Page 41 of Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals #5)

HAYDEN

I stepped out of the shop and closed the door. The sun would be setting soon. It always set early this time of year. Soon , it would be dark at closing time, but not yet.

My chest warmed as I lifted my face toward the sky and inhaled. Magic stirred in my blood, letting me know the Eternal Magic was right here with me, along for the ride. She’d done that a lot lately. I still wasn’t sure what to think about it, but I didn’t fight her as much as I used to.

I let a partial shift roll over me and the magic inside me grew more heated, sending a tingling sensation out from my chest, filling my torso, down my limbs, until it made my toes and fingers curl. I had a good feeling about tonight.

When I was sure no curious mundane eyes were watching, I crossed to the gate in the perimeter fence and slipped through. As soon as the gate clicked closed behind me, I shifted to my wolf form and shook out my fur. Every time I shifted, this new body felt more and more familiar. I stretched to loosen my muscles before trotting down the lane that’d take me to the outskirts of town.

In the few days since I’d been out here, the last of the leaves had fallen from the deciduous trees. Now that they’d fallen from their branches, the once brilliant yellow aspen leaves and larch needles were browner and duller. The dormant grasses and forbs in their various shades of beige weren’t as crisp and rigid under my paws as they had been a month earlier, beaten down by paws and frost and late autumn rain.

Hidden from view now, safe within the embrace of the woods, I lifted my face to the sky again. This time, though, after I inhaled deeply, I sent a deep, inviting howl into the air.

Come , it said. Come run with me .

Then I listened. The few wild animals who weren’t already safely tucked into the nests or dens for the winter scurried away, but they weren’t who I was waiting for.

A howl in the distance rippled through the air. There . The first of my pack responded. Then another. And another. Footsteps raced toward me.

Anticipation built until the first eager bodies broke through the trees in a flurry of fur and feathers.

“ Oak , Mercer .” I nodded toward them. “ Thank you for joining me.”

“ It’s been a long time since the pack went on a run together,” Oak said. “ I’m looking forward to it, Alpha .”

I didn’t have the chance to respond before more people joined us. Until this moment, I hadn’t realized how much I’d worried no one would show. It’d been, as Oak said, a long time. People weren’t used to it anymore.

I hoped to change that, and tonight was the first step. It was time to embrace some of our old traditions again.

The woods were filling fast with every kind of supernatural, and the more I saw, the more my magic sang. I could feel not only my own joy, but the Eternal Magic’s joy too. This coming together, despite our different supernatural abilities and backgrounds, was the true magic of Willow Lake . This was the beauty of finding people who became family.

Ryley appeared with his brother, the mages, and the other human pack members. They were among the last to arrive. He’d been meeting with a few local supe business owners, talking about how he could help them create websites on Supenet and increase their business. By the look on his face, I knew it’d gone well, but I suspected the way his face was rosy with excitement had more to do with tonight’s run. He cast a quick glance around at those gathered and flashed me a thumbs-up.

Everyone turned expectant eyes toward me.

“ Thank you.” I projected my voice, so it carried across the group. “ Thank you for coming out tonight on our first pack run. When I was a pup, my parents taught me that packs are about spending time together and looking after one another. They are about family, but also friends who become family. About being a part of something that when we’re all together becomes more than what we could ever achieve alone. Even when I was in denial about being your alpha, I always believed that. I also believe that Willow Lake is special, blessed by the Eternal Magic herself. Supes aren’t meant to isolate from other supes. Our magic is stronger together. I am sorry it took me so long to accept I was your alpha, but I am here now. And I love and appreciate each of you?—”

From the back, Isaac’s voice shot out. “ Does Ryley know about that?”

I ignored him and the few snickers that followed.

“ You are my pack. My family. You always have been. Even when I was too much of an asshole to see it.”

“ Awwww ,” Jeremy said from Ryley’s side, then he tapped on his phone quickly before lifting it up as “ We Are Family ” started playing. Ogden and Jeremy did their best to get everyone to join in and sing it with Sister Sledge .

“ Okay , everyone,” I said when they finished. “ Let’s? —”

“ Wait ,” Van said as he stepped forward. He shifted from his hellhound form, and I shifted to meet him.

“ Is something wrong?”

Van shook his head. “ Come here, Alpha .” He wrapped me in a bear hug, surprising the shit out of me. Van wasn’t usually one for emotional displays. “ I’m proud of you, you asshole,” he said. “ I was there in the beginning, so I know it wasn’t an easy road to get here, but I always believed in you. I always knew you’d be my alpha one day.”

I hugged him back. He was right. He had been there, right at my side, every step of the way, from that first night when he’d been the one to let me know my parents had died until now.

“ I could never figure out why you were so insistent I was the alpha.”

“ Because I knew the truth, even when you were too stubborn to see it,” he said. “ No one else but you could have been our alpha. You are the heart of Willow Lake .”

Asshole . He was trying to make me cry. I patted him on the back to break our hug.

Then Ryley rushed to my side, like he knew I needed him. He smiled up at me. The way he tilted his head exposed his neck and the bite mark I’d left on him that had never faded. No one, including Doc Roberts , understood how that was possible. In the end, he’d said, “ It must be magic.” And I supposed that was true. Either way, I loved seeing it on him and now he was determined I should wear his mark too, so he was designing a tattoo for me. I couldn’t wait to see his creation permanently inked across my skin.

“ Hear , hear,” people shouted around us.

“ Let’s run!” I shouted.

My shift was faster than it’d ever been. Jeremy had asked if he could take a recording of it, so he could watch it in slow motion and time it, but I didn’t see the point, not even “for research purposes”, which was the usual line he threw around to get supes to agree to his schemes.

“ Are you climbing on?” I asked Ryley when I realized he hadn’t shifted yet.

“ Absolutely ,” he said as he threw his leg over my back and climbed on.

With my larger Dire Wolf form, I was tall enough that his feet dangled well above the ground. He’d recently said it was almost like riding Isaac , which had led to me growling, and him laughing. In the end, I’d reminded him, very thoroughly, that I was his mate, and showed him I was infinitely superior to any centaur .

“ Hang on,” I said.

He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my neck. “ I’ll go anywhere with you. Always .”

THE END