Prologue

Alma

My heart pounds as I shove the last of my most precious belongings into a small bag.

There’s no more time to waste as I flee the only home I have known for the last thirty years. That doesn't matter anymore, though. I run, or I die too. A sob catches in my throat, I don’t have time to mourn. I need to go…

As I run out into the garden at the back of my home, I spot the sweet-faced girl next door as she chases the chickens through the grass. She sees me and grins brightly. She has no idea that, like me, her entire world has just been completely flipped upside down.

“Hello, sweet one,” I whisper, as I approach her. She tries to leap into my arms, but for the first time in her four short years of life, I have to deny her. I drop to a knee before her, and look around before whispering to her, “I have to go, but I want you to remember that you are so, so loved.” I press a kiss to her cheek and stand to my full height. My heart breaks, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever feel anything but pain again.

With one last look at the child, I run. She’s too slow, and too small, to follow me over the fence, but I hear her tearful cries that rip my very soul to pieces.

“Alma!” she sobs, but I just keep running. I run until my feet bleed, and my body aches.

I run until my chest feels as if it’s on fire and about to explode.

I run until I fall to my knees. Until my body chooses for me.

I don’t know how long I rest here, on the forest floor, gasping for air as my head and heart ache in a way I’ve never known.

A new scent hits my nose, and I freeze, looking up. Blood is in the air. I hold my breath and listen. My Delta senses are still heightened from all the adrenaline released while escaping. I smell an Alpha…an injured Alpha…

Slowly, I rise to my feet, heart once again pounding in my chest like a frightened bird trapped in a cage.

I follow the copper scent. My head is screaming danger, but my heart is soft. My natural urge to heal overrides my other instincts. The Alpha needs my help…

That little voice in my head got me into this position in the first place…

I pause, trying to resist the pull, thinking of the words the people I’ve known my whole life screamed at me when yet another Omega I was trying to save, died…

Witch… Murderer…

“P-please…” a deep, strained voice murmurs just above a whisper. I don’t think, just act—that familiar need to heal, kicking in. Rushing forward, I find the Alpha slumped against a tree. He’s covered in blood and badly injured. So badly, that I don’t know which wound to heal first.

“Oh, sweet mother of all…” I whisper as I press my hands to his bleeding abdomen. The blood pours over my fingers grotesquely as I attempt to stop him from bleeding out.

“My sss…” He blinks at me, the life in his blue eyes fading. He takes a deep breath, the action clearly causing him extreme pain, as blood slips from between his lips and pours down his chin. He coughs, and I shake my head.

“Shhh, don’t speak. I need to stop the bleeding…” I apply more pressure, causing him to groan in pain. When he grabs my wrists with more force than I would expect from a man in his weakened state, I gasp, looking up into his eyes once more. A tear falls down my cheek unbidden. “Please, you can’t die too…” I whisper, my heart aching for this stranger.

“My…sons…” The desperation in his eyes, and the fear in his voice, rocks me to my core. “So young…help…” He’s begging me.

“Okay, just let me save you first, then I’ll find your boys…” I nod, returning my attention to his abdomen… But even as I say the words, I know in my heart he’s not going to make it. There’s too much blood loss already…too many wounds.

“My boys!” he cries, with one last breath, he yanks my hands away from him, a tear slipping down his cheek. “I love you…” he whispers, and I know those words aren’t for me.

A broken sob falls from my lips, as I drop backward onto my butt. Blood covers my hands, now. My soul darkened further from the loss of another life.

A branch snaps behind me, and I know what I’ll find before I even turn around. I move slowly, worried I’ll frighten the boys. I don’t know how many there are, or their age, but I know it's them.

“I won’t hurt you,” I say, as I move to face them, hands raised to show I’m not a threat. “I know you’re scared. I’m sorry about your father. I wish I had gotten here sooner.” As I watch the tree where the noise came from, a small figure steps into view.

It’s only through years of schooling my reaction to extreme injuries that I withhold my gasp of surprise, and a little fear.

The three small children that stand before me are not human boys at all, but monsters.

Somehow terrifying, but also cute at the same time. The natural reaction of fear crawls up my spine, but I shove it down. I don’t sense danger, just immense sadness.

The sadness that only comes from a tragic loss, it’s a feeling I know well. These little beings have just lost their father. The tallest looks to be the size of a human child that is age seven. The second-tallest looks to be the equivalent of maybe six, and the smallest is the easiest for me to guess. He’s the same size as the four-year-old little girl I just left behind.

“My name is Alma,” I say, moving to block the body of their father from their line of sight, even though I know they watched him die. “Should we find a safe place to sleep tonight?” I ask.

The largest boy watches me with suspicion in his brown eyes, the two smaller boys tucked slightly behind him protectively. The wide-eyed little one seems the most inclined to trust me, while the middle brother looks ready to attack if the older one senses danger.

I don’t blame them. Blood covers their little bodies as well.

Their father looks nothing like a monster, perhaps their mother was the monster?

Silently, the little one breaks free from behind the other two and sprints to me. I freeze, worried they’ll interpret any movement from me as a threat. To my surprise, he simply takes my hand, turns his back to me, and starts tugging.

The oldest snarls, showing me his sharp teeth. I smile, understanding his fear. None of them speaks, but as the little one tugs me, I rise to my feet and allow him to pull me along. He walks past his brothers and deeper into the forest.

As we move farther from their father, an unfamiliar scent hits my nose. Blood, but also…

“Omega…” I gasp, seconds before another body comes into view.

“Mommy,” the little one says, and my eyes fall to him. At that moment, all I see is an innocent, heartbroken baby, who’s lost both of his parents today, and not the monster he appears to be on the outside.

“Humans attacked,” the oldest says. He looks fearsome, but he still has the voice of a child.

“I’m sorry,” I say, sniffling. “If you’ll allow me, I can help you. We can keep each other safe,” I offer in a gentle tone, knowing we’ll need to be far enough away from human settlements that they won’t come after these boys.

“No one can keep us safe,” the oldest says sadly, and my chest aches fiercely. He might be right, but I’ll do the best I can, anyway.