The White Omega: Hell's Bears MC Book 2 Page 2

  It’s an order. I feel the familiar compulsion fill me, as strong and as impossible to resist as gravity. As an experiment, I try resisting. Could I resist? I’ve never done so, never tried to decline my alpha’s command. I was raised with the understanding that there was just no point.

  And that turns out to be true. I can no more resist the pull of this command than I could levitate myself off the ground. Already, my body is moving toward the garbage cans, even as I’m trying to turn the other way.

  As I drag the cans through the front door and down the long gravel driveway that leads to the road, I think about tonight’s dinner. Aiden was as bad as his word, announcing to the rest of the pack that he’d imprinted on me and that he and I would be breeding a new set of cubs. I don’t know whether or not anyone else saw it for the lie it was. They were all just too excited about the prospect of cubs. There were no sympathetic glances thrown my way, no indication at all that anyone understood what I might be going through. Nobody cares. Nobody wants to think about it.

  The gravel drive is so long that by the time I reach the end of it, I can no longer see the house. We’re set back quite a way from the road. It’s deliberate, of course—we don’t want any of the average humans in Blind River discovering that a pack of shifters are living in their town. They probably just think we’re a bunch of weird hillbillies, which we can work with, because we don’t socialize with them. Aiden says we’re above that kind of thing.

  I place the garbage cans carefully at the end of the driveway for tomorrow’s trash pickup. Then I stand for a moment, letting the breeze catch my hair, listening to the rush of cars on the Trans-Canada Highway, which is only about a mile from here. Sometimes, it’s agonizing how close the world is.

  And then, with a sudden shock, I realize something huge. Something vital.

  I am out of the house, and Aiden didn’t order me to come back.

  I’m not feeling the usual compulsion to return now that the chore I’ve done is over. I feel as if I could stand here on the end of our driveway all night if I wanted to. There would be nothing to stop me. I’m amazed. Aiden is usually so careful about controlling where I go. How could he have made such a massive mistake?

  Experimentally, I step off the end of the driveway and into the road. I’m expecting to run up against a hard limit. I’m expecting the power of the alpha to pull me back. Surely, I won’t be allowed off the property?

  But I am. And, thinking back, I realize Aiden has never told me not to leave the property. All he’s ever said is to stay in the house, an order he just countermanded by telling me to take out the trash.

  I’m free.

  I’m not prepared. But who knows whether I’ll ever get a chance like this again? I can’t afford to go back to the house for clothes or food. Going back will lock me under Aiden’s power again. This freedom took twenty-five years to come around once, and there is no chance I’m going to let it slip through my fingers.

  I run.

  I don’t dare take on bear form. That’s what they’ll expect me to do, and as soon as they realize what I’ve done, they’ll take to the woods in bear form themselves to look for me. No, I need to make my escape the way a human would. When I’ve gotten far enough away, maybe I can proceed as a bear for a while. But as long as I’m near the house, it’ll be too risky.

  I need to go to the highway.

  I cross the street. I’m already farther from home than I’ve ever been, and a huge part of me is already longing for my safe, familiar bedroom. Except that my bedroom isn’t safe. If I go back, Aiden is going to force me to mate with him and carry his cubs. Anything’s better than that.

  In a surprisingly short time, I reach the highway. I’m staggered by the number of cars. In my study, and in my use of the internet, I gained plenty of knowledge about the size of the world, but seeing it is different. My whole life has been confined to one house. Now, I’m looking at hundreds of cars, each with a different person or group of people inside, all speeding by on their way to different destinations. How can there be this many destinations? And this is just one highway!

  I can’t linger here. I need to keep moving. My pack has probably already discovered I’m gone. My only real hope is that they’re looking for me in the wrong direction. If they’ve followed me to the highway, they’ll be on me in moments.

  Suddenly, my heart sinks. Of course, they’d have followed me. They know my scent. It won’t matter how far I go. They can track me by my scent. They’ll be here any second, and they’ll drag me back and punish me for daring to leave, and I’ll never get another opportunity.

