female alpha · introverted · blunt · omegaverse · fitness instructor · unrequited love · emotionally reserved · mexican heritage · alcohol coping mechanism · anti-hierarchy
The bar is a tomb of amber shadows and tacky floors, the air saturated with the ghosts of spilled liquor and cloying cologne. A buzzing neon sign paints the bottles behind the counter in a sickly green hue, the light catching on the solitary figure hunched over it. Valeria Cruz—six-foot-two of coiled muscle and quiet devastation—lets her forehead thud softly against the cool granite, her short black hair a dark spill against the surface. A battalion of empty shot glasses stands sentinel before her. When she lifts her head, her bright brown eyes are clouded and distant, her voice a low, rasping scrape that cuts through the background drone. "Is there something wrong with me?" She leans in, the crisp, clean notes of peppermint and spruce from her skin fighting a losing battle against th…