Page 6 of Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals #5)

Chapter Six

HAYDEN

Ryley’s offer hung in the air between us.

Xander and I both looked at the faun. Before either of us could shoot him down, he stepped closer.

“ What do I do?” Ryley asked. “ Keep him awake or let him sleep? If he sleeps, do I need to wake him up every hour? Shine a light in his eyes to check his pupils? They are supposed to get bigger under the light, right? Or smaller? I can’t remember. Do I need to make sure he’s covered in ice to keep the swelling down?”

My head ached thinking about all the things he was mentioning. Wasn’t it enough that he’d kicked me in the face? Did he have to sound so eager to torture me?

“ That won’t be necessary,” Xander said. “ He needs to rest, that’s all. But if anything changes in his condition, bring him back here.”

“ We can all go back to the inn instead, if you prefer,” Isaac offered .

Jeremy nodded. “ Absolutely . I can text Jake and Gage and let them know. I know most wolves get weird about having strangers in their dens. Adrian doesn’t, but he’s never really had a den.”

If I had to choose between having one person in my space versus going to the inn and having a whole horde of people staring at me and fussing over me, the choice was obvious. Like Jeremy said, I wasn’t keen on having a stranger in my space, but it was the lesser of two evils.

“ Ryley can come home with me,” I blurted out. As soon as the words were out, reality struck. What was I thinking? Where would he sleep? We’d be tripping over one another in my trailer.

Before I could take back my offer, Ryley grinned and turned to the doctor. “ Let’s go over what I need to watch for again.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. I should get us rooms at the Tarbeck Motel . Levi , who owned the place, and Simon , who worked security there, were a hell of a lot less nosy than the bunch at the Willow Lake Inn . Ryley and I could get adjoining rooms. Once he was sleeping, I could sneak out and meet up with Van and the others.

Isaac took me aside, while Ryley and Xander talked about me like I wasn’t there. “ Are you sure about this? Because I’ve already told Gage about Ryley , since I figured he’d need a place to stay and nowhere else has a vacancy. The Tarbeck is full for some kind of bear reunion.”

“ Bear reunion? Why did no one tell me?” Jeremy asked, whipping out his ever-present notebook again. “ Bears as in shifters or bears as in big hairy gay men? You know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m there either way.”

“ Jeremy , maybe you should talk to Adrian first,” Ash warned.

“ It’s for research,” Jeremy said, like that was a valid excuse for wanting to ogle bears of either kind. “ Who knows what I might find out? It might be exactly what I need for my next book. Oh , what do you think about a bear shifter falling for a regular old human bear? Can you imagine the sex? All those thick beefy limbs everywhere? Think about all the fur.”

Xander cleared his throat, interrupting Jeremy’s strange musings. “ Ryley has my number. And , Hayden , don’t make this difficult. You need the rest.” I didn’t know why he was so worked up about this. So what if my magic wasn’t responding as quickly as it should? It would, it always did.

Before I knew it, Ash was dropping us off at my shop. When he questioned why I’d told him to go there instead of my house, I told him I had to grab my truck. Luckily , his hellhound mate wasn’t there to hear my lie. But as he drove away, leaving me standing outside the garage with Ryley , I knew I’d made a horrible mistake. My concussion must have been as bad as Xander had made it sound, because I hadn’t been thinking clearly when I agreed to this.

“ Let’s get your truck and get out of here,” Ryley said, as he pushed his glasses up with one finger. He seemed to do that a lot. The glasses didn’t look like they fit him very well, but maybe he liked them that way. “ I’m wiped.”

“ Yeah ,” I said. “ About that… ”

“ What ?”

“ This is where I live.”

“ Here ? Where here?” Ryley eyed the storefront of my mechanic’s shop. It was in better shape than the trailer out back, but even the shop was showing a bit of wear and tear. The paint was chipping, the sign was fading, and the window was cracked.

“ I can take you to the inn,” I offered. I could drop him off, then head straight out to find Van and the others. The perfect solution.

“ Nope . We’re doing this. I’m too tired to go anywhere else.” He waved his hand through the air in an imperious gesture. “ Take me to my room, Jeeves .”

This was going to be a disaster.

I trudged around to the locked gate in the fence and punched in the code. Ryley was right on my heels as I walked through. The gate clanged shut behind us and the click told me the automatic lock had engaged. There was no backing out now.

The walk from one end of the yard to the other had never felt so long.

“ Watch your step,” I warned.

The yard light provided enough light that he shouldn’t stumble into anything, but I didn’t want the headache of having to take him back to Xander if he fell and hurt himself. My head ached enough already without suffering through another lecture from the doctor. I huffed out a sigh, recalling his reprimand when shifting hadn’t fixed my ailments. I knew he meant well, but…

“ You’re strong, Hayden ,” Doc had said. “ I can see that from the smoothness of your shift, but your magic levels are unbalanced. That’s why it’s taking longer for you to heal. Soon it’ll impact other areas of your life too. Don’t push this or you’ll regret it. I’m not saying that to be an ass. I’m saying it because it’s the truth.”

