment’s thought, Ark spoke some incomprehensible words to both of his companions.

Reluctantly, Orwen handed the leash over to Ark. The pack leader walked toward Embla, slowly gathering up the slack in the leash as he approached. Sudden fear tingled through Embla’s veins, but the alpha leader purred softly, and almost by reflex the tension in the omega’s muscles relaxed.

Ark moved behind her, keeping a tight hold on the short leash. A moment later, Embla felt his fingers working on the knot of her gag, which loosened and fell from her mouth.

Meanwhile, young Leros removed the animal hide satchel that was slung over his bronzed shoulder. It was the same satchel that Embla had tried to steal just a few hours before. The young alpha stooped and reached inside the pack, drawing out a handful of jerky strips. Embla was downwind, and the aroma of the seasoned meat filled her nose.

Her mouth instantly flooded with saliva. She had been distracted by all the excitement, but now her painful hunger came surging back with a vengeance.

She wanted that food so badly.

But she was nervous.

Moving slowly, the young alpha crept toward her. His alpha scent carried no hint of fear, and Embla realized that his caution was for her benefit, not his own. He was trying not to startle her.

When he was just an arm’s length away, Leros tore off a morsel of meat and held it out for her, nodding reassuringly.

Embla didn’t know what to do.

She understood what the young alpha was doing. He was trying to win her over with the promise of food, and that was just as bad as getting dragged along the ground on a leash. Okay, perhaps not quite as bad, but the end result would be the same. The alphas would take her away—away from her burrow, away from her home.

But it was impossible to refuse. Embla’s empty stomach twisted with excruciating hunger. In a blink, her hand darted out and snatched away the morsel of meat. Another blink, and she had devoured it. The savory taste of the meat saturated her mouth.

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