“Where do you think you're going?” I jogged her way against my better judgment.
“Take the omega test,” she replied, not slowing down.
I cursed again and ran ahead of her, blocking her path. “Do you know the way home?”
Her jaw worked, and she rolled her shoulders. “Back in that plane and to Brazil. That’s the way home.”
The venom dripped from her plentiful lips and down her chin. I knew why I distrusted her, but why did she distrust me?
She narrowed her eyes at me, showing me she was strong even against a man twice her size, and I had to hold myself back not to swing her over my shoulder and tell her she better listen to me.
“The rest of the village doesn’t know you’re coming. Not even my pack brothers.”
She knit her brows, uncertainty showing in her features for the first time. “Why?”
“There’s a lot of resentment around Karl. I didn’t want to cause any unnecessary stress.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Her blue eyes flashed the strength behind her soft body, and with one look, I realized that, like her father, she didn’t see everything Karl did as a betrayal.
Isadora tipped her chin up in a challenge, impressive for someone who didn’t even reach my chest. One lungful and I was drowning in her scent of spices. Something warm grabbed me by the throat, and I had to step away from her.
“I’m proud of where I came from. I’m proud of my dad for choosing happiness rather than rotting in this place.”
Such a vile comment barreled into my chest, knocking the wind out of me. I balled my hands into fists, my neck getting stiff as I squared her with a look. “Nothing is rotting in my home, little girl,” I spat through my teeth.
Her scent changed. She trembled as her pouty lips parted, but she didn’t apologize for her damaging words. “Let's get this out of the way. I'm here because I’m so proud of what he built that I’m not able to let it go. It doesn't matter what you think about me. I’m here to fight for my family.”
Isadora’s notions about loyalty rubbed me the wrong way. My chest puffed, and I felt all the rage running through my body. One thing after another, as if Karl himself were there looking at me. The words I wanted to say to him were on the tip of my tongue, things I swallowed bitterly as the years went by.
“As long as we’re making things clear,” I told her. “The only reason I contacted you is for loyalty to my people. I don’t expect you to understand this since Karl never passed it on to you.”
Her father’s name rang between us. It cracked with static, and I saw the change in her when the name came from my lips. It was her trigger as much as it was mine.
“If I’m an omega—”
“You are,” I told her.
“I haven’t done the test yet!” She rolled her eyes as if I could be wrong about this.
The star anise, she smelled like liquorice, that was it. I took one deep breath, and I felt her presence all over my body; she was an omega. It had been many years since I scented an unmated omega. Sweet enough to take a sigh out of a grown man, I stepped away from her again, and I wasn’t discreet about it. Her eyes narrowed, and her hand gripped her suitcase. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to know she was dreaming about punching me right in my face.
Before she could say anything that could annoy me once again, I turned on my heel. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Three
Isadora
He had no way of knowing.
Anders drove the car like the evil robot he was, his arms in the perfect position gripping the wheel, and I faced the window, afraid to give too much with one look.
Anders was… gorgeous. There was no other word for a man like him. He had the most incredible crystal-blue eyes, soft blondhair, and a blond beard too. He was at least six foot two, since he looked at least a foot taller than me. And if being that tall wasn’t enough, he was also double my size shoulder to shoulder.
And I wasn’t a small girl. The double Ds were heavy, and my cleavage was notorious. I had a soft tummy and thick legs. I was a big girl, but I looked like a little doll beside him.
Anders was a full man, and I couldn’t say I wasn’t a little proud for sticking up for myself even when I had to crane my head back to look him in the eye.
The landscape changed as the farther we went north, the green turned into tall trees as close as we got to the mountain. I tried to ignore the man beside me and thought about Dad instead. This was the place he came from. As the image of my father came to my mind, so did tears to my eyes and warmth to my heart. He was a good man who loved me dearly. He was hardworking and honest. Nothing Anders could say would make me less proud of being Karl’s daughter.
