Page 28 of Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals #5)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

RYLEY

“ Are there any bird shifters in town?” I asked as I stared out the window at the woods behind Willow Lake Inn . The room had windows on two walls, north and west. I was standing at the west facing one, so I couldn’t see the sun inching above the horizon from here, but there was a beautiful yellow glow hitting the tops of the dark green pines. The resulting color was a lot like the mating marks we shared.

We weren’t high enough to see the western mountains over the trees, but I bet they would look stunning in this light. We should go up to the next floor and see.

Okay . I might, possibly, maybe have been trying to think of any reason to avoid going downstairs.

“ Yeah . Why ?” Hayden asked warily, looking over my shoulder like he expected to see a flock of peeping sparrow shifters looking in at us .

“ Do you think they’d deliver food up here to our window?”

“ Doubtful .” He wrapped his arms around my waist. His chest pressed against my back, and he rubbed his cheek against my neck. I tilted my head to the side because I loved the feel of his skin against mine. I wanted more. “ What’s going on?”

“ It’s nice up here. With you. Alone .” For all my brave talk in the middle of the night about wanting to be Hayden’s mate, I still felt nauseous about seeing his pack today. The patch of green in my dark hair wasn’t noticeable, but Hayden’s hair was a lot lighter and a striking contrast to the mark. Everyone would know what’d happened as soon as they saw him.

What if they turned their backs on him because of me?

He kissed the side of my neck, making me shiver and press closer to him. My idea for food delivery by winged courier sounded better by the minute. Or we could return to bed and forget about food and the rest of the world. There was water in the bathroom. We’d survive.

“ What else?” For a guy who kept asking questions, he was doing everything in his power to make me forget how to talk. I closed my eyes and savored the feel of his lips on my skin. “ Because I don’t think that’s everything,” he said softly.

“ Probably not.” I sighed. “ Although I do like the idea of staying in bed with you all day.”

“ I like that idea too, but not today,” Hayden said.

I turned to face him. “ Why ? What’s going on today?”

“ I want to meet with Doc . With everything that happened yesterday, I want him to check my magic. I feel stronger than I have in a long time.”

“ You think he’ll let you go looking for Robbie .”

He shrugged and looked out the window at the woods. “ He’s out there. I need to find him.”

“ Don’t go alone. And don’t go until the doctor says you’re healed,” I said, gripping his shirt in my fists. I could see him ignoring the doctor’s orders and sneaking out. And I suspected stowing away a second time would be impossible. He knew to look in the bed of his truck now. “ Promise me.”

“ I promise not to go alone.” The words looked like they pained him, but he’d said them, and I had to trust he’d keep his promise.

“ Good . Because we don’t know how many other traps he’s set out there.”

“ I’ve run those woods a lot,” he said. “ I’ve been fine. Although I can’t figure out why I haven’t come across his scent out there before. It doesn’t make sense.”

“ But you wouldn’t have been fine yesterday.”

His shoulders dropped. “ I know.”

My stomach growled.

“ We should go down and get some breakfast,” he said. When I hesitated, he brushed his lips over mine. “ It’ll be okay. I know it will. Out of all the things I’m concerned about, my pack accepting you isn’t one of them.”

Of course he’d guessed why I was reluctant to go downstairs.

And I hoped he was right, because if anyone was an asshole to him because of me, I had hooves and I wasn’t afraid to use them .

He slipped his hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. “ Ready ?”

“ I guess,” I lied.

We’d just stepped out of the room when a door on the other end of the hallway opened. Jeremy was chattering away to his mate and didn’t notice us. They were close to the stairs, so I hoped they’d go down without realizing we were here. But then Adrian sniffed, and his gaze swung right to us. Jeremy turned to see what’d caught his mate’s attention. Damn it.

