Page 20 of Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals #5)

Chapter Twenty

RYLEY

Hayden grumbled when he shoved clothes into a plastic shopping bag. He grumbled when he threw his bag into his truck. He grumbled when he drove us the short distance to the inn.

None of that surprised me. But what was surprising? For as much as he grumbled, he was obeying the doctor’s instructions.

Not being able to shift into his wolf earlier must have really rattled him.

When we pulled up to an old three-story brick building, Hayden frowned at the six people and the fat calico cat standing in a line outside the doors to the inn. It almost looked like they were there to welcome us in the driveway, like we were walking into a Downton Abbey spin off. People didn’t normally stand around like that. It was weird. Unless they thought Hayden was going to dump me on their doorstep and run .

Actually , yeah. I could see why they might think that.

At the far end of the building was a one-story extension that had a pub sign over the door. I hoped they served food there because, with everything that’d happened today, we’d forgotten to eat lunch. I was starving. Although I often forgot to eat when I was working on a project, today had been an exhausting day and I was ready to devour something big and greasy. I hoped they had more vegetarian options than just French fries.

Hayden hopped out of his truck and grabbed the plastic bag with his clothes and other necessities. I grabbed my backpack and followed him. Everyone smiled and looked relieved when we approached. I recognized a few people: Jeremy , Adrian , and Isaac . But there were others I didn’t know too. Two of them, a demon and the man standing next to him, looked surprised when they saw me. They exchanged a look that I wished I could interpret.

“ What are you all doing out here?” Hayden asked, glaring at each of them one at a time, including the cat.

“ Waiting for you,” Jeremy said with a wide smile. “ We had the whole thing worked out for what we’d do if you tried to drive away. I named it Operation : Stop the Alpha Before He Does Something Stupid Again .”

“ It’s like they know you,” I said to Hayden .

That earned me a glare of my own. I laughed. Then Jeremy motioned me closer.

“ You’ve met some of us but let me introduce the others.” Jeremy motioned to the demon. I hadn’t met many of his kind in my life, but after you’ve met one demon, you never forgot what they looked like. “ This is Gage , also known as Mr . Dimples . Don’t worry, he’s bonded to Willow Lake , so he won’t murder you.”

“ For Magic’s sake, Jeremy ,” Adrian muttered.

“ Well , it’s true,” Jeremy said with a little shrug.

Gage’s dark horns glinted in the sun as he reached out to shake my hand. His horns were way more impressive than mine, although at least mine disappeared when I was in my human form. It was one of the quirks of demons that their horns were just always there, no matter what form they took. The only people who didn’t see them were humans who hadn’t seen under the Eternal Magic’s glamour yet.

“ I’m Gage Stewart . You can call me Gage ,” he said. “ Welcome .”

“ So , Mr . Dimples isn’t your formal name. Good to know,” I said, making the demon grimace.

Jeremy snickered. Next , he gestured to the young man with curly brown hair standing beside the demon. “ And this is his mate, Jake . Jake owns the place. He’s also an oracle and a painter. He kind of does it all.”

“ Well , now that we’re bonded, Gage and I both own the place,” Jake amended as he shook my hand next. “ And please don’t ask for a reading or whatever. I can’t do it on command. But I’m glad you are here. Probably happier than you could know.” His gaze darted over to Hayden , then back to me.

“ Over there is Teague ,” Jeremy said, pointing to a young-ish looking guy with reddish-brown hair. He had an average boy-next-door look about him. “ He is our death mage, but don’t worry about that. He’s one of the good guys. ”

Teague looked confused at Jeremy’s implication that he might not be a good person because of his magic. But he shook my hand. Then the cat, who was standing beside Jake , shook out its tri-colored fur and seemed to clear its throat.

“ Don’t worry, Paws , I didn’t forget you.” Jeremy pointed at the cat. “ And this is Paws , also known as Pawington the Third .”

“ A pleasure, I’m sure. Yours , not mine,” the cat said, tilting its head up regally.

“ As he likes to remind us,” Jeremy continued, “his pronouns are he and him. He insists we tell everyone from the start, so no one stares at his you know…” He gestured to his crotch.

“ Um , okay. Hello .” I waved at the cat. I didn’t think you shook hands or paws or whatever with cats. I was pretty sure that was exclusively a dog thing. But I also knew this was no mere cat. I didn’t know what he was, but magic clung to him.

