Page 4 of Vendetta

“Classes? You don’t need those. You’ve learned enough already, and what you haven’t, I’ll hire tutors for. If you want a fancy piece of paper, we can buy one.” He shrugged it off, as if it were nothing to pay college officials to fabricate a diploma.

To him, it was nothing.

To me, it was everything. It was my ticket out of this dangerous world, surrounded by death and violence. Not that he would ever let me walk away, but I wasn’t giving up.

“It's the middle of the semester. I can’t just leave.” My voice rose as my temper boiled to the surface. “Send me back.”

He put his gold-bedecked hands on his hips. “No, and that’s final. It’s too dangerous. We have many enemies, my little Rosita. I should never have humored your desire for higher education. Now, we will find you a nice pack to settle down with, and you can build a family. You don’t need a diploma for that,” he said, his tone placating as much as patronizing.

My fingernails bit into my palms as my hands curled into fists at my sides. “I’m not a broodmare, Father! You can’t expect me to sit on the sidelines and let one of your lazy lieutenants dictate my life. I refuse to be chattel. I don’t want a pack; I want away from all this.” Brushing past him, I screamed in frustration and stormed down the hall.

Once I reached my room, I slammed the door behind me and flipped the lock.

So much for being reasonable.

Tired, hungry, and pissed, I wrestled open my bag and riffled through it, finding nothing but random handfuls of underwear, mismatched socks, frilly spring dresses, and a single pair of sneakers. My toiletries were just as bad. At least my prescriptions had made it into the mess, but not much else.

May wonders never cease.

Whatever happened, under no circumstances was I interested in going through my heat cycle surrounded by these bloodthirsty criminals. With my bottle of suppressants, I should have plenty of time to sort that out, at least.

I didn’t know how long this shit show would last, but now that I was here, a plan was hatching to make the best of it.

The situation with my poorly packed luggage wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. The basics were already here. My favorite jeans were nowhere to be seen, but all the clothes and makeup that I’d left behind when I moved were right where they should be.

My stomach grumbled as I pushed the strange combination of clothing to the side of my bed and ignored the inconvenient need to feed myself, crawling under the covers. As hungry as I was, I was more tired. I’d managed a few hours of sleep on the jet, but when my head hit the pillow, I was down for the count. Too much stress, too much anger…all of it was just too much.

I’d feel better when I woke up. I hoped.

Chapter 3

Rosalina

My head pounded as I dragged my gritty eyes open. The setting sun glared angry gold light through my window. I’d been up late the night before, but I must’ve been more tired than I realized, because I’d slept the entire day away. It only took a moment before I understood why my head was pounding. Someone was hammering on my door. In all honesty, the knocking wasn’t that loud, but in my dehydrated, sleepy haze, it was jarring.

I rubbed at my eyes, only to have my hand come away smeared with day-old mascara and a crooked fake-eyelash.

Wow, I was a mess.

The knocking came again, shaking me from my delirium.

“Coming, coming. Please be quiet.” I was still in my dress from the club last night. It’d been disheveled this morning, but now it was downright indecent.

“It’s Diego. Maria wanted to make sure you were eating. Come to the kitchen when you’re ready.” His words were muffled as he called through the door.

Oh God, I couldn’t go out there looking like this. “Tell her I’ll be there soon. I just need to, uh, freshen up. And, Diego, thank her for me, please.” My heart warmed at the thought of Maria. She was the kindest omega I'd ever met. Unlike the cold, distant woman I shared genetics with.

Despite my anger at being dragged here, Maria was a shining light.

As quickly as I could, I stripped out of my rumpled dress, leaving it on the marble floor of my bathroom, and took the fastest shower of my life. Then barefaced and in well-worn sweats, I hurried through the maze of creamy plaster halls and curved archways to the kitchen, where the smell of food beckoned me.

“My beautiful girl.” Maria beamed and bustled over to me, wrapping me in her warm embrace. I returned it, holding her tight and taking solace in her sweet nature. I never wanted to let her go, but she wasn't allowed to coddle me. No one was, even though I was desperate for any sort of softness.

As I reluctantly pulled away, her familiar scent wrapped me in the comfort her arms could not. She always smelled like cinnamon and sugar, but also home cooking, which might explain Diego’s slight potbelly. He was a lucky alpha to have found his match in such a lovely, kind omega.

“Maria, I’m so happy to see you.” I stepped back, and she shooed me over to a stool at the large kitchen island.

“You don’t look so good.” She tsked at me. “Aren’t they feeding you up at that big, fancy school of yours?”