Romilda adjusted the basket against her hip as she walked along the narrow path leading home, the market noise slowly fading behind her.
Birds chirped overhead. Leaves rustled softly.
She should have felt safe but then the scent hit her.
A sharp, rotten one.
Romilda's fingers tightened around the basket handle as she glanced behind her.
A large gray wolf stood between two trees, eyes locked on her. Too lean. Too still.
Another shadow shifted to the side, then another.
The were about four rogues.
Her heart slammed violently against her ribs.
They shouldn't be here. Not this deep inside pack land.
She backed away slowly, pulse screaming.
A low growl rolled from one of them, deep and hungry.
That was enough to make Romilda turned and ran.
The basket slipped from her grip, groceries spilling across the dirt path. Roots and dried herbs scattered everywhere as she sprinted forward.
She crossed the boundary stones marking the edge of the pack and ran straight into the forest.
Branches tore at her sleeves. Thorns clawed at her skirt. Roots twisted beneath her feet as her lungs burned and her legs screamed.
Behind her wer hungry growls.
They were gaining.
Suddenly, Romilda accidentally fell, one of the rogues shifted.
"What a nice meal," the man mocked as his body snapped into human form.
Romilda gasped,
She knew him.
Back when she was still in her middle childhood, he had been banished and accused of raping and marking girls who were not his mates.
Her blood ran cold.
How did he get back into the pack without anyone noticing?
And why her?
"Stay away from me!" Romilda shouted, forcing a stern look to hide her terror. "Don't come any closer!"
The man only laughed, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her.
"I plan on making this easy for you, girly," he taunted, lips curling as he laughed darkly.
"Don't make me change my mind."
Romilda stumbled backward, palms scraping against the forest floor as she fell.
Her heart pounded so loudly it drowned out everything else.
"Stay away from me," she warned again, voice shaking but loud.
The rogues laughed.
A harsh, broken sound.
"An Omega alone?" one of them sneered, stepping closer. "You ran far, little prey."
Her back hit a tree trunk.
No escape.
Romilda trembled violently, taking a step back every time the man stepped forward. Her clumsy hands dropped the small bag of items she'd been clutching, but her mind was too muddled with fear to even think of picking them up.
She turned sharply, trying to run but he was faster.
He caught her easily and threw her across the path. Romilda cried out as she hit the ground hard, pain shooting through her body.
"Don't worry," he said calmly, looming over her. "It will be over very soon."
His fangs slid out as he leaned down, about to pierce the skin of her neck.
She tried to crawl away as pain exploded across her chest.
Her birthmark was burning her.
Not a dull ache, this was fire, searing through skin and bone and spreading like molten iron beneath her flesh.
The man staggered back.
"What..."
Romilda's fangs slid out with a violent snap.
But they weren't like a werewolf's.
They were longer. Sharper. Curved slightly, gleaming with an unnatural edge.
Her eyes flared crimson red.
Her fingernails lengthened in a flash, dark and deadly, stretching into talons before anyone could react.
The ground vanished beneath her feet.
One heartbeat, she was helpless and the next, she was airborne.
Her hand drove straight into the man's chest.
Bone cracked and flesh tore.
He didn't even have time to scream.
Romilda ripped his heart out in a single brutal motion, blood splattering across her arm as his body collapsed like a discarded shell.
Silence.
The remaining rogues stared at her in frozen terror.
She turned.
Something ancient roared inside her.
Bloodlust surged through her veins, it was hot, intoxicating and terrifying.
It was a feeling she had never known, never imagined, and it thrilled and horrified her all at once.
One rogue tried to run.
He didn't make it.
Romilda was on him instantly, slashing her claws across his throat. Blood sprayed as he fell, gurgling, lifeless before his body hit the ground.
Another rogue spun around, panic etched across his face but he was too slow.
She grabbed him by the neck, fingers tightening with inhuman strength.
Crack!!
His spine snapped cleanly, and she let his body drop without a second glance.
Her chest heaved. Her hands trembled.
One rogue remained.
He stood frozen, staring at her like she was a nightmare made flesh.
Romilda's vision blurred red.
Kill him, the voice inside urged.
"Finish it."
She clenched her fists, claws digging into her palms as she fought the urge with everything she had left.
"No," she whispered, voice shaking. "No more."
With a strangled cry, she turned away.
"Go," she snapped hoarsely.
The rogue didn't hesitate. He ran, crashing through the trees, terror driving him far from her sight.
The power inside her surged once more, wild, uncontrollable and finaly it vanished.
Romilda staggered.
Her legs gave out.
The world tilted, darkening at the edges as the burning in her chest finally faded.
She collapsed onto the forest floor and everything went black.
***
Lisa waited where the forest thinned, just beyond the pack boundary, impatience tapping through her veins.
She hated this place. The damp earth. The buzzing insects. The way shadows clung too closely. But it would be worth it soon.
Romilda would be gone.
She smoothed her dress and glanced toward the trees, lips curling into a satisfied smile.
The rogues she paid were efficient.
Monsters, yes but useful ones.
Any moment now.
She imagined it clearly: blood, fear, silence. The Omega erased like she had always deserved.
Then.
Branches exploded apart.
A man burst from the forest, stumbling with wild-eyed, blood smeared across his chest and arms. He wasn't running with triumph.
He was running for his life.
Lisa stiffened.
"What...?" she stepped forward. "Where are the others?"
The rogue nearly crashed into her before skidding to a stop. His face was gray with terror, breath coming in broken gasps. He looked over his shoulder as if expecting death to leap from the trees.
"She's..." he choked.
Lisa grabbed his arm, nails digging in. "Where is Romilda?" she hissed. "Is she dead?"
The rogue let out a hysterical laugh that bordered on a sob.
"Dead?" he whispered. "You think she died?"
Her smile faltered. "What are you talking about?"
He yanked his arm free, backing away from her slowly, eyes never leaving the forest.
"She killed them," he said hoarsely. "Ripped one apart. Tore his heart out like it was nothing."
Lisa's blood turned cold. "That's impossible. She's an Omega."
The rogue shook his head violently.
"No. That thing..." his voice dropped to a whisper, shaking, "that wasn't a werewolf."
Lisa's breath hitched. "What do you mean she isn't a werewolf?"
The rogue's eyes met hers, filled with pure, animal fear.
"She's a vampire."
The word slammed into her like blow.
"She had red eyes," he continued frantically. "Fangs that weren't wolf. Claws like blades. She moved faster than sight like death itself."
Slap!!!
The sound cracked through the clearing.
The rogue staggered, stunned as his hand went to his face.
Lisa's eyes burned with fury.
"It was a simple task," she snapped. "Kill that worthless Omega. And now you stand here telling me cock-and-bull stories?"
She jabbed a finger into his chest.
"Do I look like a child to you?"
Her voice dropped, icy and final.
"Well, let me make this clear. I'm not paying a single penny for your failure."
The rogue's shock turned into rage.
His face twisted as he straightened, eyes flashing dangerously.
"You should've known your opponent better before sending us," he growled. "That girl is not normal."
Lisa scoffed. "Spare me."
He stepped closer, voice low and threatening.
"You will pay me. Every coin. You don't want an enemy like me in your life."
Lisa laughed softly, it was cruel and fearless.
"Do your worst," she said.
"No dead Romilda. No money."
She turned on her heel and walked away, dress swaying, not sparing him another glance.
Behind her, the rogue stood shaking with fury.