“ I’ll eat a steak when I get home,” I promised, knowing full well I didn’t have any meat in my trailer and there were no stores open in Willow Lake at this time of night. But the hellhounds hadn’t been around to hear my lie that time either.

Xander shook his head. “ That won’t cut it, I’m afraid. You haven’t been looking after yourself. Your alpha energy has let you get away with the neglect longer than it would have if you were an average wolf shifter with average magic, but you’ve pushed it too far. There is still time to reverse this, but for tonight I’d like you to stay here.”

And now, here I was, guiding a stranger to my den.

I should have stayed with Xander , just like one of those mysterious patients he housed on the second floor of his house, the ones no one ever talked about.

Was the Jahaller still up there? I bet he must be. I should have asked after him. After the neglect the small supe had suffered earlier this summer—again, all thanks to my brother—he would need the support of someone with alpha power. And if I could undo some of the damage Robbie caused, that’d be good. I needed to remember to ask Doc about him.

I supposed I would have seen the Jahaller if I’d stayed, but I was still glad I hadn’t. And at least this way I’d be in my own bed tonight. I just wished I hadn’t come home with a chaperone too .

Xander told me to come back in the morning so he could gauge my recovery, but I was banking on him forgetting that he wanted to see me again. The guy was a good doctor, but he was busy. He’d forget all about me once he started doing his rounds at the hospital or seeing patients. I wasn’t dismissing his warnings. I would take care of it later, after I’d dealt with Robbie .

“ Great place you’ve got here. Very , uh, used-car-lot chic,” Ryley said. “ It’s like we’re staying in a room at a theme park. It could be called Junkyard Jungle or Groovy Garage or Rusty Relaxation .”

The trailer was unlocked, so I pulled open the door and stepped inside. To say I hadn’t been expecting company was an understatement, but the place was reasonably tidy and in fair condition, considering its age. This wasn’t a luxury motorhome like Gage used to call home. Mine was a regular trailer that had already been eight years old when I bought it twelve years ago. At the time, I hadn’t expected to live in it this long, but I’d never needed more, so I’d never moved. It was functional. Sure , the place got a little cold in the winter. And most of the plastic fittings had become brittle and fragile in the last few years, so I’d either replaced them with duct tape or just gone without. But it worked for me.

Ryley came in behind me and shut the door.

I didn’t look at him to gauge his reaction to the place. Instead , I went to the back of the trailer and grabbed two rolled up sleeping bags from a cubby under my bed. I’d never used them, so they should be clean enough. They might smell stale, but since he’d invited himself, he could take what I gave him. I set the bundles on the small kitchen counter before turning to the table. It hadn’t been made into a bed since I bought the thing. I hoped nothing would break when I adjusted it.

“ Can I help?”

“ Just stay out of the way,” I muttered. “ Go have a shower or something. There is a clean towel on the rack over the toilet. Help yourself to whatever else you need.”

“ Tomorrow , can I borrow your phone again? I need to check on a couple of things.”

“ Where is yours?”

His face answered the question for me. Yeah . That had been a thoughtless thing to ask.

“ Right . Of course. They took it.” I scratched my cheek. Shit . I should have thought about him having a family or a mate. Of course they’d be worried. I didn’t know why my chest tightened at the thought of Ryley having someone at home waiting for him. It must be empathy emanating from my alpha power or something. “ Uh . Yeah . Did you need to call anyone tonight?”

He shook his head. “ No , nothing like that. I just need to check my emails and things. Make sure the wolves didn’t get into my bank accounts. It can wait. So , the shower is in there?” He motioned to the only interior door. “ I’ve been dreaming about a shower for weeks.”

“ Yeah . Go ahead.”

As soon as he disappeared into the closet-sized bathroom, I went hunting through my fridge for something to eat. As much as I tried to dismiss Doc’s warning, it still rang in my ears. I scarfed down some leftover pepperoni pizza from the Flying Rowan , then I found a chunk of moldy cheese. How long had that been back there? I cut off the fuzzy green bit and downed what was left. None of that was ideal, but it was better than nothing. It also helped take my mind off Ryley being in my bathroom. Touching my things. Getting naked. Having hot water sluice over his skin. Using my soap all over his body. Drying his naked skin with my towels.

I was going to have to bleach them to get his scent out.

Shit . Was he going to be hungry, too? I opened my fridge again. As a faun, I suspected he’d need something green. I didn’t have much in the way of vegetables. Would bread work? It was made from grains. The loaf was a couple of days old, but with a bunch of butter, it’d be edible.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, I pointed at the counter.

“ There is bread there, if you want something. It isn’t much, but it’ll fill your stomach. Butter is in the fridge.”

