Vonn: The Boundarylands Omegaverse: M/F Alpha Omega Romance, Callie Rhodes [english novels for beginners .txt] 📗

Chapter Four

Vonn had no idea who this woman was or why she'd come to the Boundarylands, but he breathed in the acrid scent of deception with every breath. Her body vibrated from the effort, her eyes darted ever so slightly to the side. Every part of her being exposed her as a liar.

She was good at it; he'd grant her that. Her lies went to her very core. Her bullshit lacked the self-conscious awkwardness—almost as if she believed her deceit to be righteous. She would have no trouble convincing a beta, even one trained to detect dishonesty—but no one lied well enough to fool an alpha.

Still, she was skilled enough that Vonn was having trouble wading through all the crap she spouted to find the smallest kernel of truth. So far, every word had been bullshit.

She was no trader. Even if he wasn't able to literally sniff out a lie, he would have caught that one. Any enterprising smuggler worth their salt knew there was no market for medical supplies in the Boundarylands.

On the other hand, the woman's every action, the emotions he sensed, reflected an organized, structured, lawful mind. She might be a liar, but she was not a cheater or a thief. Whoever she was, she lived for rules.

But most importantly, she wasn't a beta…and she knew it.

Even if Vonn had somehow been fooled by whatever wizardry she was using to keep her true nature hidden, he would have known by her reaction to his touch. While she did her best not to show it, she hadn't been able to hide the powerful scent of relief pouring off her. These days no female smuggler would come within miles of the Boundarylands without first taking the test to make sure they weren't a dormant omega. And while most women weren't exactly anxious to get up close and personal with an alpha, none reacted like this.

Though he couldn't prove it—yet—Vonn was certain that she was somehow deliberately keeping her true nature hidden. Which meant that there was something terribly wrong going on here.

And he was going to root out what the hell it was.

The animalistic part of Vonn's alpha nature knew precisely what she was…and demanded satisfaction. If his touch wasn't working, there were other options. Whether technology or sorcery, her bag of tricks wouldn't be much help in the face of his kiss.

Vonn tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her forward, meaning to take her in his arms for an embrace that would establish exactly what was going on between them…but that wasn't what happened.

She offered no resistance until the very last moment. Then she twisted her body and deftly slipped through the gap between his arm and his ribs while holding tightly to his wrist.

Vonn roared in frustration as he realized what she'd done. Yeah, it hurt like hell—she'd twisted his elbow and shoulder joints into an unnatural position—but the brief shock of pain didn't bother him a fraction as much as having been outwitted. The woman was smart enough to release her grip as soon as she was behind him, obviously aware of how easily he could overpower her despite her hold.

Sure enough, by the time Vonn turned to face her, she was back in a defensive position, slightly crouched with one foot behind her. His instincts had been right: this woman wasn't some merchant but a trained fighter.

A bolt of heat rocketed through Vonn at the notion of his omega being a firebrand. He'd always gone after the fiercest prostitutes, the ones who enjoyed provoking almost as much as the consequences. After all, dominance meant little if it wasn't earned.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that this was much more than a show. She wasn't some fetishist, and she was clearly too smart to be running a con in the Boundarylands of all places.

Something much deeper was going on here. Something sinister—and it was screwing with his destiny.

Vonn's roar of frustration had temporarily silenced the camp and the roadhouse, and the only sounds were the crackling of the fire and the occasional call of a night bird. And the woman's breathing, of course…and the faint, steady beat of her heart.

The silence should have given her pause. Alphas on edge were generally considered a bad portent. But the woman showed no sign she even noticed, the fight and determination in her eyes undiminished. For such a slender thing, she certainly had an alpha-sized dose of confidence.

But it was time to put a stop to this. For her own sake, she needed to learn that she couldn't go around doing shit like this. Another alpha could easily have become enraged. If that had happened, she would no longer be breathing.

And once Vonn had driven that lesson home… he'd go after her secrets, and he wouldn't stop until he knew everything there was to know about his omega.

Vonn dug his heels into the spongy blanket of pine needles on the ground, then launched himself at her again, focusing his energy with a guttural bellow that shook the trees.

The woman didn't even flinch. Instead, she dropped down into a crouch, tucking herself into a tight ball, and his battle cry turned into a howl of frustration as only his shin impacted with her, knocking him off balance. Vonn briefly—and bizarrely— found himself hurtling through the air before landing on his ass in the dirt.

A hot metallic taste washed over his tongue, and he spat coppery drops of dark red.

Vonn shook his head in disbelief. He'd faced off against a woman—and he was the one bleeding. His pride stung way more than his cut lip or bruised ass, and he was on his feet in an instant.

The woman wasn't near as quick to recover. She struggled to stand, favoring the side he'd crashed into, and Vonn realized that even the glancing, ineffective contact with his shin had done some damage.

But it