“ Hi , guys.” Jeremy’s face lit up when he saw us. “ I was talking to Adrian about today’s events. It’s going to be a-mazing.” Yes , he said the word like it came in two parts and had to be fitted together. “ It sucks that Nelson , Teague , and Davie are missing it. Nelson especially. I really wanted to see how fast he can move through the shadows. But he got a lead about Morgan so he’s off chasing it down. And Davie was called away in the middle of the night to one of those children’s indoor playground things. Man , I loved when my parents took us to places like that when I was growing up. But some ghosts have moved into this one and they are causing problems. She’s called Teague in to help her, but he hasn’t left yet.” Jeremy spoke at a dizzying speed, jumping from one thing to the next.

“ Events ?” Hayden asked when Jeremy paused to catch his breath.

“ Oh ! Right ! You left before the details were finalized,” Jeremy said. “ We’re holding our little mini Olympics , supernatural-style.”

“ Today ?”

“ Yep .” Jeremy nodded vigorously. “ This is going to be so good. I mean, what could be better than seeing a whole bunch of supes doing supernatural things? I’m going to have so much information for my Amazing Book of Super Supes after today.” He rubbed his hands together like a greedy villain in an old-school cartoon. “ We have heaps of people signed up already, but we need to run down to Levi’s and see what kind of bears are at that conference. I couldn’t talk to him yesterday with Parker hanging out with him. But I hope they are the shifter kind of bears. It’d be awesome to have a few out-of-towners taking part too.”

They stood at the landing by the stairs, waiting for us. By the time we reached them, my stomach was churning, and my heart was beating fast. I adjusted my glasses with a shaky hand. Any minute now, they’d see our mating marks.

Hayden looked at Adrian . “ What about the mundanes?”

“ Gage thinks he can keep them away, or at least unaware.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “ He can do that? That’s pretty wild.”

Adrian shrugged. “ We’re not sure what he can do now that he’s bonded to the magic here, but he’s got a strong connection to Willow Lake , and he thinks it is possible. A bit like an extension of the Eternal Magic’s glamour.”

“ Glad to know someone gets along with the Eternal Magic ,” Hayden muttered. He pushed his hand through his hair. The green strands slid through his fingers.

Jeremy gasped. His eyes widened, and he pointed at Hayden’s head. “ Adrian !”

“ I know. I saw it. ”

Jeremy lunged toward me. His reaction took me by surprise, so I didn’t react fast enough to duck. But he didn’t hit me. Instead , he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a bone-bending hug.

“ I’m so excited for you both,” he gushed as he squeezed me tight. “ This is so amazingly awesome. Another fated mate pairing. And it’s the alpha, too!”

When he let go, I staggered back and gasped for air. Then he did the same thing to Hayden . Hayden patted Jeremy on the back awkwardly. “ Uh . Thanks ?”

Adrian hugged each of us too, although he was much gentler about it. Thank Magic for that. I didn’t think I’d survive a hug like Jeremy’s from a wolf shifter.

When the hugging ended, Jeremy grinned at me and waggled his eyebrows. “ So , werewolf sex. Pretty awesome, am I right? The biting? The knotting? No one else really knows, and I feel bad for them. They miss out on so much. Well , I guess Mercer knows, but we aren’t at a BFF stage yet, so we haven’t talked about it. That first time, though, is a bit of a surprise, but in the best way.”

Did that mean I was at a BFF level? Because that was the first time I’d heard of it. As for the rest, I glanced at Hayden . His face was curiously blank. Me ? I tried to keep my face blank too. I didn’t think it mattered whether a person bottomed or topped, but not everyone thought the same way. Sexual positions were about doing what felt good to the people having sex. It was no one else’s business. But other people could be weird about it. I didn’t want anyone to think Hayden wasn’t a powerful alpha because of something intimate that’d happened between us .

“ Jer , not everyone wants to talk about sex with strangers,” Adrian said. Something in his tone told me he’d figured out there had been no knotting or biting for us last night.

