Chapter 2 2. In Heat

The next afternoon, an omega from the pack approached me with a message. "Jerold asked me to tell you to meet him at the treehouse near the edge of our territory. He wants to apologize." My heart skipped. Jerold wanted to apologize to me! Despite everything that had happened the night before, a small spark of hope returned. Maybe he regretted his cruel words and wanted to explain himself. I hurried toward the treehouse, even though the sun was already sinking and darkness would soon cover the forest. But when I arrived, Jerold was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Cecilia stood waiting with several of her friends, a few male and female warriors from the pack. They looked disgusted the moment they saw me. "Well, look who finally showed up." "The pathetic fat-ass omega actually came." "Did you really think Jerold wanted to see you, pig?" Their laughter echoed through the trees. Cecilia stepped forward, a mocking smile spreading across her face. "I heard you formed a mate bond with Jerold, only for him to reject you in front of everyone," Cecilia sneered, circling me like a predator. "What a shame. I arrived too late last night. I would have loved to witness such a humiliating scene with my own eyes." She laughed, and the girls behind her joined in. "You really are shameless, Celine. Did you really think Jerold would ever choose someone like you?" Cecilia continued, looking me up and down with open disgust. "I suppose you mistook his pity for affection." She grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked hard enough to make my scalp sting. "You actually thought you were special?" "Cecilia, please..." She released my hair, then jabbed a finger against my forehead. "You're nothing but a pathetic, worthless omega. Did you really believe a man like Jerold would choose someone like you? Have you ever looked in the mirror? Just look at that disgusting body of yours!" My eyes burned with tears. Cecilia leaned closer, her smile turning cruel. "You need to be taught a lesson so you'll finally learn your place, my lovely stepsister." The others began closing in around me. Fear gripped my chest. Their expressions brought back memories of everything Cecilia and her friends had done to me over the years. I remembered being locked inside a storage room for two days, shivering from the cold until someone accidentally found me. Or being tied by my ankles and hung upside down for an entire day. Also being abandoned outside our territory, where a group of rogues had nearly discovered me. All the time, I had been rescued just by accident. No one had even noticed I was missing until they happened to stumble upon me. And whenever Cecilia and her friends were questioned, they always gave the same excuse. 'It was just a joke.' A joke. That was all my suffering ever meant to them. My heart pounded as the warriors moved closer. I knew what would happen if they caught me. I had to run. "Get her!" I spun around and fled. Footsteps thundered behind me as I stumbled over roots and uneven ground. My lungs burned, and every breath came out in a harsh gasp. They were warriors, while I was an overweight omega with no strength to match theirs. I couldn't outrun them. But I couldn't let them catch me, either. When I reached the boundary of our territory, I made a desperate choice. I crossed it. I had no idea what awaited me beyond the border, but anything was better than being captured by Cecilia and her friends. I kept running into the darkness, pushing deeper between the trees. Branches scratched my skin, and roots threatened to send me sprawling with every step. I didn't stop until my legs finally gave out. My body crashed onto the cold ground. I clutched my chest, struggling to catch my breath as pain spread through my exhausted muscles. Only then did I realize where I was. Far outside my pack's territory. Alone in the dark, with no idea what might be lurking in the forest. I lay there until my breathing gradually settled. My chest still rose and fell heavily, and every muscle ached from the desperate escape. Then I heard something. Heavy footsteps. At first, the sound was faint, almost swallowed by the darkness of the forest, but it was unmistakably getting closer. Along with it came the rough sound of someone breathing heavily, each breath uneven and strained, as though whoever was approaching had also been running or was struggling just to remain standing. Panic immediately surged through me. I pushed myself upright and frantically looked around. But I found nothing. Only towering trees surrounded me. Their enormous trunks disappeared into the darkness while their branches tangled high above my head. Moonlight barely managed to pass through the overgrown canopy, leaving most of the forest buried in shadows. Every direction looked the same, and suddenly the darkness felt much more threatening than it had moments ago. The footsteps grew louder. I can feel my heart hammered against my ribs. Someone is coming, and my first thought it perhaps was a rogue. After what had happened earlier, the possibility immediately terrified me. I struggled to get back on my feet, my exhausted legs trembling beneath me as I pushed myself away from the ground.  I barely managed to stand before a figure emerged from between the trees. I flinched so hard that I nearly fell again. Without giving it any thought, I instinctively stumbled backward, putting as much distance between us as my weak legs allowed. Then, I could only stare. The figure was tall, broad-shouldered, and frighteningly imposing against the darkness.  My first instinct was still to assume he was a rogue, but as he stepped closer and the pale moonlight finally touched his face, I realized something was wrong with that assumption. He didn't look like a rogue at all. His clothes were disheveled, and his entire body seemed to be trembling with exhaustion. One hand was pressed against his side while the other reached toward me as though he desperately needed something-or someone-to hold on to. "Hhhelp..." His voice was deep and hoarse, almost painfully rough. There was something strange about him. His face was flushed, his breathing uneven, and his eyes looked unfocused beneath well-defined eyebrows. He fixed me with a dark, piercing gaze that sent a shiver through me, and made me instinctively take another step back. "You're not a rogue, are you?" He shook his head weakly. "Help... please..." He took another unsteady step toward me, and I retreated again. My heart is pounding harder now. There was something about his condition that I couldn't understand. His cheeks and the tips of his ears were deeply flushed, while a faint sheen of sweat covered his forehead and neck. His breathing came in slow, heavy breaths, as though every inhale was difficult to control.  Even from a short distance away, I could sense the unnatural heat radiating from his body. And there was a sharp, unfamiliar scent lingering in the air around him. It was sweet, warm, and overwhelming. My eyes widened. The way he was trembling, the feverish flush covering his face, the strained expression in his eyes, and that unmistakable scent suddenly made everything click. "Oh my God..." I stared at him in disbelief. "You're in heat!"