  Unless...

  The smell of the cars is heavy, permeating my nostrils. If I were to escape in a car, they would lose me, wouldn’t they? They wouldn’t be able to track my scent through the exhaust. Not to mention the added benefit of moving much more quickly. This is the solution. I need to hitchhike. And I need to get into the first car that will stop for me. I don’t have a lot of time.

  I stick out my thumb hopefully, wondering if this will work. Most of what I know about hitchhiking comes from cautionary tales warning people not to do it. Drivers are warned that they might pick up an axe murderer or, in some stories, a ghost. Potential hitchhikers are warned that they might get into a car with violent criminals or kidnappers. But no matter whose car I get into, I know it can’t be worse than what I’m leaving behind, so I’m not afraid. Just let someone stop.

  My luck is in. A green truck pulls over. It’s a two-seater, the cab currently occupied by a man in a flannel shirt and jeans with dark blond hair. The bed of the truck contains several boxes tied in place by a lot of twine. The driver grins, then reaches over and opens the door for me. “Where are you heading?” he asks.

  “Anywhere. I don’t care.” I get in and pull the door shut. I don’t have time to negotiate.

  He eyes me speculatively. “No luggage?”

  “I’m kind of leaving a bad situation.”

  “Ah. Boyfriend troubles?”

  “Can we go?”

  “You need to tell me where we’re going.”

  “I don’t care, I told you. Wherever you were already going. Please.” I look out the window anxiously, sure I’m going to see polar bears emerging from the woods at any moment, but there’s no sign of them yet.

  The man shrugs expansively and pulls back onto the road. As he drives away, I breathe a sigh of relief. Even if they follow me as far as the highway, they’ll lose me there. I look out the window, watching the place where I emerged from the woods and my driver picked me up, until it can no longer be seen. I don’t see my pack. Maybe I’ve really lost them for good.

  Finally, I can relax. I slump in my seat, relieved, exhausted, as the sudden flood of adrenaline that filled my system at the discovery of my freedom drains from me. I know I can’t fall asleep in this stranger’s car, but I want to.

  He’s still looking at me. I can tell he’s curious. Finally, he speaks again. “So, was it a boyfriend?”

  “Something like that, I guess.”

  “You want to go to the police station? You could report him if he did anything to you.”

  “He didn’t hit me, if that’s what you mean.” I don’t think I can very well explain to the police that my alpha was going to command me to bear his litter.

  “So, then, why run away?” the man asks. “Why not at least stay long enough to pack a bag? You’re not just going through a breakup. Something else happened.”

  “What does it matter?”

  “I’m interested.” He smiles, showing his teeth, and just as he does, we pass under a street lamp and I get my first good look at him.

  Scarred face. Flecks of gold in his green eyes. I’ve done enough reading to recognize this. If I’d had any exposure to the world, I would have recognized the scent. Now that I know what I’m looking at, I can’t believe I missed it.

  “You’re a wolf,” I whisper.

  Chapter Four

  The wolf’s smile widens. “What�
�s the matter? You’ve never met a wolf before?”

  “I...”

  “I know you’re a shifter too,” he says. “I can smell it all over you. You’re a bear, aren’t you? I heard rumors there was a pack of bears around here.”

  I nod mutely.

  “You’re not afraid of the big bad wolf, are you?” His throat rasps when he laughs. “I’m not going to do anything to you. Do you want me to let you out?”

  I swallow and find speech. “No. I can’t go back.”

  He nods. “So, what are you doing out here all alone, little bear?”

  “Leaving my pack,” I say shortly. I don’t trust this wolf much, but I don’t want to create animosity either. “They didn’t treat me so well.”

  “What did they do?”

  “Why are you asking all these questions?”

  “I told you, I’m just interested.” He sniffs. “Are you an omega?”

