Page 3 of His Snowbound Omega

“Which one is he?” Thorn forced himself to ask no one in particular. It was too important to stay quiet though. He needed to know which man to avoid at all costs.

Levi Morningstar was said to be the devil incarnate, cruel to the bone, and quick to anger.

“The white-haired one, of course,” the closest female omega replied.

Right. The White Frost.

Figured.

How ironic that the Dominus of the mafia had the same interest in connecting names as Thorn’s father had.

“The man with him is Baal, right?” a male omega asked, earning himself an elbow from his friend.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned. “They’re both gorgeous, but don’t let that fool you. This isn’t meant to be enjoyable for us. These alphas don’t care about our pleasure or our consent. Remember that.”

The alphas of topic didn’t seem like they cared about anything really. Neither seemed all that interested in checking out the omegas, gazing out at the landscape instead, having a calm conversation between them.

Thorn didn’t know why that pissed him off so much, but it did. Sure, many of the omegas here were here because of their own choices, but there were others who’d merely ended up in the same shitty situation he had. Forced, for one reason or another, because of a family member who couldn’t pay. But those alphas, the ones in charge…They couldn’t even be bothered to spare them a glimpse?

“Assholes,” the word was out before he could stop it, fortunately spoken low enough that only those closest to him could hear.

There was no way either of the alphas had heard him, and yet Thorn stiffened when the dark-haired one tipped his head in their direction.

The man, Baal, scanned the crowd as if searching for someone in particular, and Thorn held his breath, knowing he should, and yet somehow unable to look away.

Fortunately, a whistle sounded, shocking him out of the trance and signaling the start of what was undoubtedly going to be the worst night of his life.

As he moved toward the starting line with the rest of the omegas, Thorn forgot all about the dark-haired alpha, filling his mind with a mental layout of the land instead.

When the whistle blew a second time, instructing them to start running, Thorn took off, surrounded by panicked omegas, determination spurring him across the snow-covered clearing and deep into the forest with only one goal in mind.

If anyone was going to be winning tonight, it was going to be him.

He had too much to lose not to.

Chapter 2:

The snow already went up to his ankles, slowing him down as he raced through the forest, moving as quickly, but as carefully, as he could. Sounds of the others echoed around him, the dense trees keeping him from seeing much of anything going on.

Thorn didn’t want to anyway. Witnessing an omega brought down by an alpha would only be distracting and disheartening, and he needed to remain focused. Aster was counting on him.

Of course, his little brother had no clue what Thorn was up to, but that was neither here nor there. It was a scary thought, to think there was a chance Thorn could be caught, that perhaps he might not make it out of this alive. That his brother might lose him and never know what had happened.

But that was one of the risks he’d decided was worth it when he’d accepted the invitation, and it was too late to turn back now, even if he wanted to.

Thorn had purposefully skipped the cabin closest to the area where the hunt had begun. He wasn’t a mafia member, but they were supposed to be sneaky and clever, and if he were one, the nearest cabin would be where he’d set a trap. It was a gamble, one that left him out in the open longer, but he stood by it.

Because of the snow and having to be stealthy, it was taking him twice as long to reach his destination. His socks were already soaked through, and the second-hand jacket that had lost most of its stuffing was only doing so much to keep the cold at bay. There was a real risk he’d catch hypothermia if he didn’t find shelter, and he vaguely wondered how the alphas got on so well in this weather.

Maybe they didn’t. Maybe they were as frozen and miserable as the rest of them.

It would serve them right.

His sneaker hit a root hidden in the snow, and Thorn gasped and fell forward. The loud crunch he made upon impact had him naturally freezing, ears straining for any sounds of an approaching predator.

A scream cut through the air to his left and he jerked and sat up, heart pounding in his chest, but the sound was too far away to be a threat.

Another omega had been caught, it seemed.