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AMAYA

I nstincts are a bitch.

And I'm not talking about the omega wreaking havoc in my mind and soul. I mean the ones that forced my lungs to inhale when there was no oxygen and urged my feet to kick in the water even though my ankle clearly wouldn't work.

Those same natural born instincts force my aching body to curl in on itself as I hack up liquid fucking hell fire. I can't stop the trembles from rattling my bones and jarring my throbbing ankle.

Nothing registers around me but the pain fraying my nerves. Among the lava in my throat, a scream bubbles and fear boils over despite the suffering of my lungs. My head is pounding like I just got crushed by all the water in the world and my ankle? My fucking ankle demands attention.

'Beta! BETA!'

My omega slams against my rib cage, frantic to be unleashed, and I'm afraid I don't have the energy to stop her. All my willpower goes to trying to shove the pain away and open my eyes.

I promised myself I would escape or die before the boat left the port.

Did I fail?

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, Amaya. Shh, baby."

'Beta.'

"Oliver..." A hesitant voice filters through the shrill scream trying to implode my skull. I can't place it, but it reminds me of everything I have always wished for.

'Dad.'

Dad ? My mouth tries to form the words but only a croak escapes. Am I dead? I use all the willpower I can find to peel my heavy eyelids open. Surely, if I were dead there would be no pain though, right?

Faces I don't know filter through my blurry vision, making the pounding of my heart more noticeable. Thump, thump, thump . With each beat, a new ache forms and heightens the burn in my lungs.

Everything hurts. Living hurts.

One face disappears. Splash! Then another.

"Sam, don't! Shit! Emmett grab Vincent!"

Oliver?

'Beta!' my omega huffs.

I swear I can hear my neck groan and creak as I twist my head to look around me. What I see stops the blood pumping in my veins. My alphas, turning their backs on me.

"GET ME A BOAT!" Vincent roars, punching someone in the face as Emmett snatches the back of his shirt. "I'M GOING AFTER THEM!"

No! "No," I try to yell, but my desperate plea is hardly more than a whisper.

"Get off me!" Samuel snaps, shoving at Oliver who has him in a death grip. "They touched her!"

"They helped her, dumbass!" Oliver yells, tugging viciously on Sam again. It's then I notice the guy on the ground with a bloody nose and a baffled scowl.

What are they doing?! Don't they see I need them?!

Vincent whirls around on Emmett with a snarl. "Let go! I have to make them pay!"

"Please no," I whisper, cursing my body once again for not doing what it should do. They can't leave me . "Don't leave me!" Still, it's nothing but a croak.

"Amaya, breathe," my dad soothes, entering my line of sight, but I fight to look around him. "Hey, breathe. You need to calm down."

He looks scared, but it only freaks me out more. Not even him gathering me in his arms and tugging me onto his legs helps to ground me.

Everything hurts and none of my mates are helping me! Doesn't he see?! I NEED THEM!

"Vinc—" A ragged cough steals my cry for my alpha. They continue to struggle and tussle, leaving me a weeping, aching mess on the soaking wet dock.

"Fuck!" my dad grunts, pulling me into his arms and patting my back, which arches in pain from the rough handling. "Amaya, you need to fucking breathe!"

I see Emmett's grip on Vincent falter, allowing my bonded alpha to take another step away from me. That one move splits my soul right down the center, unleashing my feral omega in a fit of pure desperation.

"PLEASE DON'T LEAVE M-ME!" My body flings itself forward and off of my dad’s lap, only to fall limp with a heavy crash. The fight seeps out of me like a fire extinguishing. Shouts and cursing lull my battered body into darkness.