Chapter 3 Someone Needs Help

Bailey

“Fuck.” That seems to be my favorite word these days.

The sun rises, casting shadows as its beams fight their way through the emerald leaves and pine boughs surrounding us. It won’t be long before the rest of the Omegas are on their way to morning training. I know from reading the book that this is the path most of them will use, the ones coming from the same village where Rian lives. I take a deep breath and look down the road in the direction I believe will lead me to his house.

Then, I look at him again.

“How the hell did this happen?” I run a hand through my dark hair and hesitantly take a step toward the bleeding man on the ground before I turn and look the other direction again.

Right before I fell asleep, I’d read a chapter where Rian was on his way home from evening Omega training. He was walking along, contemplating the comments that had been cast his way from the castle guards he’d passed on his way home. He was angry, plotting his revenge, imagining what it would be like to sink his fangs into every one of their necks. Then, he heard the crack of a branch snapping behind him and spun around.

That was it. That was where the chapter ended. I planned to read more so I’d know what happened to him later on today, after work.

But now, somehow, I’m fucking in the book–and he’s… well, he might be dead.

That doesn’t make sense, though. He’s the antagonist, and I’m not even halfway through the book yet. He can’t possibly die right now. Maybe someone will come along and save him, someone from the village. 

He has no friends, though. Not a single one. The nobles all hate him, and the other Omegas don’t want to be caught dead anywhere near him for fear they’ll be marked for ridicule as well. From Alpha Lukas’s perspective, every horrible thing that’s said or done to Rian is well deserved, but what he did to deserve it hasn’t been divulged thus far in the book. All I know is that he has a troubled past, one that makes him despised by all.

No one is going to help him.

Frustrated, I growl, wishing I could have a word with the fucking author of this book. How the hell is he going to finish being the antagonist if he dies right now? Isn’t she going to send anyone to–

“She did.” 

The words come out of my mouth just as the thought jumps into my head. Of course, she did. That’s what I’m fucking doing here. Goddamnit! I’m the one who’s meant to save his sorry ass.

Looking up at the sky, as if the author is God, hovering over me, a silent observer, I blurt, “It’s not like I have any medical training, you know? You don’t have any nurses or doctors reading your stupid book?” Of course, there’s no answer.

Reluctantly, I approach Rian. The closer I get, the more I can see signs that he’s still alive. His chest rises and falls, though each breath is shallow. His eyelashes flutter from time to time. He’s hanging on, but just barely.

I drop to my knees and reach for his cloak. Immediately, my wrist is caught in his grasp, and that low rumbling growl I heard earlier reverberates in his throat. Despite his injuries, he’s still strong enough to cause me to yelp. 

“God! Let go,” I say, yanking my wrist away from him. “What the hell? I’m just trying to help you.”

“I… don’t need… your… help.” He doesn’t even open his eyes, his voice so weak I can hardly hear him.

Yet, I laugh. “Oh, really? What are you going to do? Just get up and skip off into the woods, go on about your day? Or maybe you’ll lie here until someone comes looking for you–someone who will make sure they finish the job this time.”

His eyes turn to slits as he stares at me, contemplating what to do. I stare right back. What happens when a book character dies? Do they get trapped in some hell between the pages where no one can ever find them again?

“This is fucking ridiculous,” I murmur. “You’re not even real. Why do I give a fuck what happens to you?”

His forehead puckers, and I suppose he’s a little more aware of what’s going on than I gave him credit for. “What do you mean… I’m not… real?” He has a bit of energy back now, enough to ask that question, as if I’ve alarmed him. “Of course I am. Who the hell are you, anyway? Where did you come from?” He tries to scoot away from me, to push up on his elbows, but he collapses back into the leaves and pine needles, my favorite word falling from his lips.

His perfect, pink, soft lips.

“I’m Bailey,” I tell him. “I’m nobody.” That’s true–both in the real world and in this book. 

“Where do you live?” He still sounds pained, but it’s clear his fight-or-flight response is kicking in because he’s got a burst of adrenaline energizing him now.

“New York City,” I say flatly. 

“Wh-where?”

I shake my head. “It’s a long way from here. A really long way. Look, you’re bleeding a lot. I’m not a doc–uh, a healer–but I might be able to patch you up enough to get you back on your feet if you let me look at your injuries. You’re a wolf shifter, right? So you’re supposed to heal really fast? Let me see if I can put some pressure on that wound, and maybe you’ll be able to get the hell out of here before the guards come back.”

He turns his head slightly to the side. “How did you know it was the guards that did this to me?”

“Just a hunch.” I did read in the chapter before this that Alpha Lukas sent his guards after Rian, though I didn’t read the whole fight scene, since much of it takes place in the next chapter, I assume. But who else would it have been? “Come on, Rian. Now’s not the time for you to be an asshole.”

His forehead scrunches. “How do you know my name?”

“I know way more than I should,” I admit. That sex scene between Lukas and Claira comes to mind. Should I tell Rian that Lukas has a twelve inch dick? Nah, now’s not the time. “Well, what’s it going to be?” I ask. “Do you want me to help you or not?”

Rian looks me in the eye, opens his mouth… and vomits blood all over both of us.