Chapter 72
LIZA
The dream began like a soft watercolor, hues blending together as a scene from my early childhood took shape.
I looked to be about three or four years old, and the world seemed so much bigger, brighter, and full of possibilities.
The grass was cool beneath my small feet, tickling my toes as I ran across the lawn.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, dappling my pale blonde hair with golden spots.
Beside me, a little boy giggled as we played together. Although his features were strikingly similar—that same blonde hair and bright blue eyes that could pierce your soul—I knew for sure it wasn’t Castro. We were playing tag, our laughter echoing through the air as we chased each other in circles.
“Can’t catch me,” he teased, sticking his tongue out playfully while darting around a tree.
I giggled, the innocent sound bubbling up from deep within my belly, and chased him as fast as my little legs would carry me.
Somehow, even in my dream, I knew this to be an actual memory. I recognized the pure joy that only comes with the innocence of childhood.
“Watch me!” I called out, my youthful confidence shining through. My chest tightened with excitement as I closed the distance between us, my small hand reaching out to touch his shoulder.
Just as I was about to tag him, he whirled around and scooped me into his arms, spinning us both around in a dizzying whirlwind of laughter and sunlight. I squealed in delight, the feeling of weightlessness thrilling me to my core.
“Gotcha,” he declared triumphantly as he set me back on the ground, a mischievous grin plastered across his face.
I laughed, the warmth of our friendship radiating through me like sunshine.
“Aw, you win.” I was panting slightly. “I get you next.”
“Deal.” He nodded solemnly, extending his pinky finger toward me in a childish gesture of agreement. I hooked my own pinky around his, sealing our pact with an air of importance that only children can truly understand.
“Pinky promise?” I asked, my eyes wide and searching as I sought reassurance in his gaze.
“Promise.” The conviction in his voice solidified our bond. We stood there for a moment, simply basking in the joy of each other’s company, before collapsing onto the grass in another fit of giggles.
We lay side by side, our fingers intertwined and our breaths mingling in the warm summer air.
I was at peace in the dream—something I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.
It was a fleeting moment, a snapshot of innocence captured within the confines of a dream, but it was beautiful, and real, and it belonged to me.
Slowly, the colors faded, the edges of the dream blurring as reality called me back from the depths of slumber.
The bright sunlight dimmed to the soft gray light of morning filtering through the curtains of the master suite.
Laughter echoed one final time before dissipating into silence, leaving only the faintest trace of memory in its wake.
I blinked, disoriented and confused as the remnants of the dream clung to the edges of my consciousness.
Who was that boy? Why had he appeared in my dreams now, after all these years?
I tried to hold on to the memory, to grasp at the fading strands of emotion and connection, but it all slipped through my fingers like sand, lost to the reality of waking up as an adult.
Not just any adult, but one who heard voices in her head and saw figures no one else could see.
I stared up at the ceiling, grappling with the strange sense of longing that tugged at my melancholy heart. I sighed. Yet another mystery for which I had no answers. That dream, that moment of pure happiness, had been a gift, and a glimpse into a past I could never reclaim.
“You okay?” Ty’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I turned my head to see him watching me intently, concern etched into the lines of his face. Guilt coiled like a snake in my insides. Yet another morning I’d woken to see worry across my mate’s handsome features.
“Fine,” I said, smoothing away the worry lines on his forehead with my fingers. I forced a smile and pushed the lingering echoes of the dream to the back of my mind. “Just a weird dream, that’s all.”
“Want to talk about it?” Ty offered gently as he brushed a stray strand of hair from my face.
I hesitated, then shook my head. I didn’t want to delve into the memories just yet. “Not right now,” I said softly. “Maybe later.”
“Okay.” Ty pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, his love and support a warm embrace. “Whenever you’re ready.”
I headed to the bathroom to begin my morning routine, pushing thoughts of the dream aside. I stared at the bags under my eyes, a testament to my disturbed night. Groaning, I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto my face, hoping the shock of it would wash away the lingering fatigue.
