Days later ...
Wei Ying was constantly on the move. When he stopped to rest, he didn't stay there for more than 1-2 hours. He did not want to stay in one place, for fear that his smell might lure the alphas wandering nearby to himself. On top of that, he had to find food, because ever since he ran away from home, he hadn't been able to eat anything. Not to mention water. Because of this, he quickly became weak. As he walked, a sound struck his ear, which made him very happy. He followed the sound until he finally caught sight of a small waterfall. He sighed in delight and went to the lake. He could freshen up his face a little, it was a great relief for him.
Still, Wei Ying could not enjoy the wonderful calm and beauty of the waterfall for long. He heard 2-3 men walking near him as they talked loudly to each other. Wei Ying immediately looked for a hiding place, which, due to a short time, became a small cave behind the waterfall. He watched from behind the safety of the water curtain as men walked past the small pond.
The 3 men were chatting happily until suddenly one of them stopped.
"Wait..." said Xue Yang as he stopped and then began to sniff.
The other two men also stopped. They watched in bewilderment as the alpha stood still, looking left and right as if he was searching or sensing something.
"What? .... Maybe you noticed a butterfly or something and got scared?" joked Jin Guangyao.
"Hey." said Wen Ning to his friend. - "Don't consider butterflies so innocent. You know what they mean in most places."
"Huh. Stop being such a coward, you idiot. It's really just a legend, besides - ..." said Jin Guangyao, then suddenly Xue Yang spoke.
"Guys, I feel something."
"What? Fear? Because I think that's your scent." continued Jin Guangyao jokingly.
"No." - said Xue Yang back immediately. - "No, I smell an ... an omega."
Hearing this, Wei Ying immediately despaired. His heart suddenly quickened. He realized that the one who had smelled him must be an alpha. Wei Ying immediately retreated further into the cave, even covering his mouth so as not to make any sound.
"Here is, or was here recently an omega, and .. my god, guys, .. this scent is so delicious." said Xue Yang.
"Calm down, Xue Yang. Take a look around. Here in this forest, there hasn't been an omega for a long time. Everyone knows that this forest belongs to the alphas. It's their hunting ground." Jin Guangyao calmed him down.
"Especially for a certain alpha, you know." - Wen Ning continued. - "And besides, here, an omega would never come, unless he wanted to become a prey. So, maybe it's just a piece of clothing from a former omega that's been blown somewhere by the wind, and that's what you're feeling. But I doubt there's an omega here."
"Yeah, he's right. Come on, let's keep moving. It's a long drive, and I want to get home before it gets too dark." said Jin Guangyao.
Xue Yang didn't say anything, just started to follow his friends.
After the 3 men's voices had long since quieted down, it was only then that Wei ying was willing to step out from behind the waterfall. Although he was still afraid, his thoughts began to turn more on what he had heard.
"What could the legend to which butterflies were stigmatized as a sign of danger be about? And who could be the alpha who could possibly be "the lord of the forest" into which I had carelessly entered? Who could he be? .. But even scarier, why couldn't I smell the alpha's scent while he could smell mine? .... Something happened to me?"
While Wei Ying pondered these questions, he sat on a rock in the sunny rocky area. Luckily for him, that day was warm sunny, perfect summery weather.
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After a while, when the sun had begun to set, Wei Ying went on again. On his way he met an elderly beta couple. The elderly couple chatted briefly with Wei Ying, and even gave him some fresh fruit that they had collected in their baskets on their journey. They even offered to take him into their home for a few days, seeing that Wei Ying was not in very good shape. But Wei Ying refused their offer, fearing that his presence would only bring danger to the dear elders. He thanked them once more for the delicious fruit they had given him, then said goodbye and went on his way.
"Please be careful, my dear. We don't want you to go down a dangerous road. In this forest there is a negative energy that attracts bad alphas here." said the old woman one last time, shortly after Wei Ying had said goodbye.
Wei Ying just nodded and walked on. The two elderly watched the omega for a while longer.
"What do you think of him, dear. Do you think we'll ever see him again?" asked the old woman.
"I hope so. ... And then again, hopefully he'll be alone, and at least safe and sound, rather than in the grip of an evil alpha." replied the old beta male.
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Wei Ying wanted to get out of the forest as soon as possible, which, as an omega, was a very dangerous place for him. His fear of the forest where he had been was only confirmed by the words of the elderly beta couple.
As the night fell, fear and dread grew in him again. His mind was again clouded with dark and frightening thoughts. The cold shower under the waterfall in the morning and more forced walking did not help his weakened body. His slight fever and dark thoughts made him unable to see clearly enough and he took a careless step. Wei Ying was walking on the stony path when a large piece of rock caused his weak legs to lose balance and he fell. He hissed loudly in pain as one of his knees was roughly bruised by another stone. He remained on the ground and tried to bandage his leg. But suddenly he heard a sound that made him freeze instantly.
As Wei Ying turned in the direction of the sound, he caught sight of a small group of men approaching him. These men (unlike the 3 men who were at the waterfall) were smelling strongly of their own scent, but Wei Ying noticed it too late. All the men were alphas. On their faces, Wei Ying saw no signs of reassurance or comfort for him. He looked at any of them, seeing only the ill intent on them.
One of the men stepped out of the group, took a few steps forward, staring curiously at the omega, then stopped. A devilish smile appeared faintly on his face, then he looked back slightly and said something quietly to his friends behind him as they stepped forward.
Although Wei Ying could not hear what the man had said to them, a shiver ran down his spine when he saw the alphas all at once coming towards him. Wei Ying did not wait until they were close to him. He immediately got to his feet and as far as his strength and injured legs would allow him, he started running.
The alphas ran after the terrified and wounded omega with audible glee, like wolves after a rabbit.
Wei Ying tried to turn the evening fog to his advantage. He hoped the fog would at least help him a little so that the alphas wouldn't see where he was running. But Wei Ying forgot that his fever meant he couldn't really keep his pheromones under control. In addition, due to his weakness, even his sense of smell was impaired, so he could not smell an alpha unless the alpha was almost a few steps away from him.
Finally, when he could no longer hear the loud footsteps of the alphas running behind him, and he could also feel his legs slowly weakening, he began to slow down. As his body, which had been struggling with fever for some time, could not take the strain, he was forced to stop and then quickly hide behind a wide trunked tree. Wei Ying crouched down as much as he could, and then tried to gasp for air as quietly as possible, because he didn't want the alphas to hear him. He waited a moment, then slowly looked to one side to see if he was still being followed or not. He saw no one anywhere. Wei Ying couldn't even breathe a sigh of relief, because the feeling that he was still in danger was weighing on his chest. ... And the feeling soon proved true.
As Wei Ying turned back, the smell of alphas hit his nose. It was so strong that he knew immediately the alphas had found him. He wanted to get up, but this time he couldn't anymore. Exhaustion and fever overcame him, and Wei Ying fainted.
At this time, the alphas appeared one by one around the omega, as if they were just waiting for that moment. The alpha who had noticed Wei Ying earlier, stopped in front of him.
"You see what a lucky evening we have today, don't you guys? We stumbled upon a small and very dazzling omega." he spoke to his friends with a satisfied grin, while keeping his eyes on the omega.
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Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! 💛✨