(Jedrek)

I dropped along the side of the dirt road, covered in mud. That was fucking miserable. I found a clean place on my arm to wipe my face. It was going to take forever to dry out that section of the field. If the werewolf had done some fucking maintenance on their shit, it wouldn’t have taken us so long to turn off the water and fix the problem.

Ricky dropped beside me. “That was fun,” he breathed. “Another day on the farm. Sad to say, I’ll miss it.” He scanned the cornstalks. 

“Don’t talk like that,” I muttered. “We’re not going anywhere.” I grabbed a blade of grass.

“Sure,” muttered Ricky. “Still in denial.” 

A truck was coming toward us. The local pack seal was on the door. We both bowed are heads and tried to blend in with the surroundings. I cursed to myself when it stopped in front of us. 

A dark brown werewolf stepped out with a tablet in his hand. With a sigh, he leaned against the side of the truck. “Family number.

Neither of us responded until his eyes flicked up.

“29506,” said Ricky.

He typed it in. “Names?”

“What do you think?” I muttered. “Do I look like a Maggie?”

“Keep up the attitude and you will,” he stated. “Names.”

“Ricky and Jedrek,” my brother stated. He eyed me and mouthed for me to knock it off.

I didn’t give a shit. What was he going to do—lock us up, give us worse chores? I was already covered in mud.

“Why haven’t either of you been tested?” The werewolf arched a brow.

I froze.

“We missed the last around,” said Ricky. 

“Nineteen, you should’ve had it done last year.”

Ricky looked nervous. “We didn’t do it on purpose. We’ve never had the chance. That’s all.”

“Well, you’re getting one today. Get up, both of you. We need to get you processed before you are reassigned.”

“Fuck off,” I muttered.

The werewolf opened the door to his truck and tossed his tablet inside. “What was that?”

I met his gaze. “Fuck off. I’m not doing your damn test.”

“Jed,” said Ricky sternly. “Knock it off.”

“Get up, now.” The mutt bared his teeth.

Ricky stood while I remained seated. I was going nowhere near one of their blood testers. I knew what it would say. My brother grabbed my arm. I knocked his hand away.

“I’m not going. If anything, I’m going home and taking a bath.”

“Fucking humans,” the werewolf breathed. “I hate this job.” He marched over and yanked me to my feet.

“Get off!” I pried at his hand and pulled back. “I’m not going to be some werewolf’s bitch.”

“Ha! Your blood would probably be no better than the shit you’re caked in.” He tossed me toward the truck.

Ricky moved between us. “I am so sorry. It’s been a long day.” He turned to me. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to get stuck with toxins?”

I stood up straight and straightened my clothes. My arm was throbbing, and I could feel the bruise already forming. Fuck this mutt, I wasn’t going to bow down to him. He was not testing any of us.

“Get in the truck,” the werewolf ordered. “Now.” 

“Yes, yes.” Ricky held up his hands and nodded. “We’ll be happy to.”

I glanced inside the driver’s seat and spotted something in the middle console. 

“Jed, get in.”

I shoved him to the side. “No.”

“I’ve fucking had it, human.” He grabbed my throat and slammed me into the backseat door. “Are you hiding something? Is that it?” He watched me. 

Gritting my teeth, I dug my fingernails into his hand.

Ricky touched the werewolf’s arm. “Please, he’s turning red. He’s had a bad day. Please, let go.”

I was released and dropped to the ground. 

“Get in the truck!” ordered the werewolf. “Didn’t you hear me? Do I need to knock you around as well?” He struck my brother.

Breathing deeply, I stood and glared at the dog’s back. I reached into the truck and grabbed the handle. I flipped the switch on the side and took aim. The werewolf turned, and I pulled the trigger.

The shot echoed through the field. My brother stared with his mouth gaping as I shot the mutt two more times, just to be sure it was dead. 

“Jed!” My father emerged from the cornfield and stared at the werewolf. “What have you done?!”

My mother and sister looked on in horror as blood spread across the ground.

Taking a deep breath, I flipped the switch back to safe and turned to my parents and sister. I saved us. I saved us from being turned into one of them. My heart started to beat faster and faster. My hands started to shake. I stared at the gun in my hand. I wasn’t going to become a werewolf, only because I’d be dead.

