There was nowhere left to run. No further path to take towards the pack of Betas that was heading towards them. The two of them were situated on a small cliff, overlooking a clearing of undisturbed snow. On the other side of the field, males were breaking from the tree line towards them so fast. Astraya felt her breathing catch in panic. There were so many, and all her instincts screamed for her to run.

But she couldn’t. She wouldn’t. Not until these males saw she and Siku. Then she could run. Then she could truly test the body and the heart that she had been born with. It occurred to her that it would be the very first time that she would run as far and as fast as she could. Nothing like slinking around her patrol routes each day. No way to stretch her muscles for fear of drawing attention to herself.

This would be different. As different as different got.

The males were halfway across the field now, and she was sure some were looking up at them. Noticing. Barking for others to notice. She smelled their mixed musk on the wind and backed away from the small cliff.

“I think they’re close enough, let’s go.”

Astraya turned quickly away, her movements jerky and afraid. She began bounding through the deep snow, but on the fourth leap she realized Siku wasn’t following.

When she turned to look, her friend was simply staring back over the cliff, her tail raised oddly high.

“Siku!” Astraya yipped, her bark panicked. “What are you looking at? Come on! They’ll find their way up here any minute.”

“I just want to look…” Siku said. Her voice had Astraya’s fur on end. “Hey, do you smell that? It smells amazing.”

“Oh, gods,” Astraya whimpered, trudging back to her friend with a lowered head. “Siku are you…tipping?”

Her friend finally looked at her, blinking cloudy green eyes. “I—what?”

“You’re tipping!” Astraya growled forcefully. The sudden lethargy that had come over Siku was scaring her half to death. This couldn’t happen now! Not when they had to run!

Unthinkingly she darted forward, nipping her friend at the base of her bushy brown tail. Siku yelped and spun, delivering a growl right into Astraya’s face.

“Hey—stop it! What’s gotten into you, Ray?”

“Me!? We need to run! You need to snap out of it! Come on!”

Siku followed her for a few promising steps, but when a voice that was not either of theirs travelled through the trees much closer than Astraya was expecting, her friend slowed again and looked over her shoulder.

Almost eagerly.

“No! No!” Astraya cried desperately. “Siku, please! Run with me!”

Siku looked back at her for one more long moment.

Astraya thought she could feel their friendship shattering in her chest. Siku had tipped, and the first heat was always the strongest.

No. No, what could she do—

Without warning, a huge, dark wolf slid around the pile of snow that was shielding the two she-wolves. His over-eagerness caused him to slam into the trunk of a pine tree, but his teeth kept gnashing, and his strong paws were under him again within moments. It might have been amusing, if he wasn’t so ferocious.

He stalked forward slowly, falling snow dusting on his plush coat and gathering in his mane as he eyed them. Astraya scurried back in fright, but Siku did the unthinkable – she went down into willing submission, her tail wagging invitingly.

Astraya couldn’t bear to watch this change in her friend. Siku had always been playful and energetic, and no doubt would be a wonderful mate and mother to the right male. But Astraya had always wanted more than this for her.

For them both.

The dark wolf paced over to Siku, barely glancing down at the brown wolf as he stood over her. A clear act of dominance and possession. Trapped under him, her friend didn’t move. Didn’t struggle. Didn’t fight. Just waited.

The stranger turned to regard her, and Astraya flinched back with a growl. Why was he looking at her when he had a perfectly good, compliant, omega right below him?

He lifted his nose and sniffed in her direction.

“Greedy bastard,” Astraya snarled.

“Lovely,” the stranger replied. “But still no more than a child...” He turned back to Siku.

“Leave her alone!” Astraya roared. “She just tipped not one minute ago! You couldn’t be so heartless!”

He just chuckled, and nuzzled his narrow nose into Siku’s neck possessively. Astraya’s heart gave a painful thump as her friend whimpered, sounding desperate.

“You’d better run, Little White, because I assure you there are more heartless ones than me who are coming.”

As if on cue, two more wolves took that corner too fast and slid into a tangled mess at the base of the tree, snarling and biting at each other. The dark wolf hunkered over Siku possessively, but once the newcomers rose to their feet and noticed the omega that lay beneath him, they did not seem to care what stance he took. They ploughed into him with savage bites and howls, throwing him away from her and sinking into a blood-crazed battle of desperation.

When two more males appeared after that, Astraya had no choice.

She ran. She ran while her heart broke.

Down the snow-covered hill she bolted, small bunches of snow tumbling down with her. The snow at the bottom was unexpectedly deep, and she struggled through it. Her legs had always been long for an omega, and that helped. She just hoped her stamina was better than most omega’s too.

When she decided to look back, she saw two males at the top of the incline, looking down at her. A third joined them. A fourth. Past them, she could still make out the sounds of struggle. Wolves who were killing each other to make Siku their mate.

Terrified of leaving her friend to that fate, she pushed the thought as far away as possible. What could she have done? She was no match for any one of those Betas. Perhaps if they were as they once had been – omegas like herself – she would have stayed with her friend and fought.

Pushing her muscles harder, she surged into a mad run. Deep howls rose up behind her, and through her desperation she could hardly think straight.

Didn’t they smell her? Didn’t they notice that she had not tipped? Was the dark male too engrossed in his battle-lust to tell them?

But she remembered the plan. If she could be a distraction, she could help those who had tipped. Omega’s that needed far more of a head-start than what Siku got.

This desperate promise was the only thing her frayed mind could cling to. The only excuse her heart accepted for leaving her friend behind.

The trees whizzed by as she shot through them like an arrow. All of the lower branches had been chewed off by deer, so there was not even any foliage to conceal her. The only thing she could bet on was her fur – as white as the fresh fallen snow – it could help confuse their sight.

But nothing could cover her tracks.

Chilled air puffing from her nose, Astraya felt an unshakeable weight settle into her belly.

It was only a matter of time until they caught up to her. Until she collapsed into exhaustion.

Perhaps… perhaps she could gain enough ground to make it safely to the river. The water would confuse them. If she stepped into its icy flow and followed it up or down, it might throw them off her scent.

It was the only plan her mind – pulled so taut by stress – could think of. Could comprehend.