  I freeze.

  “You are, aren’t you?” He glances at me out of the corner of his eye and laughs. “Don’t worry, bear. I’m not into bears. The only ride you’re getting from me is the one in the car. Scout’s honor.”

  I try to force my muscles to relax. “Are you in a pack?” I ask him.

  “Nah, I’m a lone wolf.” He laughs at his own joke.

  “What’s your name?” I ask.

  “Who wants to know?”

  “So, now you’re against asking questions?”

  “All right, but you’ll answer one of mine next?”

  “Fine.”

  “I’m Bradley.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I hesitate, and then, wanting to keep things friendly, add, “Thank you for picking me up.”

  “No trouble at all. My turn. What happened to make you leave your pack?”

  “They were going to make me breed with the alpha,” I say. “And, I don’t know. I guess it wasn’t just that. They’ve never really treated me like part of the family. I’m a third-class citizen to them. Most of them resent the fact that they have to share food with me. Most of them would probably rather I wasn’t there anyway, if it weren’t for the fact that they need me to make lots of babies.”

  “Which you don’t want to do,” Bradley infers.

  “I don’t know if I do or not,” I say. “I’d like to be part of the decision-making process, though. I’d like to have some say about when and with whom I have babies, if I ever do.”

  “Seems reasonable,” he says.

  “You’re the first person I’ve ever met who thought so,” I say.

  “That can’t be true.”

  “Well, they never let me out of the house,” I say. “You’re actually the first person I’ve ever met who wasn’t a part of our pack.”

  Bradley’s eyes go wide at this. “You’re telling me you’ve never been out before? This is your first time...what, doing anything?”

  “My first time in a car,” I confirm. “My first time on a road.”

  “God,” he says. “Where am I supposed to let you out knowing that? You’re helpless.”

  “I am not helpless.”

  “You’re a babe in the woods.”

  “Just take me a few miles in whatever direction we’re going and then let me out on the side of the road,” I say. “I’m a bear. I can live in the woods for a while until I figure out my next step.”

  “Right. You’re not going to live in the woods. Do you have any idea how to hunt or fight?” He shakes his head. “You’d be dead in days. I don’t want that on my conscience.”

  “It has nothing to do with you,” I inform him, but I have to admit, I’m shaken by his words. He’s right. I don’t know how to live wild.

  “You’re worried about being tracked, aren’t you?” he says. “You’re worried they’re going to come after you, using your scent to follow you. That’s why you wanted to get into a car in the first place. Right? You knew they couldn’t follow your scent if they couldn’t smell you.”

  The first person I’ve met has figured out my entire plan in a matter of minutes. I feel utterly deflated. If Bradley has me figured out so easily, surely Aiden isn’t going to have any trouble. “It’s all I can think to do,” I say. “I’ll die before I go back to them.”

  “Those don’t have to be your only choices,” Bradley says. “What’s your name?”

  “Jacie. I’m Jacie.”

  “Pretty.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Listen, Jacie, we’re just outside Toronto right now. It’s a big city. Easy place to lose yourself if you don’t want to be found, you know what I mean? They’ll have trouble catching your scent there because there are so many people and restaurants and things. If I were you, I’d go into the city, change my appearance—you could dye that hair, maybe get a new cut—and live as a human. I’m talking get a job, get an apartment, keep quiet. Use a pseudonym. It’ll be hard for anyone to find you if you do that.”

  It’s not a bad idea. I let myself sink into a daydream for a moment, imagining what it would be like. My very own apartment, in which I could do anything I like. Doors that locked. Privacy. Whatever I wanted for dinner. Maybe, eventually, a television that I could choose what I wanted to watch on. Books I could read without being disturbed.

  And a job. Leaving the apartment every day, walking down the street, maybe taking a bus or a train—how do people get around cities? And what kind of job could I get? Thanks to my covert studying, my education is excellent, but I’ve never actually done anything. Who would hire me? I have to admit, it’s a question I’m eager to pursue an answer to. I’d like to find out what I can do.

