Chapter One

This was some bullshit. 

My muscles ached as I readjusted the pack on my back. My feet were starting to sweat in these damn boots but carrying them in my pack would only make it heavier. I’d need them, or so our squad captain had told us before dumping us in the middle of nowhere. 

We had to survive for a month. Should be easy enough. That’s what I stupidly thought at first but after six hours straight of walking through rough terrain without a single hint of civilization in sight? Well, let’s just say opinions have definitely changed. 

The others didn’t seem to have any issues with it though. Course not, they were Alphas.

Neither Leo nor Anders looked like they were even slightly exhausted, pushing through with even more loaded in their packs than I did, hiking up the steep, uneven hills and rocks, weaving through trees with ease. I wanted to be angry that the Alphas were given more simply because they were Alphas, but now I was starting to understand why. 

With nightfall soon approaching, it was unlikely we would even find the cabin we were told was here. Starting a fire and getting a camp started was easy enough, one of the first things we learned during this training, but it would still be a lot better if we had a roof over our heads. Not to mention we had no idea what the weather was going to be like. 

Heaving myself up over a rock ledge, I nearly slid back down, exhaustion weighing on me, but Leo was there, hand firm around my forearm, steadying me. 

He didn’t say anything, dark brow furrowed over his piercing green eyes, but there was an unspoken question in the air between us. Unsaid but understood.

“I’m fine,” I grunted, pulling away from him and continuing after Anders who hadn’t bothered to stop at all. 

I didn’t have anything to prove, I just didn’t like being pitied. I wasn’t looking for Leo’s help no matter how much his macho Alpha instincts led him to do it. 

Maybe that’s why I never felt like I was a real Omega. I didn’t have the desire to receive, nurture, or flow within nature. If anything, I spent a good majority fighting against it. It wasn’t Leo’s fault that he embodied the traits that came naturally to him. I just wish he didn’t always have to do it with me. 

He’d been like that the moment we were assigned to the same squadron. Always hovering, always helping when I didn’t ask for it, always stepping in on my behalf, but never saying a word. 

I’d been naive enough initially to think it was because he had a crush on me, but it became clear that he saw an Omega and only that and his instincts told him to protect. One would think he’d never been around them before. 

I didn’t understand Leo and I didn’t care to. Once I did my time, I wouldn’t have to see him again. 

Anders grumbled something to the Alpha in question, who grunted in response. I followed their line of sight between the trees. Just over the horizon, the sky had darkened with the telltale signs of a storm. 

Great. Just what we needed. There goes making a camp. Depending on how bad the storm was, temperatures could drop below a safe degree. Of course, they hadn’t provided tents, only the basic materials to survive off the land. Any hope of survival depended on us finding the cabin or building a shelter of our own. The way those clouds were racing toward us, it’d be safe to assume we didn’t have the time. 

“We should find a cave or somewhere with covering,” I suggested. 

Both glanced at me. “We have about three miles left. We can make it,” Anders insisted calmly. 

I looked over at the approaching dark clouds and the rush of wind that preceded it. Sure, if we actually knew where it was. We only had a rough idea of the location of the cabin. Getting caught in that storm in an environment as dangerous as this was too big of a risk. The darker it got, the harder it’d be to see the cliff edges or any other drops that may prove lethal. 

“I think it would be better if we tried to find shelter now, we don’t want to risk the storm and it’s coming in fast,” I protested. Both Alphas looked at me, in the same way Alphas usually do. Like my idea wasn’t feasible. Like anything I said came from a lack of understanding or experience even though I’d had just as much training as they did. 

But I knew the real reason. I was an Omega. That was enough to discredit anything out of my mouth.

If I was normal, this wouldn’t bother me. If I was like the others, I wouldn’t have bothered opening my mouth, just let the Alphas handle it. That’s what they expected me to do after all. 

Maybe that’s what I should have done. I’d wasted my breath anyway because the pair simply kept moving. Anders shot a quick, “Let’s keep moving” in my direction before starting the trudge toward the dark sky. 

Sighing, I readjusted my pack and followed after them. 

Despite the imminent storm heading in our direction and all the uncertainty, I’d enjoy these views. It’s not often you got to see nature untouched and thriving like this. So much greenery, untamed and relentless in its growth. 

Is it strange to be envious? 

To envy nature, I could find no shame in that. 

About an hour in, a light rain began to fall. Dangerous, considering we were halfway up the side of a cliff. The wetness caused the rocks and footholds to glisten, making it difficult to find purchase. But they couldn’t stop. It was either keep going and potentially die or stop and die for certain. I for sure, wasn’t a fan of any of those options. 

Carefully, I slid my foot onto the next foothold, boot sliding just a bit. My back was killing me, and my arms trembled with the effort of keeping myself tight against the cliff face. 

Above me, a spray of pebbles pelted me. Leo had nearly slipped off, gripping the edge of one of the vines just in time to catch himself. Even in the darkness, I could see how red his face had gotten with exertion. Exhaustion was evident in that frown. 

We couldn’t stop though. Didn’t stop. It wasn’t until we had finally neared the top that the rain came down hard. Thunder boomed and lightning crackled across the sky. 

Anders and Leo had made it to the top. I was a few feet shy of reaching them when my foot slipped. My fingers desperately raked the sides to hold onto, but everything was too wet and slid right out of my grasp. 

And then I was falling.