“ I think you met everyone else last night,” Jeremy said, motioning to Isaac and Adrian . “ But we might see some others inside.”

“ Can we go in now?” Hayden said. “ Or do you want to introduce him to all the trees and shrubs too?”

“ I’ll grab your keys and show you where your rooms are,” Jake said, ducking inside the door.

We followed him.

The doors opened into a large room with a reception desk to the right. Between the outside wall and the desk was a hallway. My stomach rumbled at the sight of the sign that said it led to the pub. I hoped we’d be going down that corridor soon.

The rest of the space was big and empty. There wasn’t a bit of furniture in there and the walls were bare. On the far side of the room was a wide opening that led into another large room with a bunch of mismatched tables that looked like they’d been sourced from the side of the road on garbage day. The dining room, perhaps?

“ Sorry ,” Jake said, catching my assessing gaze. “ We’re in the middle of doing some renovations, so things are a little unfinished at the moment. The tables are temporary until we can all agree on what we want. Although , between you and me, we’ll probably just go with whatever Isaac suggests.”

I shook my head. I didn’t want the guy to feel bad about the place. “ It looks great and I bet it’ll be fantastic when you’re finished.”

Jake nodded. “ Isaac has been amazing. He’s overseeing most of the renos. We’re just doing what he says. Anyway , here we go, your rooms are on the second floor. They should be stocked with all the various common toiletries from shampoo in the shower to lube in the nightstand, but if you are looking for something you don’t see, let me know. Do you want help with your bags?”

I glanced at my backpack and Hayden’s plastic bag and shook my head.

“ We’re fine, Jake . Thanks for letting us stay here,” Hayden said. “ I appreciate it. And don’t worry. We can find our own way.”

Considering how gruff he’d been with Van and some of others, he was surprisingly gentle with Jake . I wondered what that meant, but before I could figure it out, Hayden scooped up the keys from the counter and turned to the stairs by the desk. He seemed to know where to go, so I followed behind him.

The stairs dumped us into a wide hallway. Another set of stairs continued up, but Hayden ignored them and marched all the way down the hallway like he owned the place. His hand clenched around the old-fashioned keys as he turned to the last door on the right.

It was only then that he glanced at the numbers on the keys. He swallowed and checked the sign on the door.

“ Right .” His voice cracked. “ I’ll stay in this one.”

He offered the other key to me. I took it, but I didn’t retreat down the hall to find my own room. I stayed at Hayden’s side. He didn’t seem to notice as he pushed the key into the lock and opened the door. He swallowed hard as he looked inside the room without entering it.

“ Something wrong?” I asked.

He jolted like he’d forgotten I was standing there.

“ Huh ?”

“ Is something wrong with the room?” I studied his face. “ You look like you saw a ghost or something.” Given the age of the place, I suspected more than a few ghosts lingered around the place, but I didn’t think werewolves could see them.

He shook his head, then his gaze darted back to the room. “ Nothing’s wrong. This used to be my room. Years ago.”

“ Your room? You lived at an inn?” Had he been homeless ?

“ This used to be the pack house,” he said. “ My dad was the alpha.”

Oh . That was good to know. People’s deference to him made so much sense now.

I peered into the room. Everything was new, from the paint to the sturdy furnishings to the fluffy cream-colored blankets and crisp white sheets on the bed. If Isaac had really made all the decisions, he had a good eye. The place was cozy and comfortable, but still elegant.

Compared to the hallway and the staircase, which showed decades of wear, the room looked brand new. I doubted the space had looked like this when Hayden had lived here but, based on the way Hayden was staring at it, I wondered if he was even seeing what was here or if he was caught up in his memories.

“ Come on, let’s get settled,” I said.

“ Your room is next door, I think.” His face contorted with pained emotion as he glanced down the hallway. He covered his emotions quickly, but I figured his memories were still getting the better of him.

I slipped his hand in mine and guided him into the room. Once we were inside, I shut the door and dropped my backpack on a luggage stand. When he did nothing but stand frozen where I’d left him, I pulled the plastic bag that held his clothing from his clenched hand and set it on a little table by a window. Then I approached him cautiously, making sure he could see me coming, not stopping until I was standing right in front of him. I pushed my glasses up and tilted my head back to look at him.

“ Are you okay?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he worked his throat. He opened his mouth like he was going to speak, but he nodded instead. Except it was obvious he wasn’t fine, and he was shit at hiding it.

