Page 8 of Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals #5)

Chapter Eight

HAYDEN

My sex drive wasn’t something I gave much thought to. Lots of men and women flirted with me and tried to get me into their beds, but I’d never been interested. They just wanted to get close to me because they thought I was Alpha with a capital A , and that equaled power and prestige.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had sex or found someone interesting enough to want to get naked with them.

But right now? Listening to the sounds Ryley was making because my hands were on his body? My sex drive had gone from zero to sixty in record time. In a fair race, it would have beaten a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, hands down.

As my alpha power flowed from me to him, I picked up more than he’d probably want me to see. Xander had warned I’d depleted my magic, but thankfully I still had enough to comfort Ryley . The alpha energy always had felt different, separate somehow, from my shifter magic, but I was choosing to pretend this magic was working because Xander was wrong.

And right now, my alpha energy was telling me Ryley was exhausted.

Because of course he was.

He’d been captured and caged and tortured. I didn’t even know how long Robbie had held him prisoner, because I was an ass and hadn’t asked. But I wouldn’t remind Ryley of Robbie now, not when he was finally resting and relaxed again. There’d be time enough for that later when Van came to get his statement.

But I couldn’t take him out to the woods with me tonight, not when he was like this. And he was being stubborn about me going on my own.

I inhaled deeply to settle my frustration before it could rise again. Robbie had been out there in those woods recently. He’d probably been out there since the attack on his pack lands. One more night wouldn’t matter. But one night could make a world of difference to Ryley . He needed rest. He needed to let himself slip into a deep sleep, which I doubted he would if he thought I might sneak out again.

I waited for my wolf instincts to rebel and fight against the delay, but I was strangely content being here with Ryley . So it looked like we were staying here. With that decision made, I should get more comfortable. I moved my hand. Ryley whimpered and pushed into my touch.

My lust was about to spin out of control, but fuck. The sounds he was making were doing things to me .

“ Let’s get more comfortable, yeah?” I asked.

Ryley’s eyelashes fluttered as he opened his eyes to look at me. I hadn’t noticed how long his lashes were before. They looked so soft and made him look so innocent. But considering the bizarre and plentiful swear words he spewed and the other ways he behaved, I doubted he was as innocent as he appeared right now. But that look on his face? It inspired all kinds of wicked thoughts.

“ You’re trying to lull me to sleep so you can sneak out again.” He frowned.

“ I promise I won’t go tonight,” I said.

He narrowed his pretty hazel eyes as he studied me. Whatever he saw on my face convinced him of my sincerity. “ Fine . I’ll believe you. But can you keep doing whatever it is you’re doing for a little longer? Right now, your touch has become one of my favorite things. It has even slipped ahead of my grandmother’s black bean and chickpea salad, and that’s saying something. You should see how much garlic she uses. It’s one of the few things I miss about living with the herd.”

My mouth twitched, and I was surprised that I wanted to smile. This man was doing strange things to me. That should concern me, but instead of picking him up and putting him back on the bed I’d made on the dining room table, I nodded at my bed. He needed sleep, and if my alpha power could do some good, he could have it. “ Crawl up a little more. Get comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

I’d stay with him until he fell asleep, then I’d move over to the sleeping bags on the table.

First , though, I needed to know what Van discovered out there. I checked my phone and didn’t see a damn thing. I wished I could trust him to call me, but I couldn’t. He liked to text, even when he knew I never checked my damn messages. Doc Roberts would have told him to let me rest, and Van wouldn’t want to disobey the doctor, but he’d made a promise to me, too. So , yeah, he’d totally text and expect me to miss his message. That way, he could let himself believe he was listening to both of us.

But I wouldn’t let him get away with that tonight.

I hated all the rings and beeps these irritating phones made, so I’d asked Buddy to turn them all to silent after I purchased this one. It was time to change that. Temporarily . Just so I didn’t miss Van’s text.

After an agonizing ten minutes, where I contemplated waking Ryley to help me, I finally found the volume settings for text notifications. In retrospect, I should have figured it out faster, but maybe it was time to admit, just to myself, that I was dead tired.

Ryley was curled on his side in the middle of my bed. His face was pressed into my pillow. I would say it was my favorite pillow, but that suggested I had more than one. My heart did a weird hiccup seeing this man in my bed for the second time in one night. He was cute, not handsome in a Hollywood way, or striking like those underwear models I used to admire when I was a teenager, but he was decidedly cute, with or without his glasses. Although , for some unknown reason, his spectacles made him even more appealing. Right now, though, he wasn’t wearing them, and he was still… cute. Yes , I was overusing that word.

