Page 12 of Alpha's Rise

“I know where he’s headed,” Tobias spoke into the phone.

There was a brief pause. “Should I follow him?”

“No need. He’s headed back here. You can come on home.”

Hanging up the phone, Tobias continued on his way to check-in on Romi.

Thinking about how she responded as they lead her into the large room she’d be staying in, Tobias was worried about how calm she’d been. Something about her response wasn’t sitting right with him. There was no yelling or screaming or angry words, which made no sense considering how she behaved when they first met.

Making his way to her room, Tobias nodded to the pack members guarding the door. Removing the key from his pocket, he unlocked the door and walked inside.

Inside the room was a large, king-sized bed, a couch and love seat, a small table with two chairs, and a large television mounted on the wall. But what he didn’t see was his mate. “Romi? Where the fuck are you?” If she escaped, someone’s head was gonna roll.

“Where the fuck do you think I am?” he heard her voice call out from the open door of the ensuite bathroom.

Since he now knew she hadn’t left the compound, Tobias moved to the settee at the end of the bed and sat down, waiting for her to show her face.

Over five minutes later, he was still waiting for her to come out and face me. Leaning over, his elbows rested on top of his thighs, and he closed his eyes. Tobias needed to explain things to Romi before all hell broke loose. Not that he wouldn’t enjoy getting into it with her, because his mate turned him the fuck on every single time she challenged him. But now was not the time to fuck her senseless. Tobias knew he could take her right now, claim her as his own, and fill her with my pups. Then again, no claiming could happen until his asshole packmate and their third arrived.

“Why are you still here?” She walked into the room wearing only a pair of leggings and a tank top.

“Because I live here.” Tobias’s wolf was awake and paying attention. He wanted to show himself to their mate so he could see her response to his form. They were behind closed doors with a bed, a couch, and walls, and no one would see what happened.

She stopped in front of Tobias and leaned against the wall in front of him. “So, care to explain why I’m stuck behind a locked door? Because this shit right here was not part of the deal. I agreed to come back here because you promised to help me find my family. This,” she eyed the room and twirled one finger around in a circle, “was not part of the agreement.”

Eyeing her lean, but deliciously curvy body, Tobias couldn’t help but lick his lips in desire and want. “Come on now, Romi. How smart would it be for us to allow you to roam around our cozy town without knowing who you really are?”

“Hmph. Whatever. Just to be clear, you’re still on a clock. You’re down to,” she paused, looking down at the watch on her wrist, “twenty-two hours to help me find my family.” Leaning up from the wall, she took one step toward him. “It would be wise of you not to underestimate me. If you don’t help me or you brought me here under false pretenses, I will not allow you or this town or the people inside of it to go unscathed.”

This woman was something else. “Why are you so violent?”

“Why are you fucking with me?” She snapped. “And who the hell are you? You people have me in this fancy ass house, all locked up nice and tight, but here you come waltzing inside as comfy as you please.”

“Does it matter who I am?”

Stepping to the side, she walked around the room, touching different pieces of furniture. Something so innocuous, but his dick still hardened in his pants as he watched her.

“It might,” she paused, looking at him over her shoulder. “You made me a promise, Tobias. I’m not expecting more than what we agreed to. I gave you twenty-four hours, and that’s what you’ll get, but only that.”

Standing, Tobias walked over to her, placing his body within inches of hers. “How do you know what I am?” She was smaller than him in every way, but her hard gaze was unwavering.

“I could smell you, and your lackeys, from a mile away.”

Lifting one hand, Tobias trailed a finger down one cheek. The intake of her breath and the quickening of her heartbeat told him exactly what he wanted to know. She may not realize she was his true mate, but she wasn’t immune to him. She felt something, even if she couldn’t describe what it was.

Tobias couldn’t resist asking one more time. “What are you?”

A smirk came over her lips and she stepped back from him, breaking the connection. “I’m a fucking Goddess.”

“Yes, sweetheart. You sure as fuck are.”

“Now, since you’ve placed me in this cushy ass prison, why don’t you have someone bring me some food? And while you’re at it, pull your men together so we can get this show on the road. The clock’s ticking and I’m not a very patient woman.”

Even if he hadn’t told her who he was, she had to realize the power within him. Tobias couldn’t wait to tame her and claim her as his. As theirs. “This whole bossing me around shit is getting really old,” he snapped at her. The need to wrap his hand around her throat as she screamed his name washed over him.

Laughter burst from her lips, and to be honest, it turned him the fuck on. Just a bit longer until their time would come.

She glanced at him with a smile still hovering on her lips. “Well, when you keep your word, then I’ll stop demanding you do what the fuck you said.”

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