***

(Jax)

The slight breeze felt good on my skin. It had been rather hot today. I should have gone inside after having lunch with my mom and sister under the tree. I was just too tired to get myself there. I’d have to wait until someone came by. Bothering them right now would be a waste of time that my family needed to get that stupid pivot working before nightfall. 

Taking out my notebook, I opened it to a clean page. I started randomly writing words that sort of formed a sentence. Just another mind dump to help me get everything out of my head. 

The line: Where does an omega among humans fall? stood out on the page. In a world based on strength and rank, I was on the lowest rung. I shifted in my seat as my shoulder started to ache. That werewolf had hurt me more than I had let on to my family. But it wasn’t like I was that hard to hurt. 

My body is broken, but I still have a mind. I scribbled the thought down and peered out over the fields. Cattle don’t need a mind. Strong back, powerful body. Anything else is bound for slaughter. 

I was trying to poke holes in what my brother had said earlier. It was just going to make me upset, and I wasn’t going to do it. I felt like he had it worse than me. My brother spends all day in the sun working from dawn until dusk. It wasn’t hard to sit in this chair.

That was enough writing for the day. I closed my book and placed it to the side. My father and brothers should be coming back soon. I turned in my chair. None of the neighbors were outside. I listened for any voices. There weren’t any. The birds were even silent. None of the surrounding farm animals were making any sounds, actually. 

A smell filled the air. 

Smoke. 

I struggled to turn my chair around. My eyes grew wide when I saw the cloud of black smoke filling the sky.

“Oh my god.” I covered my mouth.

It was coming from the forest or maybe the corn fields. If either were on fire, then the other would catch soon enough. I mustered up my strength and pushed myself to the side of the house. I was almost there. My arms were shaking, but I needed to see if everyone was okay.

A blur rushed around the corner. My father skidded to a halt when he didn’t see me under the tree. 

He spun around quickly. “Jax!” He ran over and lifted me out of the chair. 

It hurt. He wasn’t his usual cautious self.

My mother was close behind him. They took me into the house. 

“What happened?” I held onto my father’s shirt. “Dad, what’s going on?”

He took me to the living room and set me on the floor. Moving the couch forward, he picked me up and placed me behind it.

“Dad? What’s going on?”

He hurried out of view. My mother came by with blankets and pillows and tried to make sure I was comfortable. 

“Mom.” I grabbed her arm before she could leave me. “The smoke? Where are Jed and Ricky? Is Maggie alright?”

Tears were in her eyes. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be right here, but you need to stay hidden.” She cupped my cheek.

“Where are they?” I tightened my grip on her shirt. “Tell me.”

She shook her head.

“Mom, what happened?”

“Jed killed a werewolf.” She took a moment to recompose herself. “Somehow, he found a gun. He shot the werewolf in the head, over and over. I kept screaming at him to stop.” She covered her mouth. “It was too late. The werewolf was dead.” She closed her eyes for a moment. “I told them to run. Ricky took Maggie and fled into the forest.” She let out a shaky breath. “They’d send them away as punishment. They’d end up in Wolfsbane, I know it.” She took in a deep breath. “Jed set the corn fields on fire to slow the werewolves down.” She wiped her face. “The werewolves are coming.”

She tried to pull away, but I grabbed her hand. “Mom, go with them. You can still catch up. Take Dad and find them.”

“No,” she said firmly. “Don’t you dare even ask that of me. Your brothers and sister can take care of themselves. You can’t.”

“They could kill you,” I stated. “They could kill you and Dad for what Jed did. You have to leave.”

“You are my son.” She squeezed his hand. “So, you know very well that I’m not leaving.”

“Amanda,” my father called. “Come help me barricade the doors.”

“We’ll be right here.” She smiled at me. “If you need us, we’ll always be right here.”

She left, and the sound of the hammer filled the room soon after. I slid to the ground and covered my face. I knew Jed didn’t want to go to Northern Ridge, but I never thought he would go as far as to do this.

The three of them were together at least. They’d stick together and make it to the south. I wished my parents would go, but knowing my sibling would be free would have to be enough.