“ Do you want me to show you where your room is?” he asked.

“ Nah . I’m good staying here with you.” I probably should have asked him if he was comfortable with that before making my decision, but I wasn’t leaving him alone right now, no matter how he might have answered.

His forehead furrowed. “ They gave you your own room.”

“ Meh .” I shrugged. “ I’ve decided I’m staying with you.”

“ Why ?” His confusion was turning into suspicion. At least he wasn’t frozen in place anymore.

“ Do you want a list?”

“ Is this about the kiss?” He licked his bottom lip.

“ Do you want it to be about the kiss?” I waggled my eyebrows.

He stepped back and rubbed his forehead. “ Why do you keep answering my questions with more questions?”

The guy had been through a lot today, what with his shift not working and his brother trying to kill him. I shouldn’t have teased him.

There were several ways I could answer him, and all of them would be the truth. I opted for the one that would tug on his alpha instincts, since those seemed to drive a lot of what he did. Maybe thinking about someone other than himself would jolt him out of the past.

“ I don’t think I can sleep in a strange room by myself tonight.” I shivered. “ The last time that happened, I was abducted.”

“ Robbie wouldn’t dare attack you here.”

“ I know you’re right, but is everything you feel and think logical?”

“ Fair .” He eyed me more closely. “ What else? What aren’t you telling me?”

I met his gaze steadily. “ I don’t trust you to stay put. The doctor trusted me to keep you safe and I failed. I won’t mess up again.”

Hayden scowled and turned away from me. He stalked to the window and yanked open the curtains to peer out at the trees. I could still see his face reflected in the window.

“ Why are you squishing up your face like that? You know it is true.”

“ I’m responsible for my own actions,” he said.

“ Sure . But that doesn’t change how I feel.”

“ How you feel? Right . You think I’m no better than a young pup who needs to be babysat.” He was all bristly and sharp. His back was rigid. His hands clenched into fists. His jaw was tight.

I sidled up to him, pressing my front to his back, and wrapped my arms around his tense body, pleased when he didn’t pull away. He was taller than me, so I rested my head against his back, right between his shoulder blades. He was warm and solid, and I kind of wanted to melt into him.

“ Well , that’s not all that I feel,” I whispered. “ We should talk about the kiss.”

He inhaled sharply .

“ I want to try it again. You know, when we don’t think we’re going to die.”

With my ear pressed to his back, I could hear the tempo of his heart pick up.

“ This is a terrible time to do this,” he said. “ You just escaped from that tunnel. I had no business putting you in danger again. You aren’t?—”

I smacked his chest, not enough to hurt him, but enough to get his attention. He stopped talking. “ If you are going to say I’m not capable of making decisions right now or I’m suffering from some kind of white knight syndrome or I’ve imprinted on you like a baby duck, you can stop. I’m old enough to know my mind. I’m old enough to know what I want. I’ve been on my own for over a decade. I created a life and a business all on my own with no support.”

“ I hate that no one was there to support you. That’s so fucking wrong. What a bunch of assholes.”

Yeah , it had sucked, but I’d survived. I didn’t regret what’d happened. But Hayden’s unequivocal belief that my herd was in the wrong made me smile. This guy. I snuggled closer.

“ Thank you, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make,” I said. “ Just because I’m smaller than you, and my supernatural form doesn’t lend itself to fighting, doesn’t mean I’m weak or weak-minded. So , fuck off with all those thoughts. The only thing you need to be thinking about is if you want to kiss me again too.”

He didn’t answer for several long minutes. Then he brought his hands up and covered mine with his where they were pressed against his torso .

“ And if I do?” he whispered.

“ Then we have a plan. I’ll stay in this room with you. But we’ll go downstairs and get something to eat because I’m starving, and I know you could stand to eat something too. After that, we’ll come back up here and kiss again. We don’t have to sleep together—as in the naked, sweaty kind of sleeping together— I’m sure they have a cot kicking around somewhere. But we’re going to stay in this room together. I think both of us will feel better that way.”

His chest was rising and falling quickly. “ You are sure you don’t want your own room?”

“ Do you not want me in here? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I won’t force myself on you,” I said, even as I kept my arms wrapped around Hayden . “ If you don’t want me here, I’ll go.”

His hands tightened on mine, and he shook his head. “ I want you to stay.”

I closed my eyes and hugged him tighter. “ Good .”