Page 4 of Untamed Omega (One Wild Alpha #2)
Sam
“He’s right here.” The high-pitched voice came from above me, but I did not recognize it. “Is this the one you wanted?”
“Yes,” a second person replied. “Here’s something for your trouble.”
Peering between half-closed eyelids, I saw the first male accept a handful of money. Had he sold me to the other one? The me who had been kidnapped years—at least I assumed it had been years—before had learned a hard lesson that day. Trust? Gone forever.
I closed my eyes tightly again, not wanting to see my fate. I’d been so sure the labs were the worst thing that could happen to me, to anyone, but maybe I’d been wrong. What fresh hell was I going toward—having used all of my strength just to get this far?
“Heading out, then.” The crunch of dirt under boots grew faint as the squeaky speaker left.
If I’d had any energy left, I’d have tried to escape, but the white coats and their minions kept us, or at least me, on the bare minimum of calories and my only exercise was pacing my cell. I opened my eyes again.
“Come on, omega.” The other man, his voice hearty and strong, grasped my arm. “Time to get you away from here before someone finds us. Can you stand?”
“I-I’m not sure.” What someone was he concerned about? The white coats? “Who are you?”
“A friend. My name is Reggie. I only need you on your feet long enough to get to the truck. It’s a couple of hundred yards away. Want me to carry you?”
“No.” I struggled and, with the alpha’s help, made it upright. “I can do it.”
“All right.” He didn’t argue with me, nor did he release his grip on my arm. “Give it your best shot, but you don’t look like you can go far to me. There’s no shame in asking for help. You’re not our first rescue from the white coats.”
“You’re rescuing me?”
He tilted his head, studying me with interest. “Yes. What did you think I was doing?”
“I had no idea,” I answered truthfully. “It wouldn’t be the first time I was trafficked.”
“No trust at all, huh?” He started off through the brush, half towing me along.
“None.” But I let him guide me. What option did I have?
My mate would never want me back after all I’d been through.
They’d probably written me off as dead or a runaway long ago.
And it was my fault. I shouldn’t have taken a ride with a stranger after my car broke down. I’d been warned. “Do you blame me?”
“No.”
I tried to walk at a reasonable pace, but my bare feet were not handling the forest floor very well, and I didn’t even know how I’d gotten where I ended up.
Vague memories of waking from my blackouts and stumbling along tickled the back of my mind but didn’t offer a whole lot of real information. “Who are you, anyway?”
“I told you, I’m Reggie. I work with an organization that helps those who escape from the white coats, among others. Shifters are fodder for more than one lab, but this is the biggest one in the area. What’s your name, omega?”
“Sam.” I stepped on a sharp rock and stumbled. “Oh…ouch. Sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, but if you keep on the way you’re going, your feet are going to be hamburger. Let me carry you, please. We need to get to the truck and clear this area, if you don’t want us both captured.”
“All right.” Everything in me wanted to argue, but my feet weren’t the only problem. My legs wobbled, and dizziness darkened the edges of my vision. I couldn’t do it, no matter how much that weird well of pride I didn’t even know I had, argued otherwise. “Thank you.”
The alpha scooped me up without even slowing down. “You’re way too light, Sam. I have some snacks in the car, and we’ll hit a drive-through on the way to sanctuary. A little more meat on those bones wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“Snacks?” I rested my head on his shoulder and Reggie strode along, long legs eating up the distance. While grateful for his help, I hated feeling so helpless, like a burden. “What kind?”
His chuckle rumbled against my cheek. “Name your poison. I’ve got three kinds of chips, beef and salmon jerky, candy… A bunch of stuff. And clothes.”
Only now did I realize I wore only the thin boxer shorts I’d been wearing in my cell. I hadn’t had much more than that at any point, part of why the AC was so brutal. And I hadn’t even thought about it. So used to the abuses, for using willpower to keep me going day after day. “Clothes…”
“They might be too big for you, but when we get to the sanctuary, they’ll have more options. You aren’t cold, are you?”
Despite the fact it was nighttime, it was much warmer than my cell. “Not at all, but I’d sure like to have something to cover up how ugly I am.”
He stopped and looked down at me. “You’re not ugly.
You’re thin and bruised and show signs of abuse.
A few weeks of good care and you’ll feel much better.
I’m so sorry this happened to you, Sam, but our healer is the best.” He started off again.
“If I ever get the opportunity, I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done to so many. ”
When we reached the truck, he helped me into the cab before going around the back and getting a sack. Settling behind the wheel, he passed it to me. “Don’t eat too much, omega. You’ll make yourself sick.”
Which I of course did. We didn’t even get to stop for fast food because after a few strips of jerky and three cookies, Reggie had to pull over and let me empty my stomach. Instead of the burger I dreamed of, he bought me a small smoothie and made me sip it.
Then I slept awhile arriving to find two males waiting to help me onto a stretcher. I wanted to argue, but there was no way I could walk, so why bother. They carried me into a cottage and helped me onto a padded table.