Next up was brushing my teeth, and the rhythmic motion had a soothing effect on my jangled nerves. After rinsing my mouth, I began working through the tangles in my hair, wincing as I encountered several particularly stubborn knots. More proof—as if I needed it—of my restless sleep.
I heard Ty take a call from the bedroom, his voice suddenly low and serious.
He’d put it on speaker, allowing me to catch snippets of a male voice.
It belonged to the security guard stationed at the front gate of the estate.
When I heard the word “problem”, my stomach churned. As if we needed any more issues.
“Stay there,” Ty instructed firmly before hanging up, worry darkening his features. “Liza, can you come out here?”
Abandoning my hairbrush mid-stroke, I rushed to join him, anxiety coiling in my gut like a snake poised to strike. “What’s going on?” I tried not to sound too overly concerned, but after everything that had happened recently, my nerves were on the damn edge.
“There’s an issue at the front gate,” he said grimly. “The gate guard on duty said something about a crowd of people trying to get in.”
“Who are they? What do they want?” My mind raced with possibilities, each more unnerving than the last.
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.” Ty’s jaw clenched, steely resolve flashing in his eyes. “Let’s go down to the security office and see what’s happening.”
We got dressed and hurried to the security office down in the estate’s basement, adrenaline pumping through our veins as we prepared to confront the unknown threat. The room was a hive of activity. Security guards huddled around monitors displaying live feeds of various angles around the estate.
“Look at this,” one of them said, pointing to a screen that showed a throng of people gathered outside the front gate. “I have no idea who these people are or what they want.”
“Neither do I,” Ty muttered, his face tight. “But they’re getting restless, and we need to get to the bottom of this as fast as we can.”
While we tried to make sense of the situation, my thoughts drifted back to the dream that had haunted me just hours earlier. The lost happiness, the innocence of childhood… it all seemed so far away now—far away from this ensnaring, ever-growing web of danger and uncertainty.
“All right.” Ty snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. “Let’s figure out a plan to deal with this crowd, and find out why they’re here. We can’t let them storm our property.”
My pulse ratcheted when Ty’s phone rang again, the shrill sound cutting through the tension like a knife. He put the call on speakerphone. “Okay, Isaiah, I’ve put you on speaker so Liza can hear you, too.”
“Good morning, Alpha Keller, Mrs. Keller,” Isaiah said. “I’m imagining right about now you’re wondering what the hell’s going on around the estate? I think I might have some answers for you about that crowd outside your gate.”
“You’d be right. Wanna fill us in?” Ty said, his eyes locked on the monitor, showing the sea of unfamiliar faces.
“They’re there for Liza,” Isaiah explained. “People from all over the country are trying to catch a glimpse of her. They’re fascinated by the idea of an omega, and they want to see it with their own eyes.”
I flinched at being referred to as an “it”.
Although my kind were rare, I refused to be treated like an artifact on display in a fucking museum.
The thought of being the center of attention and having strangers gawking at me made my skin crawl.
It felt so unnerving, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic.
“But I made the announcement weeks ago! When I wasn’t mobbed immediately after, I just figured people didn’t care,” I said in a high-pitched voice that did not sound like my own.
“Seems they only really started believing it now,” Isaiah said.
“Fuck,” Ty muttered. “How bad is it, Isaiah?”
“Bad enough that every Airbnb and all the hotels are fully booked. There’s not a room available in a hundred-mile vicinity.” Isaiah sighed into the phone. “I wish I had better news for you, but I’m afraid this isn’t going away anytime soon.”
I listened with one ear as Ty finished up the call, a sinking feeling settling in my stomach. This was bad. All these people were here because of me. Then I remembered the incident at my office the other day—two strangers taking photos of me through the window.
Shit. I’d forgotten to tell Ty. Would he be pissed that I hadn’t told him until now? Did I really have to ask myself that question? Of course he would be.
“Hey, Ty. Something like this happened to me the other afternoon.” His eyes widened. “I know I should’ve told you sooner, and I meant to, but I guess it just slipped my mind.”
The muscles in Ty’s jaw contracted. He was more than a little annoyed. “What exactly happened? Are you telling me a group of strangers bombarded you?”