Omega's Run (35 page)

As each of the rest of us made our changes, I was the last to finally assume my full wolf and when I immediately started rolling on my back to relieve the maddening itch, many of the others started yipping and barking, laughing at my behavior in true canine fashion.

I rolled and leapt to my feet, growling at them and leapt at William, teeth flashing halfheartedly in his direction. He dodged the attacked, shouldered me aside, and barreled past me toward Ava who leaped out of the way and barked once at him. As if by some unspoken signal, we all turned and dashed into the woods.

Long into the night we ran. Eight wolves, howling at the moon, chasing the occasional big horn sheep, and generally terrorizing the local nightlife. It felt great to be part of a pack again. To run, and play, and interact with my own kind.

I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed it during my time alone, and I was more determined than ever to build a pack I could love and be proud of. And with Ava by my side, I was sure that we could do it.

Epilogue

Macy

I kept to myself on purpose. I hated this, hated everything, hated that
lying bitch
and everything she’d stood for. I was angry, I was heartbroken, and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about
any
of it.

I stared across the room, huddled in on myself, and watched Evan, who was watching me. He didn’t understand, he couldn’t, and he wouldn’t
listen to me
so I avoided him, even when all I wanted to do was sooth the hurt that was raging just beneath his surface.

I’d taken up a corner in one of the media rooms down on the second basement level of the bunker we were all staying in. It was two stories up top, but down below, it went down three. I liked it in here, despite being closed up underground again. It was cozy, like a den, the smell of old books a comforting thing. When I’d been human, I had always taken refuge from my fucked up home life in libraries and used book stores.

I should have never let Miranda talk me into that camping trip…

The door opened, dispelling the memories, and I could smell her before I saw her. Jasmine and some underlying metallic scent, rancid almost, chemical and manufactured.

“Go away,” I grated, before she found me in the stacks of bookshelves, huddled in the corner on a beanbag.

“Not going away, and not going to try and kick your ass again either. I have an offer to make you.”

“I don’t want what you’re selling, bitch. So you might as well just go the fuck away.”

“Macy, I’m trying to help you.”

“Help me do what?” I demanded.

“Fight better for one. Let me train you. Let me make you useful, and then let’s go get the sons of bitches.”

“Why do you even want to help me?”

“Because helping you, helps me… duh.”

“What are you on about?”

She rounded the corner and crossed her arms under her breasts, looking me up and down.

“You can’t bring down an ages old secret society without a team of capable people.”

I snorted, “You’d need an army to take down the Hunters.”

“Not really, Sweetie. Honestly,” again she looked me up and down, “I just need Remus, you, possibly that fellow that was in the cage with you, and maybe one or two more on the outside.”

Something about the look she was giving me both thoroughly scared me, and gave me pause. She was absolutely certain that she could do this. Like scary certain.

I considered what she was offering and finally, I nodded slowly, “Okay, I’ll drink the Kool-aide. When do we start?” She smiled and it was an icy thing that sent a shiver of dread down my spine.

“We’ve started already; I just need to get you caught up.”

I eyed her mistrustfully, but I
did
need training. I needed to be far more capable than I was. They’d grabbed me too easily… I didn’t know where else I could get the kind of training she was offering so…

“Okay,” I agreed, and my wolf seemed pleased about it.

I thought at it, hard…

I hope you’re right.

Of course it hadn’t steered me wrong, yet.

About the Authors

A.J. Downey is the internationally bestselling author of The Sacred Hearts Motorcycle Club romance series. She is a born and raised Seattle, WA Native. She finds inspiration from her surroundings, through the people she meets, and likely as a byproduct of way too much caffeine. She has lived many places and done many things, though mostly through her own imagination… An avid reader all of her life, it’s now her turn to try and give back a little, entertaining as she has been entertained. She lives in a small house in a small neighborhood with a larger than life fiancé and one cat.

She blogs regularly at
www.ajdowney.com
. If you want the easy button digest, as well as a bunch of exclusive content you can’t get anywhere else, sign up for her mailing list
right here.

A California native and avid reader, for Ryan Kells, making the transition from reader to writer was simply the next logical evolution. He enjoys a number of genres from paranormal suspense to dystopian post-apocalyptic. All of his work contains a romantic spin with a decidedly erotic flair.

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Published 2016 by Second Circle Press

Book design by Lia Rees at Free Your Words (
www.freeyourwords.com
)

Cover art by Cover Your Dreams (
www.coveryourdreams.net
)

Text copyright © 2016 AJ Downey, Ryan Kells

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All Rights Reserved