“ We aren’t strangers,” Jeremy protested. “ Which reminds me, I really need your number. We have this group chat and—” Jeremy’s words stopped abruptly. He looked between Hayden and me. Realization dawned in his eyes. “ Oh ! Oops . Sorry about that! My dad always told my brothers and me not to assume things because it makes an ass out of you and me.” His gaze bounced between us again. “ But if you guys are vers or want to change things up, I highly recommend?—”

“ Jer , stop talking,” Adrian said, tugging his mate toward the stairs.

“ Can we get breakfast here?” I asked, eager to change the conversation.

“ The dining room isn’t finished yet, but the kitchen has been fully renovated with all the mod cons,” Jeremy said, thankfully leaving the sex talk behind. “ We all make and eat breakfast together. We tried to do lunch and supper as a group, but it was hard to get everyone together, so now we do breakfast. Oh , and we also have a weekly potluck. Jake’s been organizing one for ages and it is a bit of a local tradition now.”

“ You cook together?”

Jeremy nodded. “ We tried assigning different people to make food on different days, but it didn’t really work out. Most of these guys can’t cook for shit, so those people are on toast duty and stuff like that.”

“ Says the guy who wanted everyone to eat one of those sugary cereals the first time it was his turn to do breakfast,” Adrian said with a grimace.

“ Hey ! That’s a rite of passage. Everyone needs to eat Froot Loops , Cocoa Puffs , or Lucky Charms for breakfast at least once. Someone has to drag you supes into this century. When I was growing up, it was always a special day when we had those for breakfast. Usually , it was porridge or some other equally boring and cheap food.”

“ You have six siblings,” Adrian pointed out. “ I can’t imagine having that many kids running around on a sugar high every day. I’m with your parents on this one.”

Personally , I loved porridge, but I wasn’t about to argue with Jeremy . I doubted anyone could change his mind anyway. For the rest of the walk to the kitchen, Adrian and Jeremy rated various breakfast foods. Unsurprisingly , Adrian was all about meat—bacon, sausage, and steaks—while Jeremy preferred sugary junk-food type breakfasts.

The large industrial-looking kitchen was already full of people milling around, opening fridges, getting out pots and pans, and talking about their plans for the day. Hayden squeezed my hand when I hesitated at the door. I’d met most of these people already, and they’d all been friendly enough. But what if things changed now?

“ Morning , everyone!” Jeremy shouted as he dove into the melee. “ We need to put on a fabulous spread this morning. We have a newly mated couple to celebrate.”

Everyone’s head snapped toward us.

“ For fuck’s sake, Jeremy ,” Hayden muttered. Then he cleared his throat. “ Yes , Ryley is my mate. Be nice to him.” He scowled at them as he said that last bit .

I lifted my hand in an awkward wave.

Everyone came forward to hug us or pat our backs and offer their felicitations.

When Gage approached us, he gave Hayden a pat on his back. “ Congrats , Alpha .”

Hayden rolled his eyes at the demon’s emphasis on his new moniker. “ Are you available this morning? I wanted to head back out there after I talk to Doc Roberts .”

Gage shook his head. “ The doctor already sent out a text to everyone, saying that you needed to rest today.”

“ For fuck’s sake,” Hayden muttered for the second time in a few minutes. “ A text, really?” He pulled out his phone and navigated to his messages. He frowned as he read the doctor’s text. “ I feel fine, damn it.”

“ Take the day,” Gage said. “ The pack is eager to spend more time together. Jeremy’s idea for the competition snowballed last night. It sounds like everyone is planning to be together today. It’ll be good to help strengthen the bonds.”

Hayden frowned and shoved his phone in his pocket again. “ I guess. It’s just that Robbie? —”

“ He hasn’t gone far yet; there is no reason to think he’ll leave now. He thinks he’s smarter than the rest of us. You finding one of his bunkers? That won’t scare him off.”

“ One of? You think there are more?” Hayden asked.

“ I think it’s likely,” Gage said. “ But I can’t figure out how he’s keeping them hidden from us.”

“ That’s enough shop talk,” Jake said, and he pulled his mate away.

Teague stepped forward next.

