Page 31 of Rome's Mate: Hunted Omegas

Todd stepped forth to argue, but his mother caught his arm and pulled him back before taking his place.

“Listen and hear me, alpha mate. If you die, I will revive you and kill you myself. If you come back with one white strand of your hair singed, you will pray for the goddess’s intervention. Do you hear me?”

“Heard every word and I listened.” Amelia gave her a hug. “I’ll meet you at the market and then we’ll leave. Thank you.” She gave Sheela the big purse she was wearing and took off down the street at a moderate clip, not wanting to draw any attention to herself.

When she was sure no one was paying her any attention, she ducked into an alley and stopped to get a reading or a direction from where the sensations of danger were coming from. She closed her eyes, leaning against a brick wall that had ivy growing up it. It was also covered in ants; she stumbled away from the wall.

She fell, changing into a wolf. Her sense combined with her wolf’s, giving her a better understanding of what was happening. There was a hunter, but they weren’t looking for an omega. They were hunting someone else. Why? Was the world comprised of different groups of hunters. Maybe? She’d thought they were centered around omegas; now she knew differently. Who startedthe groups? Was it the goddess of the Black Night, or someone else?

She moved silently, realizing her white fur seemed to blend in instead of standing out. That was food for thought later. She stuck to the alleys as she maneuvered through the town. It was much bigger than Huntsville, but still wasn’t a city. The stink of urine and rotten food assaulted her wolf’s senses. It was hard at times to ignore them as she used every sense to locate the hunter.

When she came to a halt, she was in the older section of town. She could see lawns that were only partially cared for and cars on blocks in a few driveways. There were children running up and down the street. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary until she saw one child running down the street yelling about beating the others to base.

This child had wolf eyes…sort of. There was something about him that was different. She didn’t know what it was, and she cursed her sheltered childhood. Could he be a dual citizen within the other society that Rome told her about? A wolf and something else? Maybe? She wasn’t here to judge or ask his mother who she’d been sleeping with.

The hunter felt closer. She slipped back into an alley and took the black scarf she started keeping on her out and tied up her hair. The scarf had a fringe of black hair that acted like bangs. From there, she started actively looking for the hunter until she pinpointed her.

The fact that females were hunters infuriated her. A woman could kill as easily as a man, but she’d hoped they wouldn’t go after infants and young children who were innocent. She never met children that were guilty of much. Stealing candy? Check. That might be the number one crime of a child.

“Aren’t they darling?” Amelia acted like she stumbled into the hunter, not knowing she was there. She also thickened her French accent.

“Disgusting. I hate children.”

Amelia could feel her brows raise and a frown take over her lips. It was difficult, but she turned the frown around. “Why? Have you lost a child or were told that you couldn’t have one?”

The hunter sneered. “That’s what all of you do-gooders say. You can’t believe a woman can hate children. Every time you get pregnant, you’re rolling the dice. You’ve no idea what you’re going to get. Maybe you’ll get a prodigy. Then again, maybe you’ll get a creature that will try to destroy civilization.”

“Are you talking about a child that turns into a mass murderer?”

The hunter shook her head, brown hair waving in the wind. “You’re so innocent. There are creatures that walk our world, born to unsuspecting parents who love them. When they grow up they turn around and kill them and everyone they knew.” The hunter’s voice dripped poison as she kept her eye on the boy.

“I think you’re wrong. Sure, there have been a lot of killings lately. It’s not because the children are creatures.” Amelia shook her head because she didn’t know why people killed each other. The same way, she didn’t understand why Julie tried to kill her or her pack wanted her dead.

“It was nice meeting you,” the hunter said before she moved along. Amelia knew by the censure that dripped from her voice that she hadn’t enjoyed the encounter.

Amelia slipped back into the alley, watching. The children were still playing and then decided they should play hide-and-seek. The little boy laughed, saying his hiding space would be the best. The girl, who wasit,started counting, and the kids started running.

Amelia changed into her wolf and started hunting the hunter. She watched as the hunter decided the boy was far enough away. She grabbed him with one hand going around his neck and the other covering his mouth, muting his cry.

Amelia changed forms and climbed the fire escape to the top of a building. She tracked them that way.

The hunter pulled him away, taking the alleys until she was far enough away that no one would find him anytime soon.

Amelia was on top of a restaurant. She wasn’t sure what it was, but the scents coming from it weren’t the ones she associated with American food. She watched the hunter, wanting to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“The world will thank me later, kid, and so will your parents.”

Amelia jumped down, landing softly on padded paws. She never thought all the tree climbing she did as a child when the others refused to play with her would come in handy. Creeping up behind the hunter, her form changed from wolf to woman, but her claws were still there. She placed one against the hunter’s throat.

“I suggest you let the boy go.” She pressed one into the hunter’s neck, drawing a bead of blood. The hunter slowly removed her hands, allowing the boy to drop to the ground.

“Don’t cry out,” Amelia cautioned him. “Can you find your way home?” She didn’t want him to be by himself, but he couldn’t be in this alley with them.

“I …can.” It was a stutter, but she would take it. “Go straight home, tell your parents they’ll be getting a visitor. Go now.” She put a little umph in her voice, making her think of Rome’s alpha voice.

“You’re making a mistake. That boy is a monster destined to destroy the world.”

“You don’t get to make that decision. If he turns into Godzilla, well, we have enough movies to know how to fight him, the sameif he turns into King Kong. You don’t get to decide whether a six or seven-year-old child is a monster.”

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