MARKED BY DECEPTION

10-ROSITA

“That's him”, I followed Simon's eyes, they rested on a tall, lightskinned, dark- haired man.

“Who?”I asked, unsure of who he was talking about. This was the first time I was seeing a man dressed like that here, all cleaned up.

He dropped his hoe on the dirt tired, “the alpha,Cornelius”, he breathed out, cleaning a sweat that traveled down his face.

I took another look at him, I could only see him from the side so I could not fully appreciate his full features but from my view, I swore that he was really young.

Probably the youngest alpha I had set my eyes on.

A clap roared , “Good job everybody!”, he smiled at us as we tilled the ground.

“Sigh!” I heard Simon hiss at his encouragement. He hated that we got the jobs of farmers, instead of soldiers. I, on the other hand, didn't mind. It gave me some kind of peace, I’ve always loved playing around with soil.

Looking at him , supervising us tugged my old heart. That look on his face showed that he cared, even for the lowly of people.

‘Could Brandon do this?’I hated that I found myself thinking that. I’d never been sentimental when it came to missions but I couldn’t help but think if destroying this park , killing this man was worth the pennies Brandon would give.

My mind had started to change as soon as I stepped into the pack. I swore this would not happen but i guess as you become older, you start to crave peace and fulfillment. I was finding fulfillment in a foreign land, I loved farming here, I in fact looked forward to it.

Regardless of my feelings,It would be unwise to let my heart waver.So, I prayed to the moon goddess in the past few nights to remove this guilt that ate me up slowly. It was only natural to invade and conquer. I was doing this for my pack,my mother’s pack.

“Are you okay?” A tall figure stood before, the voice I knew belonged to him.

I looked up, meeting his face that had lines on his forehead from concern,“I’m … I’m just a bit tired” I lied.

Seeing him clearly now,he looked like how I imagined Luca to have grown up to be. Same eyes, Same lips, the thought squeezed my heart.

“You can stay in the rest for a few minutes,”he pointed at a little shelter that had a bar attached to it, “request for glucose”, he smiled and walked away.

That little interaction solidified that Brandon could never treat us this way. We were just tools in his eyes. As I walked to the shelter, I wondered, “could I actually kill this lad?”, would I be able to forgive myself if I did?

My mind was at war, if I didn’t follow the rules I was dead meat. Brandon was going to find me anywhere and rip my heart out of my chest.

Sigh.

I collapsed on the wooden bench at the shelter, overwhelmed by my tormenting thoughts. I noticed an eye looking at me,

"Good afternoon Ma’am”, I smiled at the bartender, a woman I guessed was in her mid-thirties.

“Good afternoon”, she smiled back at me, they reached her eyes, adding a sparkle to them, She walked over to my table to take my order;

“What do you want please?”, her voice was soft and welcoming me but i couldn’t compliment because of the torture that started within me at the sight of her.

Her scent slammed through me! Sharp and consuming, stopping all my senses.

Mate?

“Sir?!”, she said confused as I had fallen silent, did she not feel it? Was it because I had concealed my original scent?

My mouth had suddenly become dry, all I could think about was claiming her right there and now.

“Glucose—”,I managed to say. “the alpha said glucose would be the best”. I watched as she wrote it down, jealous of the pen that was opportune to be held by her.

A few minutes had gone by before she walked in with my glucose water in a glass cup.

“Thank you”, I took it from her, brushing my fingers against my skin as I did.I studied her face, did she feel it? That zing?

She did. That surprised gasp she made gave her away. She knew we were mates and I was happy she did.

“My name is Rosita”, she said shyly and walked away briskly. I didn’t even get to introduce myself in return.

“Rosita”, her name rolled off my tongue softly. I took a sip of my drink, hoping it would quench the burn I had started to feel in my heart.

I wanted to take her out of there and bring her to my quarters. I wanted to mark her, all my primal thoughts were rushing into my mind really fast and all at once.I had to control myself before I did something stupid.

‘Oh goddess, why do I have to find my mate in the land I ought to destroy?’

This conflict was only going to get worse from here. I had waited twenty five good years for my mate and she was here all along. I had already given up on the thought of finding her.

Full blood moon pack brought me to her, farming brought me to her.Now I had more reasons to love farming here, and more reasons to request for glucose.

I knew I had to keep this revelation to myself. None of the other omegas would understand, they all had their selfish interests at heart.

I didn’t want anyone to hurt Rosita,and I wondered what great risk I'd put her in if I shared I just found my mate. I had just met her today but the urge to protect her forever and give her a good life was strong. Very strong.

Simon was a crazy man, a man with no emotional regulation. Very dangerous if you asked me, I wondered how Lyra had survived so far. He was insane and egotistical, loved chaos more than life.

Lyra on the other hand, I would have loved to share this with her, considering she’s a female, but no, she reeked of desperation. Desperation for freedom. I couldn’t tell what that kind of desperation could do to a person and it was best not to find out. I just prayed whatever she was looking for in life she got, she seemed like a sweet child.

Jeremiah and John. Those brothers were very selfish, especially Jeremiah. I’ve not found out much about them aside from that, but something about Jeremiah screamed trouble.

It was best to save and protect Rosita in my heart.

I drank, my eyes glued to her as she carried out her work. She knew it, she turned a couple times, flashing a nervous smile at me, displaying her perfect dentition.

Oh Rosita, I hope you’d love me after finding out the kind of man I am.