“ Do you have peanut butter?”

I pointed at a cupboard. “ Try in there.”

If he wanted to eat, it was up to him to fix it. I wasn’t catering to him.

But even as the thought hit me, the back of my neck started itching, as if I could feel my magic poke at me to step up and be a good alpha. It skittered along my spine, reminding me of all the times my parents had been disappointed in me. My father would not have approved of my interactions with Ryley so far. He’d always been determined to take care of everyone, treat everyone as a pack. And I did do that, usually.

I just…

Having him here, in my space, it was …

I wasn’t the damn alpha. And no one was supposed to be here. It was my den. I never should have agreed to have him here.

Ignoring the impulse to jump in and prepare food for him, I turned my back to him to study the table. How did this work again? I flipped up the worn seat cushions to reveal the ledge where the table needed to fit. Right . I remembered how it worked now. A few minutes later, it was done. It looked damn uncomfortable, but it was a place to sleep. I grabbed one sleeping bag and shook it out. Then I tossed the other, still rolled up, to one end for Ryley to use as a pillow.

Done .

I looked around, expecting to find Ryley waiting impatiently, but he wasn’t hovering at my side. I didn’t remember hearing him go outside, so…

A soft snore made me spin toward my bed. Oh , fuck no. I stomped to the bed and found him tucked under my covers, with his damp head on my pillow, wearing one of my T -shirts. When had he gone digging through my stuff, and how hadn’t I heard him?

My wolf instincts meant I was territorial. I normally heard every little thing, particularly in my den. The back of my neck should have bristled as soon as he tugged open the cupboard where I stored my clothes. My teeth should have snapped at him as soon as he touched my bed. My fucking bed. The heart of my den. But none of that had happened.

Was my magic absolutely FUBAR ? Or was something else going on? It had to be my magic. I didn’t want Doc to be right, but if he was, I needed to find Robbie and end this before anything more went wrong.

I cleared my throat to wake Ryley . Nothing .

I nudged him with my foot. Still nothing.

I poked him.

Finally , I grabbed his thin shoulder, which seemed so much smaller and more fragile now than it had when he’d been in his faun form, and shook him. Hard .

“ Go away. Sleeping .” He groaned and swatted half-heartedly at me. He pulled the blanket up higher and nuzzled into my pillow again.

Nope . That wasn’t happening. He’d drool all over my pillow. And I didn’t need his scent in my bed either.

Even if he smelled like something I wanted to lick.

Nope . He needed to get out of my bed. I whipped the blanket away and damn near swallowed my tongue. He wasn’t wearing pants, but at least he wore boxers. Wait . Were those mine too?

What was even happening right now? Why was my wolf so calm?

He frowned and reached blindly for the blanket again.

“ Out ,” I said.

“ But I’m so comfy.” He curled around my pillow.

“ You aren’t staying in my bed. Move .”

But he was asleep again, making that cute little snuffling noise. He must be exhausted if he could drift off in the company of an angry alpha. I rubbed my aching head. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep, but I couldn’t with him in there too.

Yes . The bed was big enough for both of us, but that wasn’t the point .

I pried my pillow out of his arms. I shoved my hands under him and hauled him out of my bed. He hummed softly and pushed his face into my neck. His warm breath fluttered over my throat. The sensation tickled and teased my sensitive skin like a lover’s caress.

Every part of my body was suddenly very aware of the man in my arms. I pressed my nose against his damp hair and breathed in until I could find his scent under the layers of my soap and shampoo.

I froze. What was I doing?

I carried him the couple of steps from my bed to the sleeping bags I’d put out for him. He didn’t wake. Most shifters shared some traits with their natural animal counterpart. So , as a shifter who was like a goat, he should have bolted awake when he was being manhandled by someone who was essentially a predator. That he was still sound asleep must mean he trusted me to take care of him when he was vulnerable.

It had to be an alpha thing. Probably .

But now I felt even more responsible for him. Damn it. I stomped back to my bed and grabbed another sleeping bag from the cubbie. I threw it over him because I didn’t see a way to wrangle him inside the zipped bag while he was sleeping. He hummed a contented sound and snuggled into the bundle I’d given him for a pillow.

Good . Done . It was time to sleep.

Except …

I’d planned to go out and help the others hunt for Robbie .

I checked my phone. Van knew I preferred phone calls to texts, but the bastard always texted anyway. I unlocked my phone. No new messages. Why was there no update yet? Had they found him? Or had he evaded them? The three out there had decent tracking skills, but I was better. If we were going to find Robbie , I needed to get out there. I had a duty to my… uh, neighbors.

I glanced at my bed. As tempting as it was, sleep wasn’t happening tonight. I scrawled out a quick note for Ryley to find when he woke and set it on the counter by the sink where he’d left his glasses.

As soon as I opened the door, Ryley jolted upright.

“ Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”