Page 9 of Alpha Marked

River rubbed her head.

"So, will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Meet him. I need you on my side before I tell Mom and Dad. They won't be happy I went; you know how Cherry is. She's likely to rip Zeke a new one before she gets to know him."

"Zeke?"

"Yeah, that's his name. Please?" Bianca drew out the word like a pouting high schooler.

"B, I'm super busy. I have my show this weekend and-"

"I haven't seen you in months. Ever since you left… I… I need you. Please?" Bianca's voice cracked.

She'd seen little of her family since the move to the city. Cherry was always on alert for the possibility of Lycans finding River. So, she hadn't allowed River to visit home in four years. They'd come to the city every six months since she'd moved and for her graduation from art school. Other than that, she'd been alone in the city.

A war had started amongst the Lycans in the last years since she'd been bitten. They'd divided for the first time in hundreds of years. Lycans had recruited the strongest werewolves from the States to join their ranks, turning them into Lycan hybrids. They weren't true Lycans, but they inherited the Lycan strength, speed, and agility. There was a lot they still didn't know about the new Lycan hybrids. One thing had been for certain, though: hybrids were not attracted to Omegas the way Alphas and Lycans were, which was why, after recruiting the new hybrids, the first thing they'd been sent to do was search for Omegas— causing Cherry to double her efforts to keep River's identity secret.

Word had gotten out about River somehow, and the search had begun. Which was the only reason she'd continued to take the suppression pills and desensitizing spray her mom had forced her to take since turning twelve.

"River, you aren't listening, are you?"

River sucked in a breath.

"We won't come to you. We can meet somewhere you choose. Somewhere safe. And I'll make sure to do all the protocols afterward. I'll take everything off when I'm back at my hotel. I'll wash it all in the special soap. I'll take a shower and everything. And since I'm staying in a hotel, they'll bleach the hell out of all my sheets, towels, and everything. If I have to, I'll spray myself with the scent-neutralizer stuff."

"And what about your new mate? What are you going to tell him about all your weird protocols?"

"Nothing. We aren't fully bonded yet, and until we are, I won't tell him anything about you."

Bianca didn't know the full extent of River's status. She knew River had been attacked and marked by a rogue without consent and that she'd left for her safety. The only people who knew her identity as an Omega were Cherry, Strider, her pack leaders, and their mates who had witnessed the attack. And, of course, the asshole who had bitten her. His penetrating eyes invaded her mind.

"Don't. Please."His voice echoed in her head.

River had never once regretted rejecting him. But ever since he'd woken up her wolf, her wolf had become increasingly agitated with River's lack of desire to find an Alpha to mate.

Damn.River could use a break, and she did miss Bianca. Going to school and getting a job at a prestigious art gallery had been a dream for River, but she'd never felt so utterly alone before. Even the occasional comfort of her wolf hadn't been enough to replace her pack.

"When are you going to try to move forward?" Bianca asked in a small voice. "It's been four years."

River never talked to Bianca about what had happened. Hell, she'd never spoken to anyone about it except Cherry and Strider. But that had only been because they needed to tell her the truth.

"Hello? River, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Yeah." She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "B, it would take me forever to get ready. By the time I finished and got to dinner, it would be so late-"

"I don't care. Zeke won't either. I just want you to meet him. We'll take you somewhere nice. Super nice. Quadruple nice. Thousand-dollar bottle of champagne nice. And we'll pay for everything, and it'll be-"

"Nice?" River blurted. "Okay. Okay. I'll go."

"Wahoo! You go take a shower, and I'll set up everything."

"Setup?" River's stomach plummeted to her toes.

"Yeah. I'll be there in twenty minutes. I'm a few miles away. Love ya, Sis."

Before River replied, Bianca hung up.

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