Page 31 of The Night Movers: Season One

He had a lot of nerve threatening him with something as serious as that. Everyone knew what happened in a one-sided claim when the unattached party walked away for good. Insanity. Agony. Heartbreak. Omegas had hurt themselves, even killed themselves out of devastation.

Fuck him for throwing that in his face. Did he think Ridley was the type to just take that shit from him? Some weak little omega who would let one alpha—much less six of them—walk all over him and hurt his feelings? Fuck that.

He turned on Titus, fully prepared to give him a piece of his mind. He wasn’t expecting Titus to be right there . He came to an abrupt stop, their bodies almost colliding, his arms coming around him to keep them both upright.

Ridley gazed up at him, eyes wide, mouth gaping. He went to stand up, but Titus tightened his hold. Ridley’s breath stuttered as Titus dipped his head. From this distance, it was easy to see the gold flecks in the alpha’s eyes and the black ring that surrounded the coke-bottle green irises.

His eyes really were stunning. Titus made a gruff sound that snapped Ridley out of his stupor. He wiggled free of the alpha’s arms for the second time in five minutes, then poked him in his perfectly muscled chest. “You’re an asshole.”

Titus gave him a flat stare, his voice monotone. “You don’t say.”

“I do say,” Ridley countered lamely. “And I’ll say a lot more than that.

You don’t get to hold that over my fucking head.

I didn’t bite you. You bit me. You didn’t even ask.

You just did it. You took me. Claimed me.

I only agreed to be your pack omega, not your mate.

This claim is permanent. You know what happens to omegas with alphas who abandon them after claiming them.

If you’re gonna do it, just fucking do it, but don’t think you can just hold this over my head as blackmail whenever you want.

It’s totally fucked up of you to even?—”

Titus smacked a hand over Ridley’s mouth, muffling the rest of his sentence.

Ridley’s whole world throbbed red. Before this was over, he was going to rip Titus’s balls off and wear them as fucking earrings.

He was going to make him beg. Make him kiss Ridley’s fucking feet.

Who the fuck did he think he was to put his hand over?—

“I’m sorry,” Titus said softly, cutting off Ridley’s inner rant.

Ridley stiffened, blinking as he processed the alpha’s gruff words. “Mmf,” he said against Titus’s palm.

Titus dropped his hand. “What was that?”

Ridley narrowed his eyes at him. “I said I don’t believe you.”

Titus sighed, scrubbing his hands over his face, then dropping them to his sides, looking somewhat…

defeated. “I’m serious. It was a shitty thing to say.

I-I didn’t mean it. You’re just so…” He huffed out a breath through his nose, his hands flailing.

“Anyway, I didn’t mean it. You can bite me tonight. Before we leave.”

Ridley just stood there, blinking owlishly at the alpha, his sudden personality shift giving Ridley whiplash. “I—You don’t have to do that.”

Titus shook his head. “Actually, I kind of do. It’ll help keep you safe.

The other packs need to think—need to know—that I’m as tied up in you as you are in me.

They need to think you’re important to me.

It’s…the right thing to do. And I won’t be able to hold it over you anymore. If one of us leaves, we both suffer.”

Ridley’s heart swelled in his chest and he suddenly wanted to cry.

Why did everything about this man wreck him?

Ridley loved Diesel, he did. They had become fast friends.

They had so much fun together. And the sex was next level.

But Titus just…got under his skin in a way Ridley couldn’t describe.

He had since the moment Ridley touched him. Before he’d even seen his face.

Ridley needed him. He needed the alpha in his life.

The realization had his head spinning. That was bad.

That was so bad. That was not what he’d signed on for.

He’d signed on for group sex in exchange for help finding his sister.

He hadn’t signed on for a soulmate who drove him fucking crazy in every conceivable way even though they were strangers.

What happened in six weeks, six months, six years? How entangled would they be then?

“Strawberry?”

Ridley snapped out of his thoughts, forcing himself to look at the alpha. “Fine. Whatever. Let’s just…let’s just go.”

“Okay,” Titus muttered, having the audacity to look adorably contrite.

Asshole.

They started to walk once more, Titus still walking a few steps behind.

A thought popped into his head. Something he needed to get off his chest immediately.

This was non-negotiable. He rounded on Titus once more, causing him to come up short, lids fluttering as he tried to focus on Ridley’s finger now wagging in his face.

“And I will not be wearing a fucking collar.”

Titus gazed down at him stupidly. “What?”