15. Bodhi
BODHI
W aking up to the intense heat of the sun searing my skin was not pleasant. Second to that was trying to open my eyes, only for it to feel like a knife was etching thousands of tiny cuts on my eyeballs. I knew it was the sand that had found its way underneath my lids, but still, it fucking hurt. I groaned loudly as I tried to lift my upper body off the sandy floor to sit. What a shit show of a night. My body was all kinds of stiff and sore from whatever the hell I’d been drugged with by that silver-haired fucker.
And Raya. That stubborn female would surely be the death of me. I was furious at her, so fucking furious that she had disobeyed my direct order. Instead, she ran directly into the fray, exactly where I hadn’t wanted her.
I smacked my hands in front of me, rubbing them together to get the sand off my palms. Once clean, I rubbed hard at the grit that had attached itself to my facial hair and suit. It poured off everything in a constant stream as I continued wiping until it slowed. My skin was going to be red raw and softer than silk by the end of this.
Taking a moment to orient myself, I looked around, squinting through the glare of the morning to spot all the other Alphas still out cold. Another night of failure. I was not looking forward to this morning’s announcements from the Supreme. I inhaled a sharp breath as I abruptly started to cough from the sheer dryness of my mouth. Sand ground down on my teeth, and I formed a spit ball in my mouth with the last bit of moisture left, spitting it onto the ground in disgust. Fucking hell, it was a bad start to the day.
I mustered up the energy to stand, hoisting myself off the ground, my body stiff and sore. Sand had somehow found its way inside my suit to nestle in alongside my balls. I was already pissed off and hungry, and I’d only been awake for a total of five minutes. I eyed the compound entrance in the distance and prepared myself for the uncomfortable walk ahead. To ease my most pressing problem, I grabbed my suit at the crotch, walking and holding the fabric away from my body to minimise the scraping against the prized goods. I’d be reporting the shit out of these defective suits.
I hobbled back towards the building to shower and change, leaving the other Alphas passed out behind me. They’d be fine. The closer I got to the building, the more pissed off I became when I remembered seeing Raya right near the shield, her eyes glowing vibrantly in the dark as she put her ability to use.
I growled in frustration, pivoting away towards the house, knowing she would’ve gone straight home to Tia to check in on her rather than head to the compound. With every step, my anger heightened. I was in command on that field, and she disobeyed me. That could cost lives. We were meant to be a team.
By the time I’d opened the front door, my main priority was to shower, because with the sand grating against my skin, I couldn’t focus on being rational. I needed to be somewhat rational to deal with her unless I wanted to blow everything up. I’d been so close to kissing her last night. So close, and she’d allowed it. Some of my anger left me at the thought. I’d be getting what I wanted out of this year, I knew it.
I passed Tia on the stairs and quickly checked her over, grateful she was okay as she squeezed my sandy arm, kissing me briefly on the cheek and allowing me the moment of peace I needed. She never asked how it was, just in case we reported another death, but I always noticed how she waited for me by the door. Only when she sighted me did the worry bleed out of her expression.
I took the stairs two at a time, my long legs taking me quickly to Raya’s closed door, the shower forgotten. Not bothering to knock, I turned the knob and threw the thing open as a scream echoed from the room.
“Get out!” Raya yelled as she stood there, wrapped in a towel, her hair dripping wet from her shower, her bare legs on display. I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth as I carelessly took her in with a grin. Raya had an incredible body, one I’d like to take my time with. I craved to touch her in the way I wanted, to show everyone that she was mine.
“I said get out!” Her yelling prompted me to look up at her. Fuck. I’d gone into my head again.
But her thunderous expression made me pause. She was angry at me? No. She wasn’t allowed to be.
“No.” I kicked the door closed behind me.
She inhaled a sharp, furious breath before glaring at me. I shot her a mocking grin.
“Angry I’m not following your orders, Raya?” I asked casually, though my own ire was gearing up for war with her.
She gritted her teeth. “No.” My smile grew knowing how difficult that was to get out for her. “I’m angry that you feel you can just barge into my own private space without knocking and expect me to feel okay about it.”
I walked over towards her, right up to her chest, until I was looking down at her, the pink in her cheeks blooming in a way that made my dick twitch.
“I’m sorry.” She blinked, almost disoriented at my apology, before staring up at me. She had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen in my life, a stunning brilliant blue with streaks of white through them almost as unique as her gift. I thought I would die the happiest person in the entire universe if they were the last thing I saw.
She frowned at me, because again, I was fucking staring at her. Omni be damned, I wished I could disorient her as much as she did me.
I lifted my hand to cup her cheek and traced my thumb down her nose and across her lips, both annoyed at her for last night but also eager to see if that moment we shared before we separated for the thinning extended beyond that. Her eyelashes fluttered, and her lips parted. This was it. Raya will be mine and I hers.
But then, something in her expression changed, and she stepped away from me, taking with her the lightness I felt beside her.
My throat bobbed painfully. That hurt more than I cared to ever admit to anyone.
“You disobeyed my direct order last night, Raya.”
She didn’t look away from me but failed to hide the ripple of defiance that crossed her features.
“I saved an Omega.” She straightened up, readying herself for the fight.
My eyes narrowed. “You don’t get it at all. You could have endangered another of your teammates. There is order and leads in our team for a reason.”
