Chapter 3

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping. The smell of Oakwood fire burning. Bedsheets covered my naked back and ass, and this hot scent lingering around that made my nose twitch.

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in this bed inside a small cottage. It smelled a lot like burnt wood, and inside, there was an actual fireplace to help keep it warm. It was still early in the morning, as the sun hadn't risen yet, but I was awake. And this felt too real to be a dream.

I looked around the cottage. It was big enough for one to say here. There was a small kitchen, a bed, a small table with chairs, a fireplace, and a single red sofa. This place also looked like it had been standing here for ages. It made me wonder how long no one in town knew it. How did I not see it before I was wandering into the forest at night, more alone than anyone? Last night, I had taken an alpha in a rut, and the worst part of it all was that I fucking liked it.

Even as my body felt sore as hell, my dick was twitching. His pheromones were still in the air, which meant he had to be close. And that's when I heard the loud sound of wood chopping outside.

I sat up, looked out the window, and saw him. My cheeks flushed. Last night, I couldn't see him clearly because it was dark, but now I had a complete view.

The alpha's tall, giant body moved fiercely as he held the ax and swung it down, splitting a log into two. Those big muscles rippled, and his body moved majestically. It was like staring at a god, and holy fuck, and those white torn shorts weren't even zipped closed at the front. It looked almost as if his cock could jump free just from him chopping wood. Lastly, I saw his face, his handsome face. He heard a beard and dark, messy hair.

He looked like a man who could be in his late thirties or early forties, possibly, but so handsome. I never thought I could call another man beautiful.

He slammed the ax down again and accidentally snapped the axe's handle, leaving the blade stuck in a lock while the stick was still in his hands. He growled in frustration and tossed it aside along with the ax, and then he used his bare hands to snap the log into two. He was firm, just like all the stories said they were. Alphas were considered powerful and godly beasts, just using a man's body as their vessel. That was the closest possible way to describe just how amazing they were.

I even slid a hand between my legs and began to stroke myself. A whimper escaped my lips, and then he looked at me. I widened my eyes and immediately fell back on the bed. Holy shit.

I waited and waited. I then slowly sat up and went to sneak a peek through the window again, but he wasn't standing there anymore. He was actually on his way to the front door, and I quickly moved away from the window again to sit down and pretend I was going, holding the sheets up to my chest so he wouldn't see my hard-on.

The door opened, and the alpha bowed his head so he could walk inside. Those eyes looked at me, and then I finally saw his eyes. On the left side was forest green, while the other was ocean blue. I had never met a person with heterozygous eyes, and I was sitting with my mouth hanging open. Surely, this guy had to be a god out of some Greek mythology. To think that that guy went into a rut and mated me really made me feel something I never imagined I would feel.

"You're awake," he spoke. His voice was deep and rough. "How are you feeling?" He went inside and tossed another long into the fire.

I was a bit surprised to hear him speak or ask me that. Last night, he definitely didn't hold back, and now I wasn't going to walk right for the next couple of days. I still needed to say something, though, but I honestly just felt shy.

He saw a vulnerable side of me and made me feel things I never imagined I'd feel myself, and now I didn't know how to process all this.

"What's your name?" He asked me.

I licked my lips because they were dry. "K-Kaya..."

"Okay, Kaya. Do you live around town?"

"Yes..."

I started to talk. Now, it was starting off somewhere.

"My name's Wolfe." He gave me his name and sighed. "Last night, I knew that something horrible happened. For the last couple of decades, I have lived here, and usually around this season, I slip into a rut, and I have to force myself to stay away from the town. But recently, a scent filled the area, and what bothered me about this scent was that it was an omega scent. Every night, I caught this scent and kept asking myself why it always appeared here. And then I finally saw it was you. After you saw them coming to the pond, everything went blank. I aided you and treated you as quickly as possible when you were still alive and breathing. I am terribly sorry you had to go through that."

I blinked my eyes and then looked at him. Wolfe was his name, and he was apologizing for mating, no, raping me. But it didn't feel like rape to me, even though he forced himself on me. I fucking loved it, but how do I say that out loud to a stranger?

Guilt was drawn all over his face, and he genuinely felt awful about what he had done. I didn't blame him because, from what I've heard, no alpha has control over their rut. He lived here alone all his life and must've gone through this every day all alone. I felt for him.

Even now, he was keeping his distance. His scent still gave lots of signals, proving that he was still in this rut. I mean, he didn't even bother to zip up his pants, and part of his dick was sticking out, looking all veiny as if it was hungry for more.

"I forgive you," I said.

He looked at me with wide eyes. "You do?"

"Yeah, it's not your fault it happened!" I said and shrugged. "And I promise I won't tell anyone..." Because I fucking loved it.

I expected him to at least sound relieved about it, but I was wrong. He still had that sad puppy look on his face, and I didn't know how to make him feel better. I mean, I just met this guy. Why the fuck would I care about making him feel better? Good thing I wasn't in heat, or I would be pregnant by now, and I surely wouldn't be getting out of this shitty town if that happened. I also never went into heat, so part of me didn't understand what he was going through.

Heat is basically a term for the "omegas rut," and it is the only time we omegas are fertile to reproduce. I was the only omega in town, and luckily, I didn't have to deal with the heat cycle yet. Hopefully, I won't.

"We're cool!" I said as if I was giving him reassurance. I then checked the window and saw the sun was already rising.

Fuck! I had an AP biology class in the morning, and I'm writing a test!

"I have to go!" I said and tried getting up, only to wince in pain, followed by a whimper.

Hearing me whimper, Wolfe rushed to me to check that I was okay. "You shouldn't move too much." He said. "I'll be outside chopping more wood. I also made some stew, so you can eat when you wake up. I insist you wait till later, and then you can leave."

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to be a bother."

"You're not." He said, his voice firm, as if what I had just said had angered him.

I smiled halfheartedly and agreed to wait till most of the pain subsided. I had the stew he made which tasted really good and then when I, had gathered most of my strength, I was finally ready to leave.

My clothes were torn up, but he did give me something to wear. An oversize shirt and some boxers of his. He walked me back to the town border where I went to fetch my suit jacket and shoes, and by the time I turned around he was gone.

I wanted to ask if I could see him again, maybe when the rut was over, but I guess not. Anyway, I had better head home, or I'll be late for class!