I just couldn’t remember the last time I’d found someone attractive, and my brain wasn’t used to thinking about shit like that. A lot of unusual things were happening tonight. Like me creeping on him while he was sleeping.

Since he was in the middle of the bed, it was tempting to crawl up next to him and wrap myself around him.

But , yeah…

Spooning a guy without his express consent was a terrible idea. I didn’t want him to wake up and think I’d taken the opportunity to maul him while he’d been unaware and unable to stop me. I shook his foot to get his attention.

“ Move over,” I said.

He didn’t move. Was he already sleeping again? I heaved out a sigh and eyed the makeshift bed on the converted dining room table. This was going to be a long night.

“ Where are you going?” Ryley asked.

I turned back to find him sitting up. The hair on the side of his head was sticking up, and he was blinking sleepily at me.

“ You said you’d work your alpha mojo some more. Or is it too much? Does it take a lot of magic?”

I thought about refusing him. I really did. It’d be easy to lie about the effort it took. But he looked so damn vulnerable. He plucked at every alpha instinct in me.

“ Slide over,” I whispered.

When he did, I turned out the light and joined him on the bed. He hummed happily and rolled toward me as soon as I stretched out beside him. My alpha power responded immediately, acting without me giving it any conscious thought. It wrapped around Ryley , who sighed and tucked himself tighter into my side. I tried my best to stay still. I didn’t reach for him. I didn’t hold him, although some strange wayward impulse inside me wanted to. Instead , I let my magic do all the touching it wanted. I just refused to let my arms get in on the action.

He was vulnerable right now. It would be too much like taking advantage of him. I wouldn’t do that. Ever .

I stared at the seam in the ceiling above the bed so I wouldn’t give in to temptation and stare at him some more. Instead , I listened to the steady hush of his breathing. I analyzed the nuances of his scent, identifying each distinct note and aroma. But what really captured my attention was counting how many places his body was touching mine.

Even when I sensed he’d finally fallen asleep, I didn’t move. I stayed where I was, drawing his scent in, feeling the heat of his body against my side, listening to his breathing slow more and more as he sank deeper into his sleep.

Ever since I’d become an adult, I’d slept alone. I never stayed over at anyone’s place. I never invited anyone to mine. This place was a dump, but it was my dump. My den. But it was unexpectedly calming to have a warm body pressed to my side. I didn’t understand it, but the desire to protect and soothe this man was almost a physical thing.

It must have been because I was tired. I was letting my guard down. But I was done. Just for tonight, I’d take the comfort I found in holding him and let it wash over me. Through me. Let it sink into me. Just for tonight, I wouldn’t have to be alone.

My eyelids drifted down, and sleep pulled me under.

A strange noise woke me. I jolted upright, sending Ryley , who’d been using my chest as a pillow, rolling away. Ryley’s feet kicked out as he dropped over the edge of the mattress and whacked my knee.

We both cursed.

“ Why are you always kicking me?” I rubbed my knee and peered at Ryley , who was crawling onto the bed.

“ I was having such a good sleep,” Ryley groaned.

The strange noise that had woken me pinged again.

What was that?

I looked at my phone and saw a light flashing. Right . The noise must mean I had a message. I got up and scooped up my phone from the counter. Sure enough, a text message notification popped up on the screen. I glanced at the time. It was already seven in the morning.

That couldn’t be right. I never overslept. But now that I knew the time, I realized the trailer was brighter than it normally was when I got out of bed. The sun was definitely up. I tapped on the screen to open the message.

Van : Followed the trail as far as we could. Hit a dead end. Searched around to see if we could pick it up again. We didn’t. Heading back now. Will come around to talk with you and the faun. Need to get his statement. Going to grab some sleep now.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the screen. Damn it. I should have been out there. Van and the others were good, but I was the damn alpha. My wolf was inherently stronger than the others.

Wait . What the fuck ?

I wasn’t the damn alpha.

This shit was messing with my head. Maybe it was a good thing Van had texted instead of calling me. He’d have crowed like a rooster if he’d heard those words fall from my mouth.

“ What’s going on?” Ryley climbed onto the mattress and came up behind me to peer over my shoulder at my phone. I tilted it so he could see the message. After reading it, he flopped down on the mattress. “ Well , fucker doodle do.”

Yeah . I agreed completely.