Page 60 of Hunting Their Omega

With my mind calmer, I built a fortress around my worries. I had to think clearly. I needed a plan, needed the truth.

I heard a murmur behind me and whipped around, looking at the back window. The leaves were still, and the birds were quiet. Exhaling, I bent to gather my supplies.

Another hushed sound tickled my senses, followed by a barely perceptible crunch. My heart pounded in my ears, and adrenaline raced through my veins.

Slowly, I counted to three, turning at the last possible moment.

A silent forest greeted me. The nape of my neck prickled as unseen eyes skittered across my skin.

I walked to the back exit, not wanting to give whoever it was the satisfaction of my fear. Stepping into the warm evening air, I glanced around for signs of trouble.

Pebbles crunched behind me.

I screamed and spun on my heel but clapped a hand over my mouth when I spotted a familiar ice-blue gaze.

Winnie pressed a hand to her chest. “Goddess, Isolde, you nearly scared me half to death.”

“I could say the same for you. What are you doing here?”

“I saw the light on my way home, but the nursery was empty when I went in. I came out here to check before I locked up.” She paused, taking a good look at me. “Are you okay?”

“What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” I said, glancing at the forest.

She studied me, unsatisfied with my answer. “Come,” she finally said, holding out her arm. “I was just going to meet with someof the elders whose homes we’ll be working on. It will be a good chance for you to meet them.”

I nodded, but as we shuffled away from the nursery, eyes burned into my flesh once more.

***

“In a dress?” I laughed.

“A blue dress with little daisies on it,” Mr. Harrison confirmed with pride. “And let me tell you, when I gave an order, our young Alpha followed it.”

Mr. Harrison used to be the head Enforcer, and he was responsible for training Wynn, Alaric, and Bishop when they were younger. Our visit quickly turned into him regaling us with stories of the troublesome youth and the equally outrageous punishments he came up with for their antics.

We were sitting around his kitchen table, drinking hot tea and eating cookies. When I first saw the state of his house, I was shocked. The front porch was in shambles, the railings were hanging on by bolts, floor panels were lifted or missing altogether, and the front of the house had water stains sinking into the wood.

“You bet they did,” Winnie said through a bite of cookie, “Everyone knew better than to test Harrison. He was our number one fighter—even better than the Alpha.”

Mr. Harrison blushed at the compliment. “I’m not sure about that.”

Winnie gave him a cheeky smile. “Everyone else is.”

“Mr. Harrison, consider me officially impressed.”

Mr. Harrison waved the compliment away but pushed the plate of cookies closer to me.

It was nice to sit with Winnie and Mr. Harrison as if it were a normal day. It almost made me forget about the Council, about the eyes.

The fearful part of me wished I could wrap myself in this normalcy.

That I could forget there were things out there threatening to uproot me.

Chapter 22

Alaric

“That’s it. Keep your legs up,” I encouraged Isolde. “Higher. I want your knees level with your chest.”

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