Faun

Without warning, a piercing scream echoed through the woods, sending flocks of birds off of the tall pines and into the dark sky.

Faun felt his heart drop as he recognized the owner of the scream as the pale-haired omega.

Had the others already been caught?

The large Alpha angled his head toward the cry, turning his broad back to the omega. Thanking the other omega for the distraction, Faun wasted no time fleeing from the Alpha. Turning on his heel, Faun raced back toward the rushing stream, forcing himself to ignore the quickly approaching Alpha behind him. 

Seeing a darting movement out of the corner of his eye, Faun dove, narrowly avoiding being caught in the Alphas' powerful grip. Heart pounding against his ribs, Faun searched desperately for a way to escape the massive creature.

The young man skidded hard on his knees, trying to dive under another swift grab from the Alpha.

Panting, Faun pushed himself into a crouch, preparing himself to make another run when a broad hand latched onto his thin cotton shirt. With this new grip, the Alpha pulled Faun off of his unstable legs and back onto his bloody knees. 

Fuelled with adrenaline, Faun got a two-handed grip on a nearby branch. Pulling himself away from the tenacious Alpha. Faun felt his thin shirt fully stretch until he was being steadily dragged back towards the tailed man.

With the last of his stamina, Faun let go of the branch, using momentum to rocket himself back towards the Alpha. The risky move took the creature off guard, buying the omega enough time to roll out of his shirt and stumble toward the mouth of the stream.

Splashing through the freezing water, Faun knew the Alpha behind him was quickly closing the small distance Faun had run.

Turning with a bend in the stream, Faun looked on with dread as the stream branched into a rushing river.

Now what?

Glancing behind himself, Faun warily watched the deadly Alpha come to a creeping stop, tail slithering languidly in the water.

As if cornering a spooked animal, the Alpha raised his muscled arms wide and started gently crowding the shivering omega. The tense moment allowed Faun to come to a sudden realization.

The Alpha wasn't attacking him...

The realization that the Alpha wasn't trying to hurt him was a strange thought to swallow, but it allowed Faun to finally slow his frantic heartbeat back to a reasonable rhythm.

The Alpha finally approached Faun, close enough that the omega had to tip his head back to meet the Alpha's dangerous eyes.

The air grew charged around the two, the omega found himself growing tense under the Alphas scrutiny.

The sudden, harsh noise of a twig snapping under the Alpha's heavy tail made the omega flinch backward.

Back foot sliding on the slick rocks, Faun felt the brief swooping feeling of falling before icy river water surrounded him.

The rough current promptly pulled his lithe body away from the Alpha and towards the rocky rapids.

As the rapids grew stronger, they dragged Faun underwater for longer and longer periods.

Clawing towards the surface of the water, Faun caught sight of the Alpha cutting through the powerful current towards him. The Alpha's vibrant tail sliced through the foamy rapids.

Why did it suddenly feel so wrong to flee from the snake-like Alpha? Faun had the bizarre urge to get closer to the Alpha. To be protected by him. A voice in the back of Faun's mind, one he had never heard before, dominated his thoughts. The odd voice screamed at him to go towards the dangerous Alpha.

Faun listened.

Faun began to paddle against the current. Limbs fighting against the rush of water to reach the tenacious Alpha. The earlier cold that had chilled him to the bone became secondary. Whitewater crashed against the omega's tiny figure as he hopelessly fought the powerful current.

The inner voice purred happily as Faun slowly lessened the distance to his Alpha. Wait. His Alpha?

What was happening to him?

So enraptured by his thoughts, Faun almost missed the distant sound of roaring water. Faun propelled himself above water long enough to notice the sudden drop he was steadily approaching.

Was that a waterfall?

By the deafening sound of the pounding water, it was, and at this height, it would likely be fatal.

Faun once again tried to kick towards the Alpha, but it was pointless. The sprint through the woods had utterly spent his energy.

Risking a glance at the Alpha, he seemed to reach the same conclusion as an agonized look overcame his features. With every passing second, the deadly drop loomed closer and the Alpha's movements only grew more frantic. Muscled arms hastily cut through the water.

The strange inner voice hissed in distress, howling at him to reach his Alpha.

As the noise of the crashing water reached a crescendo, Faun knew his time was up. The large Alpha would surely survive the fall, but Faun... he just hoped his death would be painless.

Faun met his Alpha's emerald green gaze, witnessed the agony flashing over the Alpha's features. The knowledge that he caused his Alpha's devastation physically pained the omega. The inner voice howled at him, told him to reassure his Alpha.

Opening his mouth to do just that, Faun instead let out an agonized scream as a strange searing pain erupted from the crown of his head. The burning feeling was over in an instant, but it left Faun's head feeling incredibly sore and unusually heavy.

Looking up to gauge his Alpha's reaction, Faun was shocked to find an odd, almost hopeful expression pass over his strong face. Before Faun could analyze the peculiar reaction, he felt his exhausted body being dragged over the drop, towards the dark waters below.