Page 4 of Alpha's Rise

Well, except for the visions of the dark-haired man with golden eyes. Who was he, and why the fuck had he shown up in her dreams last night? If she was being honest with herself, they weren’t just any dreams. No, she dreamt about riding his ass like a bucking bronco. Romi had never seen the man before, but the vision of him was now burned into her brain. Tall, at least six feet, three inches, with long, lean muscles, dark hair, a firm jaw, and a big dick that her dream self couldn’t stop riding. When he looked at Romi in her dream state, his golden-hued gaze held her hostage. Even asleep, his presence struck her. Now that she was awake and getting ready to start her day, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Something else about the dream kept pushing at her memory, another dark figure in the room. She didn’t see the face, but the feeling coming from him differed from the golden-eyed stranger. Anger. Jealousy. Desire.

The only thing was, she didn’t know if the feelings were directed at her or the sexy man who she couldn’t stop thinking about. Either way, her body was still tingling from being so deliciously handled. Too bad she couldn’t fall back asleep and capture it again.

Once she stood up and stretched, Romi took the time to briefly look around. She was fully awake and ready to get moving. It was time to get on the road again, and there was no time to waste. Romi had a mission to complete, and nothing was going to stop her. Save Layla and Christopher. That was all that mattered. After taking a few minutes to complete her morning ritual, Romi gathered her belongings, erasing any sign that she’d been in the area.

Continuing along the path she knew Layla would have taken, Romi traversed through the trees and shrubbery and eventually made her way to the mountains. Even though she was no longer in the military, and hadn’t been for a few years now, she couldn’t help but miss the years spent hunting the bad guys.

Sometimes the bad guys were more than human. That knowledge still shocked her to this day. The secrets held by the United States military and its covert counterparts would give most people nightmares. Her unit may have been full of otherworldly beings who could rip a man’s throat out with their teeth, but they were also some of the most honorable men she had ever worked with.

Not everyone was like that. And this time, she was mainly talking about humans.

When she had first gotten out, Romi was unsure about what to do with her life. It wasn’t like she could put on her resume that some of her best skills involved turning into a literal storm with lightning shooting from her eyes. Yeah, that wasn’t really an option. So, she tried to focus her life on doing other things that mattered.

Before she was… changed, Romi trained as a cyber analyst for the US military. The original plan was to work for herself and become a contractor for companies in the DC metro area. It had been a good plan. She knew with her skills, she would make a very good salary and live a stable, normal life.

Sitting at a desk.

Looking at a computer all day.

Hunting the bad guys with a keyboard.

Fuck.

That would have been boring as hell.

While she would never want Layla and Christopher in danger, she could also admit how glad she was to be the one searching for them. She could protect them better than anyone else. That’s why she had to get them as far away from the city as possible.

At this point, her only thought was putting one foot in front of the other. There was nothing else for her to do until she found them—nothing else to focus on but getting to her family.

Although she wasn’t impacted by the weather like most humans were, it was still cold as hell and that made the ground hard, and difficult to navigate. She fucking hated the cold. Honestly, if she could live anywhere, it would be someplace warm; the Caribbean, Bermuda, or Barbados. Any of those would be perfect. She would sit on her porch drinking margaritas all day. Ice cold temperatures and snow were all great for a short winter vacation, but she hated living in this shit.

Hoisting the heavy rucksack higher on her shoulders, Romi couldn’t help but think about a different life for herself and for Layla. She felt they both needed a damn break because life kept giving them sour ass lemons. Then again, she needed to be more positive.

Okay, so maybe she would take those sour lemons, but then add some sugar and vodka. That’s exactly what she needed. It would be the perfect combination of ingredients for her to make her grandmomma’s special adult lemonade beverage recipe.

Just the thought brought a smile to her lips. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the life she’d created for herself, because she did. But, sometimes shit just got hard. Did it matter if things didn’t always go the way she wanted? Should it disappoint her that she spent her early adult years learning how to be someone else? Something else? Hell, she even understood the reasons why she had to keep her secret from Layla. She got it. She accepted it. This was the journey Romi chose, and she knew Layla would understand in the end.

Now, little Christopher was something else altogether.

That little dude held her whole heart. When he was born, he looked up at her with those beautiful brown eyes, and she melted into a pile of mush. He wasn’t her child, but Romi loved him as if he were. She wasn’t expecting to have the life others did, with a husband, kids, and a dog. As a result, she lived through Layla and took every moment to give Christopher all the love she could, as his eccentric, badass aunt.

The first time he looked at her and called out the word Sparkle, Romi was floored. No matter how much she tried to dismiss his words as those of a small child who didn’t know any better, she couldn’t. No matter what she did, Romi could not escape him. From that moment forward, he called her Auntie Sparkle. The little scamp.

Romi didn’t think Layla had a clue where the name came from, and Romi sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her. At least not yet. Layla knew about the men Romi had served with, to a degree. But there was no way she could know the full truth. And Romi sure as shit wasn’t ready to tell her what she’d become during her time in the military. That was a secret for another day. If Layla never found out what she was, Romi would be okay with that.

Still smiling at the memory of her special little guy trying to out her to his momma, Romi focused again on where she was going. Just as she was about to stop for water and relieve herself, she heard a sound. Stopping in her tracks, Romi crouched close to one of the trees and slowed her breathing. She closed her eyes and focused on the movement of the trees surrounding her.

There! Her ears perked up at the sound.

Based on the breathing patterns and the sound of their feet hitting the ground, she knew they were of the four-legged variety. Not big like bears, but also not small like a cougar or bobcat. Then the scent hit her nose, and she couldn’t help the sigh that escaped.

Fuck! The last thing she needed was to have a tête-à-tête with wolves. Especially now. She really didn’t want any trouble. She just wanted to find her family. Careful not to make any sound, she moved into a more comfortable position and prepared to wait them out.

A few more minutes passed before she felt a change in the air. A change that she remembered well. Her eyes went wide, and she dropped her head in exasperation. Romi knew exactly what was happening around her.

This was not turning out to be a good day.

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