Page 55 of Rome's Mate: Hunted Omegas

Amelia shook her head and followed her mate and son down the hall. What happened to the small life she planned to lead, as long as she found a place to be safe? This wasn’t it, and she couldn’t say she was disappointed, not even with her son following them into conflict.

“Sit and eat,” Sheela said when they came close to the kitchen. “No arguments.” There were three plates on the table and hers had a bottle of blueberry juice.

“You always know what I need.”

“Whatever, I made you blueberry pancakes and plenty of bacon. I anticipate all three of you back for dinner tonight or tomorrow.” She turned her back and wiped her eyes.

Amelia discreetly wiped her eyes. She was going to fight for more than their small family at the table, but for their pack and the ones they didn’t know about. Theron and Saul came to join them, and they talked like it was any other day.

When they went outside, the pack was there cheering them on, giving them well wishes on their hunt. Someone even shouted, “Make sure they bring back a buck.” Amelia laughed, thinking it must have been like this a thousand years ago.

“I love our pack.” She made herself comfortable in the front seat of the truck Rome was driving, while Malcolm made room for his long legs in the back.

Rome put in the coordinates in the GPS, and she closed her eyes, knowing this was her last chance to get rest.

Amelia woke when Rome pulled into a gas station. “I could use a bathroom break. Be right back.” She slid out of the high truck to find the bathroom. She was waddling more; it felt like it happened during the time she was sleeping.

The bathroom made her wrinkle her nose. Being a wolf, she smelled things that humans didn’t. Holding her breath, she went to the bathroom, wondering why she hadn’t shifted and gone behind the gas station.

After washing her hands, she stepped out and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She was being watched, and it wasn’t her mate or son.

“Hunter,” she said quietly, knowing he would be able to hear her along with Rome and Malcolm.

“I’ve been looking for you.” The hunter’s voice came back just as quietly.

“I think you mean stalking me.” She took in the surrounding area. She’d had to go to the bathroom the way only a heavily pregnant woman had to go. That was why she missed the hunter. Where were Rome and Malcolm?

She wasn’t sure where she was, but it was far out. There weren’t any other establishments close to the gas station. The surrounding area was cleared, nothing but concrete. The further back she looked, the concrete shifted into trees. That’s where the hunter was waiting for her.

Amelia knew better than to step into the hunter’s trap. The forest whispered its warnings, the branches swaying as if to reach for her, but her boots — the same ones that started this journey — carried her forward. They seemed to have a will of their own, dragging her into the shadows of the woods where danger awaited. For twenty-five long years, this confrontation had loomed over her like a storm cloud, and now, it was impossible to avoid. The time had come.

Her eyes darted around, searching for Rome. The absence of her mate sent a pang of fear through her chest. His vehicle was gone. That wasn’t like him. Rome would never leave her. The realization unsettled her more than the hunter who stalked closer, his presence radiating malice. Her gaze swept the area again, desperate to find Mal, her son. She had barely begun to savor the joy of giving him a nickname, and now he, too, was nowhere to be seen.

The hunter’s steps grew louder, closer. A shiver raced down her spine, a primal warning that evil was near. The gas station behind her seemed to shrink, its garish fluorescent lights no longer a sanctuary but a distant memory. She was halfway to the tree line now, and every step felt like crossing a threshold into another world. The air thickened, charged with energy that didn’t belong to Earth. It was as if this walk had become a corridor, leading her to a place that shouldn’t exist.

Her boots trudged on, defying the voice in her head screaming for her to flee. Running wasn’t an option. If she turned her back now, she knew she’d be dead before taking another step. Her body froze as she scanned the woods one last time, pleadingsilently for her mate or her son to appear. But she was alone, and that realization chilled her more than the hunter’s proximity.

Why was she here, facing this monster? It wasn’t for herself. Survival wasn’t the driving force. Love was. She loved her mate, her son, and even the countless lives out there depending on her without knowing it. Love was what propelled her forward, even as fear clawed at her mind.

A metallic click shattered the silence. She braced for the bullet’s impact, her breath caught in her throat. But nothing came. Instead, the hunter’s voice broke through the tension, low and laced with frustration.

“Damn thing’s jammed,” he cursed.

Amelia took a shaky breath, then called out, “Problem?”

He spat another curse. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t need a gun to end you. Thought I’d make it easy for you, that’s all.”

“Death is never easy,” she replied, her voice steady despite the dread pooling in her stomach. “The only easy death is one you meet after a full life, slipping away in your sleep, content with all you’ve accomplished.”

He chuckled, a sound devoid of humor. “A monster and a dreamer, I see.”

“Perhaps,” she said, stepping closer to the tree line. “But I find it odd that I’m called a monster by those who slaughter children, newborns still cradled in their mothers’ arms. You kill the mothers too, don’t you? And the fathers before them. Yet you dare call me a monster. Go figure.”

“Necessary kills,” he snapped, his voice now just behind her.

“Necessary?” She let the word hang in the air. “I’m twenty-five. You’ve been tracking me. Tell me, where are the humans I supposedly killed? Show me the bodies, the blood, the carnage. Give me a name, a face, an age.”

Silence. The hunter refused to be baited.

---