Wild at Heart
Chapter 14

When I got to the mountains of our borders Alan was fighting off a wolf that was twice as large as he was. Two other Omegas were in a scuffle with three other rogues. I took no time to survey the scene, I just ran and launched myself on top of a rogue who didn’t see me coming. My teeth sank deep into the fur on his neck and I crushed my jaw together until I tasted metallic. I could feel the wolf beneath me try and cry out in pain, but my jaw had a lock on its windpipe. I opened my jaw slightly, but only to snap down on it again and crush the wolf’s neck. It fell over in a heap on the ground and I jumped off. I didn’t take a second to breathe before I turned my anger on another wolf squared up with a female Omega. I leaned down and grabbed its hind leg with my teeth and dragged it backwards. It turned and swiped my face, blood instantly dripped from my mouth from its sharp nails. I growled and circled the wolf, knowing full well how this was going to end. I was going to crush this wolf’s skull for attacking my pack. The wolf jumped at me and I sunk my long nails into his chest. He flopped to the side and cried in pain. I pounced before he had even a second to recover. I held the wolf down with my body weight and ripped a chunk of skin from his neck. He wasn’t dead yet, but he wouldn’t last long. I got off and helped Alan. It took me no time to incapacitate the wolf. I turned to the other two Omegas to see if they were injured, but everyone looked okay.

What happened? I asked.

We were doing a routine patrol and we caught their scent. We were doing okay until the other two joined them. Alan explained.

I’ll go to the van and let the Alpha know. The female Omega started jogging down the path. Omegas always drove a van to their patrols with medical supplies, clothes and cell phone to keep in contact with Nick and Daniel in case they weren’t in their wolf forms. I turned to the other Omega, Evan, I think his name was.

Are you hurt? I asked him.

No, Luna, I’m fine. Thank you for the assist. It was quite impressive.

I learned everything I know from her. Alan added with a smile my way. I was impressed with the way Alan handled himself. He has come such a long way from the wolf who struggled to take down one rogue with Jimmy’s help. The female returned to us, Sophia was her name. I didn’t know her well, but I knew of her. She was one of few females who held the Omega title and there were rumors of her and Nick having relations long ago, but I never confirmed it. I wonder if she was the one Daniel spoke of.

Alpha wants us back at the pack house immediately. She informed us. I waited for Nick to link me, but he never did. Maybe Sophia didn’t let him know the backup they called for was me.

I’ll drive. Alan skipped back to the van and I followed with Evan behind me. Once we made it back to the van, the Omegas began shifting into their human forms and began dressing with the clothes in the back of the van. I stretched my bones and my fur began to retract as my wolf subsided to let my human in. I stood on my human legs and turned my back on the Omegas as I reached for some clothes from the back. I tuned out the slight chatter of Alan and Evan in front of me as they walked to the front of the van. I was lost in my thoughts of what I was going to tell Nick about Chase. I knew something was off and we needed to discuss it, but I didn’t want to sound like a crazy paranoid wolf. He already disapproved of the way I was with Octavia, so how was I going to tell him, yet another member of the East pack was giving me back juju vibes without sounding like a nut falling off the squirrel’s tree?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I had no idea what or how it happened, but one second I was buttoning jeans around my waist and the next second I felt pressure on my back and I was falling off the side of the mountain.

“Emma!” I felt Alan’s hand grasp my wrist for a split second, but his hand slipped, and his nails sliced my forearm. I screamed I fell down the side of the steep mountain. My back hit the rocky side of the mountain as I began to tumble. I did the only thing I knew would protect me and held my arm over my head. I rolled down the mountain and closed my eyes, praying the pain would go away. Suddenly, cold rushed over me and I couldn’t breathe. My tumbled down the side of the mountain ended in me rolling straight into the river. I burst out of the water and felt air rush into my lungs. I tried to swim to keep myself afloat but the pain in my arms and legs was too much and I went under once again. My vision was blurry as I bobbed up and down trying to keep my head above the water. I reached for a branch of the closest tree, but I missed and went under again. My chest burned and I didn’t know how much longer I could do this.

I couldn’t understand what happened. I was fine, I just risked my life to kill three rogues attacking our pack and we were safe. We were fine, so how the hell did I fall off the side of the mountain and end up drowning in the river? Was this how it was going to end? After everything I’ve been through within the last year, this was how I was going to die? Drowning in the river that gave me so much peace throughout my life as I sat and watched the water run through the borders of my pack? I couldn’t drown. Nick needed me, I needed to fight harder for him. I came back up and took a deep breath. I needed to fight through the pain in my body and swim. Swim, Emma, swim. Dammit, I couldn’t do it. I reached for anything I could see in my burred vision and tried to hold on to something, anything, that could keep me from going under again. Black spots took over and I could no longer see anything in front of me. My lungs were burning, and I was back under the water. I prayed to the Moon Goddess to give me some peace with this pain, but she apparently didn’t care what I thought.

I gulped for air as my head reached the surface again, but I went under too quickly and water filled my lungs. I tried to cough, but I was back under the water and all it did was bring more water into my lungs. Everything hurt, but my mind was fading.