"I'm not coming back," Layla told him firmly. It was the same thing that she told her parents.
"What?" Jake pressed, Iooking seriously perplexed.
"I'm staying here in Lunavia," Layla repeated even as she turned away from him. "I'm not coming back to Silva Forest. I'm just not." She turned and walked in the other direction away from Jake, hoping he would get the hint and leave her alone.
There was no such luck. He immediately began walking behind her, just a step away from her.
"Layl," Jake said again, calling her by the nickname he'd used for her since they were children. "You can't be serious. You can't just stay here."
"Watch me," Layla said, walking a little faster, nearly stalking away from him. Jake didn't give up easily. After all, that was how they had become friends. Jake had followed her around everywhere she went, deeper and deeper into Silva Forest as she went, their friendship growing day by day. He kept up a litany of arguments, but Layla rebuffed him one at a time, eventually simply refusing to answer him.
She was about to snarl at him to just go home and leave her alone when Layla spotted Henry coming toward them. Jake must have sensed the approaching wolf too because he turned quickly, standing in front of Layla.
Henry didn't stop. He came at them snarling, pushing Jake aside and standing in front of Layla.
Layla was a little taken aback by Henry's protectiveness, but he had been the one to warn her that it wasn't safe for her outside. Here this strange wolf was on his pack's territory.
"No, Henry," Layla said, trying to stop him even as he advanced on Jake, snarling. "He's a friend. He's from my old pack. He's not a danger."
Jake didn't exactly cower. He was going to be an Alpha one day too. He did step back, only baring his teeth.
"You're on Wolfsbane territory," Henry snarled at him, biting at the air. "Leave now."
Jake looked like he wanted to put up a fight, but Layla knew that he was smarter than that.
"Just leave, Jake," Layla called to him, reinforcing what Henry and his mind must be telling him.
Jake glanced at her again, hesitating. Anyone could see that Henry was protecting her, and anyone could tell that Layla was letting him.
Jake nodded at her once, turned, and left.
Henry held his stance for a moment before relaxing. Layla noticed that his fingernails had turned to claws, his eyes had taken on the golden hue of the Alpha, and his teeth were halfway to that of a wolf. Half- transformations like this were hard. It was easier to snap into a full wolf or full human, but to keep the balance like that was something that took years of training and control.
Slowly, Henry returned to full human, though Layla felt a little sad to watch him. He waas powerful, and he radiated it. There was no mistaking that.
"Thank you for that," Layla told him as he calmed himself. "They found me here. I don't know how, but they did. I thought I would be able to get away from them."
Henry glanced around, but no one else seemed to be paying them any attention.
"How about we go back to the apartment?" he suggested.
Layla readily agreed. She didn't want to find out if Jake had come alone or brought someone else with him. She really didn't want to know if her father was here too.
As soon as they got back to the apartment, Layla went straight to her room and collapsed on her bed. She was exhausted by her encounter and the thought that she hadn't truly managed to get away.
She slept the rest of the day and woke to Henry knocking on her door slightly, telling her that dinner was ready.
Layla made her way to the dining room and found that Henry had cooked two steaks for each of them, along with an assortment of vegetables. She sat down at the table gratefully. Layla waited for Henry to eat first before she took a bite of her meal.
It was absolutely delicious. They spoke over dinner, with Henry telling her a little about his day in Lunavia. He didn't press her for any questions, but Layla knew that it was coming.
Henry seemed like he definitely had something on his mind.
Later, when she stood out on the balcony overlooking the city, Henry came out to join her. For a moment, they just stood together silently.
"Will you tell me the truth about Jake?" Henry asked softly, glancing down at the streetlights below them.
It wasn't that Layla didn't want to tell him. It was just that she was trying to push all of it to the back of her mind and put it out of her life as best as she could. She knew that was impossible. After all, it had followed her here, hadn't it?
With a deep breath, she began her story.
"You know that I'm an Omega," Layla said.
Her voice held neither pride nor shame. It was just a part of being a wolf. There were categories that they fit into. Some felt that the Omega, being the rarest, was a facet to be proud about. There were others that, because of their size and ability, thought there was shame in it.
Layla felt neither. She was fast, faster than any other wolf she knew, and she was a good enough fighter that she could take on three Beta's in a fair fight at once. That alone meant that the belief that Omegas were small and weak was wrong, so there was nothing for her to be ashamed of.
The pride that some felt was because of how high in demand Omegas were to be mated with since their instincts in caring for the young and packmates were unparalleled in any other wolf.
But she had no desire in her to be that persona, so she felt no pride in being an Omega. It was just who she was.
"You must have smelled it on me," Layla continued. They were identifiable by smell. It wasn't just a superstitious belief or preconceived notion. There were biological differences between the three different kinds of wolves ...
Like Henry. He was an Alpha, and there was no disputing it. He was built bigger and stronger. His aggression was just part of his instinct to always be on the defensive, to always protect his pack. It was part of why he couldn't let her leave his apartment before. He knew that she wouldn't be safe, and he had to protect her.
Layla had known he was an Alpha from the very first meeting like she had known the wolves that attacked her were Betas. It was just something that they couldn't hide.
"My home is ... was ..." Layla swallowed hard around the word. "Silva Forest, not too far away from Lunavia. But it's a forest pack, and we cling to our traditions still. One of them was the mating ceremony of the Omega wolves. I was the only Omega there. I was the only one for a while. They were having a ceremony, a full hunt, in my honor to find someone to mate with."
Henry would have heard of these customs before even if they weren't practiced in the city any longer. There was no way that they would simply be forgotten about.
"The ceremony is supposed to determine who is the best wolf," Layla continued.
"Whoever brought the biggest kill won the right to mate the Omega. It's supposed to be fair game, but my parents really wanted Jake. The whole village did really. And he was the strongest."|
"Why, though?" Henry asked, pressing. "Why all of that to have the Omega mate?"
"Because ..." Layla sighed. "An Omega is best suited for carrying and rearing pups. A wolf pup born from an Alpha and Omega mating bond is almost always stronger. The Omega can normally carry more than one pup at a time. It really is the best way to strengthen the pack. But I ..." Layla paused, shaking her head. "It wasn't me. I couldn't do it."
Layla took a deep breath before continuing. "Jake was amazing," Layla said. "He really is a great wolf, strong and kind. But I didn't love him like that. I couldn't be with him like that. Like the whole village, I knew that he was going to win, so I did the only thing I could. I ran away."
Henry didn't answer for a long time.
"I'm glad you ran away," Henry murmured eventually, turning toward her.
Layla noticed that they were very close again. He was just an inch or two from her face. Some of her hair fell across her eyes. Henry leaned over and gently brushed some of it away, seeming to lean in at the same moment.
He pulled away, cleared his throat, and simply went back into the apartment. Layla felt a rush of loneliness and disappointment that she couldn't explain.