She licked her lips in irritation before huffing and turning away from me towards the wardrobe.
I reached out my hand to grab her. “Don’t turn away from me, Raya. I need to know you understand what I’m saying. People die out there every single fucking year.”
She turned back towards me abruptly, forcing me to recoil my outstretched arm, unable to bear the hurt of her stepping away from me again. “I know that, Bodhi, but I saw an opportunity to save an Omega and I took it, and with it, I’ve guaranteed protection for my mum.”
My face scrunched. “What? How?”
“I made a deal with our Supreme. He thought me to be incapable, and I showed him otherwise. Save an Omega, win protections for this family.”
Before I could even respond to a comment like that, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Tia popping her head in, her eyes questioning as she took us both in.
“The Supreme’s address is about to start. I will meet you both downstairs.”
Her gaze dropped to Raya’s wrists before she shifted back up to her face. “You didn’t wear them.”
Raya shakes her head.
“Will you?” Tia asked, though I had no idea what the hell she was talking about.
“Maybe next time.”
Raya turned away from her mum to rummage in her wardrobe and change, seemingly ending that conversation.
The door creaked as Tia threw me a smile and moved to close it again.
“Do you know if they do anything?” Raya turned her head and looked over her shoulder at Tia, right before the door was about to shut.
Tia looked over at an old navy box that had seen better days beside Raya’s bed. “No, I don’t. They just look like jewellery to me.”
Raya nodded and turned back to what she was doing, and I decide at that point I didn’t care to stay in the middle of a conversation I know little about, nor did I care to pry.
“I’ll see you both downstairs.” With that, I left the room only slightly less annoyed than before.
A ll three of us sat uncomfortably in the living room, perched on the small, worn lounge, waiting for the Supreme’s address to commence. The tiny TV in front of us broadcasted a view of the empty podium within our city centre, the Omegas of the Inner Ring flooding the space in front of it.
Raya had irritatingly still not acknowledged me in the way I had wanted her to. She sat beside me, so close that her leg brushed against me repeatedly, but every time I tried to reach for her hand to draw her attention towards me, she moved hers away.
I scowled. The muscles in my face had even begun to ache from the displeasure I had continued to wear since I’d awoken. I’d been so fucking close to kissing her.
It was always one step forward and two steps back with her, a push and pull I didn’t want. But I was so hooked on her pull that I couldn’t seem to give up. Was that the problem maybe? I was acting too desperate? I had never had trouble with gaining a female’s attention up until her. Raya bit her lip and worried it, looking somewhat stressed. I wondered what she was thinking about. I hoped it was me. I smiled at the thought.
“Citizens of the Haven.” Our Supreme’s voice drowned out my thoughts and pulled my attention back to the screen. “Today, we rejoice, as our one Goddess, Omni, has delivered us an Ace.”
The crowd seemed to barely breathe as the oxygen was sucked from our room.
“Whilst many of us hunkered down in the safety of our homes, a champion arose in our ranks, charging into the battle of her own choosing and leading the few failing Alpha shifters to victory for the first time since the birth of our great city.” A practiced smile illuminated his delicately sharp features. My stomach clenched at the sight of him. How could they not see the darkness inside of him?
“ Raya Ward, our saviour, leapt into battle and prevented the theft of an Omega child from our borders.” I chose to focus on the careful blankness of Riley’s expression, attempting to gain control of the raging inferno of emotions inside me.
“When the news was delivered to me this morning, I dedicated time to spend in isolation to commune directly with Omni. She decreed that she had empowered Raya Ward, her Ace, to finally take a stand against the Dominants who have warred against us for so many years.” He smiled and ran his tongue along the bottom of his top teeth, scanning the crowd, clearly pleased with their response. “In memory of all those we have lost, we blessedly thank Omni for the ace in our fight to liberate our future and exterminate the evil that plagues us, once and for all.”
This Omega was insane. Exterminate? We barely survived on that field.
I dared a glance across at Tia, who sat frozen solid, her eyes narrowed on the screen, her mug dipping slightly from her hands.
He still wasn’t finished. My hands wrapped around my knees and squeezed.
“Dearest Raya, we look forward to your next triumph.” With a final, warm smile, he reached over and took Riley’s hand in his own, placing a soft kiss on the back of it. I couldn’t stand the look of reverence on her face.
The broadcast cut out, and a loud knock struck the front door. Raya got up and hurried over to open it, leaving Tia and I to sit and stare, trying to understand everything that was happening. I felt a complete and utter loss of fucking control.
Guards flooded the house, and I immediately stood prepared, as did Tia. But my mouth fell ajar when boxes of food were brought in, guns of various sizes placed on our small coffee table, overwhelming it.
Tia’s mouth open and closed. “Raya… Wha-what?”
The guards filed out, and one saluted Raya. “Thank you for your service, Ace.”
Raya stood with wide eyes before her face erupted into a satisfied smile.
I could only stare at her in shock. She was like a hurricane. She had swept into my life with such ferocity, I couldn’t help but be caught by her. But the same things I liked about Raya, her wildness, her determination, her grit were the exact things that worried me living in a city that demanded discipline. There was no place for the wild and untamed.
Raya walked across and lifted a gun up off the table before looking over to Tia and me triumphantly. “I think our future is looking a whole lot brighter.”