Alpha Siege (Omega Mates #1) - Pearl Tate Page 0,1

woman on her left. “No, she’s got blood coming out of her nose. Something isn’t right.”

Well, that’s not the only thing! I finally made it to where I was born—or fairly close, anyway. Now, I remember arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport. I had planned some sightseeing and touring around the surrounding areas after the three-day weekend conference.

This was the first time I’ve traveled alone so far from the U.S. where I was adopted at six-years-old. Entertaining the idea of leaving my dog for any length of time—even three days like this seminar—has not been something I’d ever considered. But Baxter was twelve this past year when he finally succumbed to the cancer. It’s been a long month without him, and I’d hoped that this trip would give me a little reset.

This “trip” is going to give me more than a reset! It’s going to give me a heart attack! I can barely look outside and my heart feels like it’s going to explode in my chest.

The entire contraption that we’re traveling in appears to be slowly rotating in a counterclockwise fashion as we move over the terrain that I can barely peek at. Pinning my back to the seat, I close my eyes tight. One thing I know from the brief glimpses I’ve had at the ground, our surroundings appear to be daylight, but the foliage and land below us has a deep purple tinge—as if it’s dusk or evening. I can’t explain it.

“It looks like she’s coming around.” I don’t recognize this voice, so I’m guessing it’s the person on the other side of her?

“Yeah,” says the woman on my left. “Yeah, hey. Hey!” There’s a low level thumping sound, and I realize that she’s banging on the enclosure on her other side of me. “Hey… Yeah… are you okay?”

Whoosh!

My ears pop as a great pressure seems to sink through my entire body with an almost snapping sensation. Nausea overcomes me, and I glance down, wondering if I can push against my restraints far enough to throw up between my legs or if I’m going to have a pile of vomit on my lap... probably... eventually.

“What the fuck!” This comes from the brunette to my right as I watch her white knuckles tighten on the arm rest she’s gripping next to me.

Her hand looks so close. I’ve never missed human contact as much as I do right at this moment. The urge to reach for her is overwhelming.

Screaming ensues, and I’m wondering what the hell happened now. Swallowing down the bile in my throat, I peer to my left and realize that the black-colored glass of the pod two seats over is now missing! I can hear all of us breathing heavily as I press my back against the seat, blinking hard as I consider the option that I’m still sleeping… and maybe this is a dream?

“She’s gone! She’s gone! She’s gone…”

“Shut the fuck up!”

There’s silence except for our heavy breathing after that. There’s probably ten seconds before I finally lean forward to peer over the woman to the left of me again. “Is she…?” I gesture to the other side of her.

Her enormous eyes meet with mine. I’m sure I look just as petrified as she does. She’s nodding until she drops her head into her hands.

“I’m Sunny,” I don’t know what else to say, but I listen to a chorus of voices coming from what must be a speaker system between our pods. I don’t know what else to call the tiny glass cubicles we’re all sitting in back to back.

“I’m Gail.”

“Alina.”

“Tessa.”

The brunette on my right with straight dark hair falling to her shoulders adds, “Lori.” She only sits forward to glance at me before dropping back against her seat and closing her eyes.

I study the African-American woman sitting to the left of me. She’s quietly slumped forward, and I can tell from the way her shoulders shake that she’s most likely crying. In an attempt to distract her, I blurt out, “What happened to your hair?” Her thin hands move from her face to pat at her Afro that bounces under her palm.

“Lower… I mean, did you just shave it down lower?”

Her head jerks up at my words as her hand drops lower to touch the shorter area that starts at about her ears. “What the… my hair!”

“This just keeps getting better and better.” The bitter tone of the speaker has me wondering what’s going on. Sure enough, my eyes lock with my neighbor