  I can see a gaping hole in the plan, though. “I don’t have any money,” I remind Bradley. “I don’t know much, but I’m pretty sure no one is going to rent an apartment to a girl with no identification, no job, and no money. That’s why the woods plan was a good one. I didn’t need anything to get started. If I go to the city, I’m going to have to live on the streets until I get settled into a job.”

  “I can help you with that,” Bradley says.

  “How?”

  “I have a friend in Toronto who’s been looking for a roommate. She’d float you the rent for the first few months, until you got settled in with a job and everything.”

  “Is she a wolf too?” I ask.

  Bradley raises his eyebrows. “Is that a deal breaker?”

  “No. I’m interested, that’s all.”

  “She’s a human. She knows what I am. You could tell her what you are if you wanted to; she wouldn’t freak out or anything. She also has a backdoor business where she makes fake IDs, so, you know, she could set you up with whatever you need to start applying for jobs.”

  This seems too good to be true. Can it really be this easy? “Your friend would really be okay with me moving in with no money?” I ask. “I mean, that’s really generous.”

  “She’s had a few bad experiences lately herself,” Bradley says. “She can’t really afford her apartment, and no one’s been answering her ad. You’d have your own room, of course. It’s a pretty nice place.”

  I hesitate. I’m not sure. Something about this feels strange, too convenient to trust. But I don’t have any better options, and what Bradley is offering is so good that I’d be a fool to turn it down if it’s real. This could literally save my life.

  “I’ll tell you what,” he says. “Let me take you to her place. You can meet her and see the apartment for yourself. That might help you make up your mind. And then we’ll all go out for a nice hot meal, on me. Okay?”

  “Well, that does sound pretty good,” I admit. I didn’t eat much dinner—I was too nauseated listening to Aiden go on about our future together—and now, I have no money, so I don’t know when my next chance at a meal will be. And I’m not committing to anything by agreeing to meet this girl. If we get there and things feel weird, I’ll just tell them no thank you and move on.

  A green sign passes overhead, indicating three miles until the exit for Toronto. Bradley pulls into the ri
ght-hand lane, preparing to get off the highway. I take a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever comes next, as the skyline of the city emerges in the distance.

  Chapter Five

  The city rises up around us. I’m in awe. I’ve never seen anything like it. My pack and I live in the middle of the woods, and before today, our house is the only building I’ve ever seen in real life. Now, as Bradley drives slowly down the Toronto city streets, I find I’m looking at buildings I’d never imagined in my wildest daydreams.

  Huge buildings! I know about skyscrapers, of course; I’ve read about them, I’ve seen them on TV. But nothing prepares you for your first time seeing a building like that in real life. They tower above me, miles and miles overhead, or so it seems. And there are so many of them!

  “What’s that?” I ask Bradley, pointing to a strangely shaped building that’s taller than any of the others. It’s skinny and juts upward from the ground like a toothpick. At the very top, it’s encircled by a small bulge.

  “That’s the CN Building,” Bradley laughs. “It’s a communications tower.”

  “What’s so funny?”

  “It’s just strange that you don’t know,” he says. “It’s a pretty famous building.”

  “I told you, I’ve never been out,” I say, annoyed.

  “I know, I know. Sorry. I’ve just never met anyone like you.”

  “Well, you don’t have to be a jerk about it.” I look up at the skyscraper we’re passing. “Does your friend live in one of these buildings?”

  “These are offices,” Bradley says. “She lives in a walkup.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you can walk up,” Bradley says. “It means no elevator. In a building that size,” he gestures, “you’d have to have an elevator. No one can walk up to the forty-seventh floor.”

  I’m a little disappointed. I would have liked to try taking an elevator. I don’t say this to Bradley, though, because I know he’d make fun of me for it. It’s exactly the kind of thing he would find amusing about me.