The Last Omega of the Thunderclap Pack
Autore
Sarah Tribus
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Capitoli
44
Chapter 1
DAVINA
The smell hit me before I even touched the doorknob. Blood.
My wolf, Donner, screamed inside my head. Watch out!
I saw a fist flying at my face, but it was too late to move. Pain exploded across my cheek.
The force of the blow slammed my head back against the hard wood of the door. My vision swam.
A hand grabbed the collar of my shirt, and I was thrown against the wall like I weighed nothing. Another wave of pain crashed over me.
Then, everything went black.
The last thing I heard was my mother’s weak, pleading voice. “Please! Let her go! This has nothing to do with her!”
***
When I woke up, it felt like I’d been hit by a truck. Everything hurt like hell.
I tried to lift a hand to my throbbing head, but my arms wouldn’t move. I was tied up.
It was hard to force my eyes open. A cold, strange man’s voice cut through the haze. “Oh, Alice, did you seriously think you could escape me? And then you even had a child with someone else? You’ll pay for this.”
A dull thud echoed in the room, followed by my mother’s whimper.
“Mom!” I cried out.
My eyes finally focused, and I saw her. She was on the floor, and a man was leaning over her, his fist raised.
He froze just before his fist could connect, a low growl rumbling in his chest. A powerful alpha aura flooded the room, so strong it forced a whimper from my throat.
My omega nature was supposed to be hidden, but there was no suppressing this reaction. Not to an aura this strong.
“Well, look at that. You’ve given birth to a weakling,” the man grumbled.
He turned toward me, and I got my first look at his face. It was horribly disfigured.
He looked about my mother’s age, with short hair and a messy beard. But it was the scratches that drew my attention.
Angry, bleeding lines crisscrossed his skin. My mom had put up a fight.
But he was a wolf—an alpha wolf. That fact alone sent a wave of pure panic through me.
And his eyes…his dark-brown eyes were filled with so much hate as they landed on me. If I wasn’t tied to this chair, I’d be screaming and running for my life.
My mother had trained me, yes, but I was no match for a muscle-bound, aggressive alpha. Knowing that only made the fear worse.
He started walking toward me, his eyes burning with fury, and my heart hammered against my ribs. I had never in my life been so afraid of anyone.
His rough hand slapped my cheek. “She’s not bad-looking, I’ll give you that, Alice.”
The way he said my mother’s name sounded like he wanted to tear the whole world apart.
“Take your hands off her,” my mother pleaded. “You want me, not her. Let her go, and I’ll come with you willingly.”
He just laughed, a cruel, sharp sound that filled the room. I froze, unable to move a single inch.
This man was a monster. The aura rolling off him made me tremble, stealing my ability to think or speak.
Even Donner, my wolf, was whimpering loudly in my head, completely intimidated.
“Even if you’ve somehow concealed her true nature, a blind person could see she’s an omega,” the man said, a creepy grin spreading across his face.
His cold, greedy gaze raked over me. To my horror, he added, “Your mother probably didn’t teach you that an omega should keep their gaze lowered when facing an alpha. But don’t worry. I’ll teach you how to behave around me.”
Every word he spoke made him more terrifying.
Before I could process what was happening, his hand was around my throat. He squeezed so hard I couldn’t breathe.
“NO! LET HER GO!” my mother screamed.
His grip only tightened. Tears filled my eyes.
With his free hand, he ripped my blouse open and grabbed my breast, his fingers digging in painfully. A cruel smile twisted his lips. “Alice, I don’t want you anymore. This little girl is far more valuable than you. She’ll come with me. She’ll give me what you wouldn’t give me!”
My chest tightened, and my vision started to go black at the edges. Through the darkness, I saw my mother get up from the floor, shift into her wolf form, and launch herself at him.
She bit down hard on his arm. He let go of my neck with a yell, but the force of the impact knocked over the chair I was tied to.
A fresh wave of pain shot through my body as I hit the floor. The world spun around me.
I could only see blurry images of them fighting. I saw shadows moving, flashes of attacks.
Then, out of nowhere, the man let out a deafening scream. I heard something heavy hit the floor.
The sound repeated. And then…nothing.
The silence was even more terrifying than the fight.
“Mom?” I whispered, my voice weak with a desperate hope.
No one answered.
My vision blurred with tears, but as they started to clear, the horror came into sharp focus.
They were both on the floor, lying in pools of their own blood.
“Mommy, please,” I choked out, the words getting stuck in my throat.
Then, a small movement. She stirred, crawling slowly, painfully, toward me. Her fingers fumbled with my bonds until I was free. Then she collapsed.
My own body screamed in protest, but I ignored it. I sat up, pulling her into my arms. She groaned, and I immediately loosened my hold.
That was when I saw it. The gaping wound in her stomach.
“Mommy, please, just hang in there. I’ll call a doctor,” I pleaded. My eyes darted around the room, searching for a phone, but her hand touched my cheek, stopping me.
“Sweetie, a doctor can’t help me now,” she whispered. A weak smile touched her lips before a coughing fit wracked her body. “You have to be strong. You have to let me go.”
“Mom, no…,” I started, but she cut me off.
“You can do this,” she whispered, her voice urgent. “I need you to pack your things, set the house on fire, and go to your Aunt Isolde’s. No one can find our bodies. Promise me.”
I sniffled and nodded. There was nothing I could do to save her, but my heart was screaming in denial.
“Good girl.” Her voice was getting weaker. “I sent two letters to her. One for Isolde, and one for you. They’ll explain everything.” She took a shaky breath. “There’s so much more I want to say, but there’s no time. Take care of yourself. Don’t let anyone get you down.
“You’re strong, my darling. You’ll go so far. Don’t let this grief eat you alive. Enjoy your life.” Her voice was barely a whisper now. She closed her eyes. Her heart stopped. And I fell apart.
I screamed. I cried. I whimpered until there was nothing left inside me but a hollow ache.
I didn’t know how long I had held her—my adoptive mother, Alice.
The sun had set, and darkness filled the room, but I couldn’t move. My chest felt like it was caving in. I had just lost the only person I had ever truly loved.
The guilt was a poison, spreading with every second that passed. I was too weak. I couldn’t save her. I was just an omega. That was all I was. It didn’t matter that my mother always told me I was strong and special.
Why am I so weak?
My tears were long gone, but the wolf inside me was still howling in grief. I knew exactly how she felt.
Eventually, I found the strength to get up. I had a promise to keep. I grabbed my emergency bag and started shoving things inside, not even looking at what I packed.
A quick shower washed away the blood, but not the memory of it.
After I dressed, I took one last look around the house. This was it. Goodbye forever. I picked up the lighter. I walked to the window, to the curtains my mother had loved, and lit them. The fire would do what I couldn’t bring myself to do: turn Mom’s body, and the alpha’s, to ash before anyone could find them.
The curtains burst into flames.
