Page 24 of Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals #5)

Chapter Twenty-Four

HAYDEN

“ Hayden ? What’s the matter?” Ryley’s soft question jolted me out of my spiraling panic. “ You look a little flushed.”

“ Uh , yeah…” I cleared my throat.

The blazing brightness of the shimmering golden threads softened and dimmed. They weren’t gone, I could still feel them in the core where my magic lived, but they started to fade from sight.

As one, the people in the pub moved closer to me. Ryley’s eyes widened, and he leaned closer to me.

“ Sit the fuck down,” Paws shouted. His words vibrated through the room. “ Give the alpha some damn space. We all knew he was our alpha, nothing’s changed, so sit your asses down.”

People grumbled, but they did as the cat said. I let out a shaky breath.

“ Ash ,” Paws said, “go check the board. Who won? ”

Ryley’s forehead crinkled, and his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “ What’s going on?”

I wiped my hand down my face. “ I , uh, may have acknowledged the people in Willow Lake as my pack in my head, and the Eternal Magic jumped on it and let everyone know I was now their alpha. It bothered me for a minute there, but I’ll figure it out. I don’t have any other choice.”

“ Was that what I felt?” Ryley rubbed his chest.

I nodded. “ I don’t think most people could see it, but there were these magical thread things connecting me to the pack. There was one going to you too.”

“ But I’m not your pack,” Ryley said, blinking at me like he didn’t understand, his forehead furrowing even deeper in his confusion.

My chest spasmed at his words. He didn’t mean to hurt me; I knew that. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t understand, and I didn’t blame him. But it still stung.

“ You could be,” I said. “ I would like you to stay.”

“ You would? But I’m …” He glanced around, as if suddenly remembering the room was full of supes. He was worried about having a mundane human as a father again. As if any of these people would care about something like that, but he’d figure that out, eventually.

I’d love to track down his damn herd and hurt them as much as they’d hurt Ryley . An angry alpha wolf shifter set loose in a herd of fauns could do a bit of damage, especially with the Eternal Magic as my sidekick. Because she would have my back in this case, I just knew it.

“ Of course I would. I think you belong here, if you want to stay. ”

His eyes were glossy, but he didn’t look away. “ I might like that, for a little while. We could try it for a bit. See if it works.”

On impulse, I raised his hand to my lips and kissed it softly. “ I think this will work.”

People hooted. Shit , I’d forgotten we were in the pub.

A few tables over, Daphne Rivers said, “ I told you we needed to be here tonight, and I was right, wasn’t I ?”

A series of curses cut across the room of hushed whispers. I glanced over to see Ash struggling to get a vintage sign down. The bets were usually taped to the side that faced the wall. I supposed it was a good hiding spot, but I was a little disappointed that they hadn’t found a different place for this last bet. Jake , who owned the place, had been the subject of a betting pool for almost a year and had never known it was there, but I had.

“ Dillon ,” Paws said, “go help your mate get the board off the wall. He’s too short to unhook it.”

“ Fuck off, Paws ,” Ash shouted back. “ I’m not short. The damned wire is caught on the hook. I just need to…” His words tapered off as he wiggled the sign to get it loose.

Flames flared in Dillon’s eyes with the fire of his hellhound as he watched his mate stretch and twist. He jumped up from his seat, his gaze never leaving his mate’s body, and stalked over to Ash . When he got there, he wrapped his hands over Ash’s hips and kissed his neck.

“ Dillon , quit kissing your mate and bring the board over here,” Paws ordered.

“ I think I’m missing something,” Ryley said.

“ They have a bet going on. They wagered when I would accept that I was their alpha,” I explained .

“ You knew?” Jeremy asked.

“ Of course I knew. There is always a bet. So , when no one asked me to place a wager on something after Jake’s bet ended, it was obvious the new bet was about me.”

“ Whatever ,” Paws muttered. “ Just because he figured it out doesn’t invalidate the wager.”

Dillon and Ash returned to the table, smelling of arousal. I rubbed my nose. I hadn’t needed to scent that. Dillon set the board on the table in front of us and circled today’s date on the calendar that showed everyone’s guesses. He frowned at Paws . “ You’re just saying that because you had today as your guess.”

“ Oh ? Did I win?” Paws ’ fake surprise wasn’t fooling anyone. I knew from experience that the cat knew perfectly well what days he had picked. He probably had everyone else’s wagers memorized too.

“ Why does he get to bet?” someone moaned from a nearby table. “ It isn’t like he needs money. Jake feeds him and houses him. Can he even spend money anywhere? I bet he doesn’t even have a bank account or a wallet. Where would he put his winnings?”

“ Come here and say that to my face, asshole,” Paws said. “ Because the last I heard, what I do with my money isn’t any of your business. But , please, keep talking if you don’t want to bet on anything in the future.”