“ I knew it wouldn’t be long before you bonded.” Teague smiled at both of us. “ When I saw you together yesterday, your connection was already so strong and vivid. Even before the alpha magic kicked in and made Ryley part of your pack.”

“ Thanks , Teague ,” Hayden said. He glanced at me, then back to the death mage. “ I’d thought we might be, but I hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.”

“ It was meant to be,” Teague said. He offered us a secretive smile that suggested he’d known quite a lot about our bond. I wanted to ask, but it wouldn’t change anything. We were bonded now, and that was all that mattered.

Well , no, that wasn’t quite true, was it? There was one more thing that mattered: my sub-par lineage.

I bit my bottom lip. I didn’t like secrets, and not telling those closest to Hayden felt like a lie. But what if that changed their minds about our bond? I tightened my hand around Hayden’s .

My mate’s gaze caught mine, and I swore he could read my mind. He leaned close to whisper very, very softly in my ear. His words were barely audible to me, probably so that no one else would overhear. “ They won’t care. I promise. But you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

My empty belly roiled. I swallowed. Then I looked around at the people who’d gone back to their breakfast preparations.

“ Uh , hey, everyone?”

Once again, everyone turned their attention to us, to me.

“ In the interest of being upfront and honest, I …” I cleared my throat. “ I want you to know, because I don’t want it to get out and you think I was trying to lie or something, but my dad was a mundane human. Please don’t let that change how you feel about Hayden . The Eternal Magic put us together. He didn’t have a choice.”

Hayden growled. “ Of course I had a choice. I chose you.”

“ Aw ,” Jeremy cooed. “ Our alpha is a romantic, who knew? But , uh, I’m not sure why Ryley needed to tell us about his dad. Did I miss something? Is this something I need to cover in my research?”

Everyone else looked as confused as Jeremy .

“ I just thought you should know. Anyway , yeah. That’s all. I have nothing else to say,” I finished awkwardly.

Gage stepped forward. The demon’s eyes took on a reddish hue as he met my gaze, and I knew he was tapping into his magic. He approached slowly, like he thought I might bolt. And honestly, I was considering doing exactly that. Paws followed along by the demon’s feet.

“ I sense you feel this is a flaw,” Gage said evenly as his gaze cleared. “ I can assure you it is not. No one will think less of your magic or you because of your parentage.” He glanced at Hayden . “ I would have thought you’d know this, Alpha . Having a mundane as a parent is irrelevant. You are a supe.”

“ I do.” Hayden nodded. “ But he thought I was blowing smoke up his ass.”

“ How charming,” Paws said, although from what I knew of the cat creature, it sounded like something he would say too.

“ Van or Dillon could confirm that, if you want some reassurance about the matter,” Gage said. “ They can see the strength of someone’s magic when they take their beast forms. They would have assessed your strength when they met you in the woods the other night.”

Jake stepped forward and slipped his hand into the crook of Gage’s arm. “ I don’t know who my father was, but we suspect he might have been mundane too.”

“ But you’re an oracle.” Oracles were powerful and intrinsically connected to the Eternal Magic .

“ Yes , I am.” Jake nodded.

“ I see.” I blinked, unsure what to say to that. Hayden had tried to tell me the same thing, but it just seemed too fantastical to be true. Had my whole life been a lie? I adjusted my glasses again.

It looked like maybe it had.

I hated my old herd, now more than ever. I wished I could take my brother away from them before they destroyed him like they had tried to destroy me. Sure , they weren’t bigoted toward him since he was a full-bred faun, but it didn’t matter. They didn’t deserve him.

My stomach growled again. Jake smiled and stepped forward and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “ Come on in. We’ll never eat if we don’t start cooking food.”

And just like that, everyone went back to their tasks like no one cared one little bit about me only having one supe parent. I’d lived with supernaturals before, but Willow Lake was just so different. In a good way. In the best way. Maybe his pack really could accept me for who I was and not see me as a burden.

I sucked in a shaky breath.

I wanted that. I wanted that more than anything.