Your Omegas Are Mine 1| Euodia's Sun | Omegaverse Apocalyptic Reverse Harem

57 - End of Chapter 18

Quinn stood in the snow waiting before dawn with float humming in her ears and hunger coiling in her belly. The wind blew, ice stinging her cheeks. But she waited with Search hissing before her, and her vision distorting to highlight a moving figure.

A deer, tawny with a white throat and elegant antlers curved above its head. She hadn't dreamed of such meat. But she found him through her quest to pick up what edible herbs and berries existed in the early frost. She'd seen it on her search request for food, an elegant animal that stalked the land for food.

The snow was falling now, clumps of it as the sun drifted over the land. The wind seemed to pause, nothing moved but the drift of light through the trees. And the deer moved only closer, chewed on the remains of bark, the dry dead grass on the ground. Its eyes were bright and gold. It didn't take much for Quinn to exhale, fingers pulling on the blue hum, aimed like a bullet.

Float could snap forward like an arrow, shooting deep into the deer's flesh. And he was close enough, close enough for everything to work. But she would be patient, patient with her abilities. The deer moved closer, ears twitching.

A snap, an electric hum and blood spurted free, darkened down his throat in a steady gush. He crumpled to the ground, a meaty heap, blood pumping down his throat, steaming hot in the air. He bucked once and slumped quickly. The kill was clean. Quinn leapt forward, joy rushing forth as she limped towards the deer.

The deer was too large for her to carry, but when butchered it would be small enough to fit into her item box and its endless space. Her lips stretched into her first genuine smile. Float hissed as she tore into the creature, searing sinews and fat. She bounced to work that day, hiding glorious smiles behind her palm. When Livia took her dinner that night, she hurried to wash it all without a word.

That night at the hut, with shaking fingers she'd pulled the fresh meat out, a chunk of it removed from the slab she had waiting in the box. To a smoking pan, she dropped venison seasoned with the flavours of winter upon oil purchased from the shop. A minute or two on each side, and she ate it all hot and flavourful, standing at the hearth. The juice ran down her chin and stained her lips a glossy oily sheen.

The smell of meat was divine, curled in the enclosed space. It ached in her belly, decadent as it melted on her tongue. She'd sunk into the deepest sleep of her life in a while, sated and pleased. It had been then when true happiness sang through her when she roused the next day, feeling as if she'd struck the lottery for the first time in months.

And that happiness had continued, chirping through her daily work.

She should have known that they'd grow angry at her good mood. That they'd see secrets in her cheeks rosy from health despite the lack of a good dinner. And her spirit was unwavering despite the rising workload.

Quinn was resilient and they wanted her to fall, they wanted her gone.

No one seemed to care about her situation. So, they attacked her. And like an idiot she allowed them the chance. For behind all that hatred, wrongly placed in the hands of jealousy and the need to please. Quinn knew they were only women who were afraid and scared of being thrown away.

Float had hissed beneath her fingertips through each punch, but she couldn't hurt them. Instead, she waited, waited through the attack, the rage. They wouldn't kill her, they couldn't. And through the pain, she began to consider the thought that perhaps they might.

Perhaps, it wouldn't matter if they did with hurt blinding her vision, and blood warm down her cheeks. White noise spun through her ears, as black ink swirled in her vision. She just didn't count on Z showing up in the midst of it all like an angel.