The complainer didn’t say anything more, but I could tell he was wondering who appointed Paws the one who controlled the pub’s betting. I’d pay to watch someone try to wrestle control from the cat. My money would be on Paws . I didn’t know what he was, but he was no mere cat shifter .

The more attention Paws drew to himself, the less panicky I felt. The cat, as if sensing I was thinking about him, winked at me like I was in on a joke, then shouted out more insults and commands. Slowly , people quit staring at me like I was a novelty. I sat back in my seat and watched everyone carry on around me. Except for the lingering warmth in my chest, I could almost pretend it was a normal night at the pub. Almost .

Then Gage and Van rushed into the pub, followed by a whole mob of townsfolk.

I groaned.

Gage and Van pushed through the pub to get to our table. When they arrived, Van stared at me for a long moment, before nodding sharply. “ It’s about time.”

I shook my head. “ Fuck off.”

“ I’m glad to see nothing else has changed,” he said. “ I told you it wouldn’t. You’ve always been Willow Lake’s alpha.”

“ Yeah , yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “ Grab a drink and sit down. I don’t need you towering over me.” I glanced at Gage . “ You should do the same.”

Van glanced around the room.

“ I need to sort out this crowd first.” He went to the bar, where Jake was staring at the massive crowd with a panicked look on his face. Jeremy and Alice had already gone behind the bar to help him. Van said a few words to Jeremy , who nodded and looked relieved. Then they propped open the doors that led to the parking lot, where a bunch of people were waiting to get in.

It was like all of Willow Lake had come. It was almost as if I’d called them here .

But I hadn’t, had I ?

Van whistled, getting everyone’s attention.

“ Anyone parked in the parking lot, get out there and move your vehicle to the road. We’re closing the gate. After that, you can take your drinks outside if you want. No drinking and driving. And this is for tonight only.”

I’d expected Gage to go help his mate behind the bar, but he was studying me with a speculative gleam in his eyes.

“ Stay out of my head.” I pointed my finger at him.

His eyes weren’t changing to red like they did when he used his demon magic, but the way he was looking at me was still weird.

“ I don’t need to read your mind—” Gage paused, obviously for dramatic effect, “— Alpha .” He emphasized the word with a tiny waggle of his eyebrows. He’d clearly been spending too much time with Jeremy and Ogden .

I flipped the demon the bird, earning a smile that flashed the dimples Jeremy was always talking about.

“ Why are you in such a good mood?” I asked when he kept grinning at me. It was unsettling to see the usually grumpy man smiling so much.

He shrugged. “ Willow Lake is happy.” He rubbed his chest and that little smile on his face became a little dopey-looking. “ It’s intoxicating. Literally . I haven’t felt this drunk since I was a wee lad and discovered my grandfather’s stash of magic-infused whisky.”

“ You mean because of the pack?”

He nodded, making light shimmer over the surface of his dark horns. “ The pack, the magic, everything.”

I guessed he would know. As our demon guardian, the guy had bonded to the place. I considered asking if Willow Lake had been unhappy before, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

“ Enjoy your night, Alpha ,” he said. Then he wandered off toward the bar to help Jake , or at least offer him moral support.

I glanced around the pub. People were everywhere. The place had to be overcapacity, but neither Van , the Chief of Police , nor Carter , the Fire Chief , were sending anyone away. And , despite the crowd having been drawn here because of me, no one was getting into my space. Everyone just seemed to be happy to be here, mingling with their family and friends. Their pack.

And , damn it, Van was right. We’d always been in a pack, but now that I’d acknowledged it, something had changed. I closed my eyes, and I knew Gage was right, too. Happiness was zinging through the air.

The assholes were going to be insufferable after this.

Because Willow Lake —the people, the place, the pack—was happy. That feeling of joy was a physical presence both in the room and inside me.

I rubbed my chest where the warm pack magic hummed.

Would it feel like this all the time? I doubted it. Sensations like this always went away. The world felt wonderful and full of opportunity when you were a child, but then you grew up. Orgasms felt amazing in the moment, but then they were gone. My family and my pack had once filled me with a sense of belonging, but then so many of them had abandoned me .

As soon as I had the thought, the dazzling streams of light disappeared completely.

Ryley’s fingers twitched against my palm where our hands were clasped under the table, drawing my attention back to him. Holding hands with him, that felt good too. And , if we kissed tonight, I expected that would feel damn spectacular. But those things wouldn’t last either. Even if he was my mate.

Nothing good stayed for long.

I needed to remember that. But , for tonight at least, all I wanted to do was jump into that feeling. Cling to it. Savor it. Memorize it. That way, when I was alone again, I would have something amazing to remember during those long winter nights in my trailer behind the shop.