Page 1 of Spark (Damselverse #2)

Chapter one

Zara

M y bare feet slap against the hard, wet concrete as I rush through a sheet of torrential rain, eager to escape the three pigs who are hunting me.

The Pigs work for the Big Bad Wolf, of course. In other words, my number one nemesis. The very Alpha who destroyed my life and took my grandmother away from me.

The government scent-matched me with the Wolf, and I've been stuck with the brute ever since.

Heaven knows why they thought my lavender would be a perfect complement to his ashtray scent, but I have to get away from him fast and pave my own way in life.

He took my phone, so I can’t even call for help.

The last person I spoke with was my friend, Halle, but that was months ago. Now, I have no one as I have to look out for myself.

This time, he will make me suffer for sure. The Wolf locks me away in the basement when I misbehave and starves me for days, sometimes weeks.

All he feeds me is awful slop, and when he really wants to make me suffer, he will let the Pigs take care of me.

Those three Betas don’t know how to care for an Omega. Neither does the Wolf, but being an Omega, I can’t help but yearn for his Alpha presence.

Even if it is cold and heartless.

Despite how much I hate him, I need him. And the Wolf knows it.

Especially as my first heat is approaching. The spikes are getting worse, but if I can outrun my heat, then just maybe… I will be fine.

Maybe I can survive.

The Wolf has been giving me suppressants, anything to prolong my suffering, but sooner or later, my Omega will burst, and he’ll be sorry.

Alphas are just as much at our mercy as we Omegas are at theirs during a heat cycle. His Alpha won’t be able to think straight once I perfume. Just maybe he will give me attention for once.

Yeah, I doubt that.

The Wolf will ensure my pain is insurmountable.

“Where are you going, little bitch?”

Shit. That was Will, the lead Pig of the trio. I pick up the pace, finding a gap in the chainlink fence that runs perpendicular to my path.

“We're gonna catch you and cut off all your little piggies!”

That was George. Always with the feet, that one, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t have a good nose for a Beta.

The rain has only made my lavender scent stronger and sweeter as I skirt around watery potholes in the old junkyard where I’ve taken refuge.

This end of town has always been deserted and shady, hence why the Wolf chose it for the location of his dodgy contraband business.

His warehouse is just a few blocks from here.

“She went this way!”

That was Napoleon, and I hate that guy the most out of the three pigs. Always so quiet and mysterious, as if he’s plotting in the shadows.

They bumble behind me, deciding amongst themselves who will follow me through the chainlink fence until they decide that George, being the smallest, should have the honor.

They really are idiots.

Idiots they may be, though, I must get away from them before they catch up with me.

Once I reach the abandoned garage with the smashed windows, I push aside the rotten door, sliding it across as I slip inside.

Thankfully, there are enough places to hide in this deserted building, but I ran enough laps around the scrap yard to throw them off track.

Moving toward a beat-up truck, I climb inside one of its vacant windows, lying down on the old, leather seat, the one sprinkled with glass as I wait out the storm.

As I press my stomach to the upholstered seat, I shut my eyes, heart pounding.

I’m completely drenched, my dress soaked right through as I’m creating a puddle on the seat. But so long as I am out of sight of the Pigs, then I’m satisfied.

Still, I wrap my fingers around a thick shard of glass that shines on the floor of the truck, holding it close as I listen out for every sound.

If they find me, I will make them bleed.

Lightning flashes outside. I flinch, covering my mouth before a yelp escapes me. The clap of thunder soon follows, and I close my eyes again, trying to calm my erratic heart.

It's just thunder, just thunder… it can’t harm me.

Now I think back to all the times Grandma comforted me whenever a thunderstorm had stolen away the blue sky, rocking me to sleep as she would sing me a lullaby.

Her sweet song echoes in the recesses of my mind as I try to go back to that simpler time.

That was the last time in my life I was truly happy, and it’s those memories I hold onto now as I listen out for the Pigs.

Their voices echo out in the junkyard, but sooner or later, they will catch wind of my scent.

I think I cut my leg on some glass as I climbed in through the window.

Just what I need. No doubt George’s snout will pick up on the scent of Omega blood.

More lightning flashes, but I am better prepared this time as I keep my palm wrapped securely around my mouth.

Unfortunately, it lights up three sets of eyes beneath the front seat of the truck, eyes that watch me attentively.

What in the world…

Once my shock wears off, I narrow my eyes so I can see better in the dark. A small gasp escapes me.

Kittens.

Three to be exact.

It looks as if I have broken into their home. Their mother must be out somewhere hunting.

Well, they’re not the only ones hiding. There are three monsters out there looking for me, and I must lie low.

“Sorry,” I mutter to the kittens. “But you don’t mind if I wait in here with you, do you? There are three bad men out there looking for me.”

The kittens just continue to stare at me on high alert, but the one on the left blinks. They won’t dare come out from under the seat while I’m in the truck with them.

I must have given them quite the fright when I stumbled in through the window like a madwoman. Now I try to make out their markings.

It’s still too dark, but the one on the right looks a little tabby.

“In here!”

Oh, sweet fudge.

Maybe running into this garage was a mistake. Now they have me cornered. But if I can remain as quiet as a set of three tiny kittens, then they may just bypass the truck altogether.

Something smashes through the window of the garage, landing right next to the truck outside.

What was that?

Before I have a chance to investigate, an explosion goes off, and then the garage goes up in flames.

The psychopaths. They threw a petrol bomb into the garage! They don’t just mean to capture me. The Wolf has ordered his Pigs to kill me.

Shit.

The flames spread quickly, and I don’t think. I reach down beneath the seat, grab the three little kittens, then push my way out of the truck.

Now, I search for an escape, but the fire consumes all escape routes.

We’re trapped.

Well, that’s not true. The kittens can still make it. They’re small enough to fit through the gap in the boarded window.

The smoke is getting thicker.

So I help each kitten out the window, pushing them through the tiny gap. “Be free!”

They don’t need to be told twice. The moment they have a chance, they bolt. As any terrified animal would.

At least someone may just survive tonight. There’s no hope for me, the smoke worsening by the second.

My head begins to spin. I’m losing consciousness.

I have a silly thought just before I pass out. Perhaps my true pack will come and save me, the one I always dreamed about since I was a little kid.

But fate had other ideas for me. Instead of being matched with three cinnamon rolls, I ended up with a vicious wolf.

I guess not all Omegas can have the world.