Omega's Second Chance (Second Chance book 1)

1

Jackson ran. He turned to look behind him as growls and barks grew louder, pushing him to go faster. He held his slightly protruding belly with one hand, using the other to push branches out of his face as he ran, his bare feet crunching on fallen leaves and getting cut on sharp twigs and rocks.

The sounds were growing closer. Come on, he thought frantically, run faster! Sweat was beading down his forehead and mating down his dark hair as he kept going, the only things fueling his aching muscles being the adrenaline coursing through his system and the fear of what might happen should they catch up with him.

"I smell something up ahead," Phoenix proclaimed within the confines of Jackson's mind, just as worried about what might happen to his human counterpart.

Jackson took a whiff, also catching the scent, and pushing himself that much harder, hoping beyond anything that he could reach the source before they caught him.

The trees began to hold scratch marks through the bark, alerting anyone to the new pack boundary. Jackson slowed down slightly as he crossed the boundary, realizing that he may have gotten out of the frying pan just to leap into the fire. The sounds behind him were further away now, meaning they were just as wary of crossing the border.

That was the least of Jackson's problems. With the sounds behind him fading, new growls and howls were approaching from in front and either side. Sea green eyes wide in terror, Jackson froze, holding his belly protectively with both arms. His fear spiking once again caused shifting within his belly, his pups sensing his emotions and becoming restless.

Jackson only had time to rub his belly and calm his pups before a large wolf appeared in front him. It was dark gray, but with white ears and socks. The wolf growled aggressively at the intruder on his pack territory, causing the boy to bare his neck in submission and attempt to lower himself to the ground.

The wolf realized quickly the reason for the boy's struggle and stopped growling, instead walking to one of the nearby trees. He shifted into his human form and used the spare clothing stored within the hollow to dress himself. He quickly returned to his previous position, noticing that multiple other wolves had begun to corner the vulnerable boy.

"Stand down!" he ordered the warriors who had started snarling and were scaring the boy even more. "He is not a threat! Can none of you see he is carrying pups?!" At that one question, all warriors quickly stopped snarling and growling, staring at the boy who breached their borders warily.

Once the other wolves were slightly calmer, the man slowly approached the terrified boy, hands raised as a sign of peace.

"Hey," he said softly, "what are you doing here? Why did you enter our territory?"

The man's voice startled Jackson before he attempted to respond.

"I-I w-was b-b-being ch-chased by..." Jackson began, before trailing off as he remembered the terror they had caused him and still feeling the pain they inflicted.

"Shh... you're safe now," the man soothed, causing Jackson to relax slightly. "My name is Deven. Can I know your name so I don't keep calling you boy?"

That got a slight smile from Jackson, the first one he'd given in several months. He relaxed his arms from around his middle, lowering one completely and simply caressing his bump with the other hand. The action helped calm him further.

He took a deep breath to steady his voice before responding, "M-my name is J-Jackson... I-I was being chased by my o-old p-pack..." A sob wracked through his body as he remembered exactly why he had decided to run, as well as a sharp pain in his chest, causing his wolf to let out a pained whine.