Page 37 of The Night Movers: Season One

Ridley’s mouth dropped open. “I didn’t pick this, you know.

You’re the one who took me to Linus and left me there.

If you really wanted to have a say in what I bought then you should have stuck around and not dumped me with him like he was my babysitter.

If you don’t like what I’m wearing, you have nobody to blame but yourself, asshole. ”

Titus was across the room before Ridley could even comprehend it, almost nose to nose with him, his hand fisting the strands of hair at the base of his skull. “Careful, Strawberry.”

Ridley sneered at him. “Or what…Alpha?” They both stood there staring each other down, chests heaving. Ridley could see his mate attempting to regain some composure. “Oh, don’t start being nice now. Might as well go ahead and be yourself.”

Titus twisted his hand just enough to make Ridley hiss at the tug on his hair. “Trust me. The last thing you want is for me to be myself right now. You won’t like what happens.”

Ridley’s heart was racing, every instinct screaming at him to roll over, to submit, to mollify his agitated alpha. But fuck that. Fuck him. He didn’t get to abandon him to his own devices for hours and then complain when he did what was asked of him. Who did he think he was?”

“Go on, then,” he shot back. “Show me.”

Ridley startled as hands clapped shockingly close to his face. Linus. He was right there beside them.

“Okay, children,” Linus said, exasperated.

“Tensions are high. Everyone’s a little stressed.

But trust me, if Ridley can’t behave as these alphas expect an omega would”—he gave Ridley a pointed look— “and we all know you can’t—then the only alternative is to have him act so outlandish that people can’t help but take notice and wonder what it is about him that makes him special.

An omega dressing like an alpha will knock everyone off their game. ”

“This is what an alpha would wear?” Ridley asked, looking to the other alphas in the room who were dressed nothing like that.

“Some female alphas, yes,” Steele said, but there was no condescension to his tone. He said it like it was a statement of fact not a condemnation.

Ridley found his own reflection once again, turning slowly in the mirror.

They’d dressed him like an alpha…a female alpha.

There was something weirdly powerful in that but Ridley couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.

He’d always admired women. Ren was most definitely the stronger of the two of them.

She’d always taken care of Ridley even though they were the same age.

They were all putting a lot of faith in Linus. He must have earned it somehow. He had to know what he was talking about. Right? Fuck.

When the tension in the room deflated, Linus stepped forward and put fake diamond studs in his ear. The square stones dangled from delicate silver chains that shook, catching the light when he moved.

“Pretty,” he murmured.

Linus smiled, then added a vertebra-like cuff to the shell of his ear. The door opened—with much less force this time—and Sugar stepped inside, whistling low when he saw him.

Ridley flushed, feeling flustered. Something about Sugar always did that to him.

Like Titus, he was dressed slightly differently than the others.

He wore black leather pants that clung to his long legs, emphasizing his thick thighs.

Ridley caught his lower lip between his teeth, knowing he was staring, knowing Sugar and everyone else in the room could smell his want, but unable to tear his gaze away.

The alpha’s black t-shirt had tears and holes in it, the neckline hanging low to show off the white ink on his black skin. Ridley’s fingers ached to touch, to trace the lines of that ink with his tongue. He wore a long coat that clung to broad shoulders and well-defined arms.

“Don’t get drool on the sweater, lovey,” Linus murmured in his ear.

Ridley bumped his shoulder against the beta’s. “Shut up.”

Sugar grinned at him, clearly pleased by Ridley’s reaction.

“Well, look at you, princess,” Sugar crooned, his low voice caressing Ridley like silk.

“Yeah?” Ridley asked, hating how uncertain he sounded.

“Oh, yeah. It suits you perfectly.”

Ridley heard Titus scoff, saw him rolling his eyes from the corner of his own.

Was he jealous? Angry? Both? Did he just hate Ridley?

He thought they’d at least come to some kind of understanding, but maybe the shopping trip had only been a temporary ceasefire.

He had run out on him the moment they’d returned, dropping him off with Diesel, leaving him to show Ridley his new room.

“Thanks,” he said to Sugar, refusing to allow Titus’s tantrum to ruin the effect of the other alpha’s compliment.

“I brought you something,” Sugar said, grinning.

“You did?” Ridley asked, eyes going wide.

The others snickered, but Ridley didn’t get the joke. Were they laughing at him or Sugar? He didn’t care. Fuck them. Sugar pulled a black velvet box from behind his back, then opened it, presenting it to him.

Ridley’s breath hitched at the shiny metal tubes. He leaned in, trying to get a closer look. They reminded him a bit of the cuff on his ear.

“Give me your hand,” Sugar said.

Linus took the box from him, holding it so Ridley could hand him his left hand—his dominant hand—watching as the alpha slipped each of the finger-length rings on the corresponding digit.

Ridley stared, transfixed, holding up his hand and bending his fingers, gasping as he noted the sharp talon-like spines that emerged from each knuckle when flexed. Ridley’s pulse skipped. They weren’t an accessory.

They were a weapon.

“These are...amazing,” he said, fascinated.

Ridley jumped at the sound of Steele’s voice, almost forgetting the man was in the room with them. “People are gonna lose their shit when they see we’ve armed our omega.”

Ridley caught Linus’s eye. He nodded his approval.

“That’s the plan,” Ridley realized.

“If Sugar is done proposing, can we get this show on the road?” Titus asked, tone sulky.

Linus crossed the room to the closet, returning with a long black fur jacket, holding it for Ridley to slip into. The inner lining was silk and it felt cool against Ridley’s bare skin. This would keep him warm.

“Bless you,” Ridley said, clasping his hands together.

“You’re gonna freeze your ass off in that outfit, princess,” Sugar said as he guided Ridley out the door, the others following close behind.

They had to go topside, to get to the arena.

That was what Diesel had called it. Jensen had said that it was possible to get there through the tunnels but it would take far too long.

When they reached the junkyard, Ridley’s mouth fell open at the mammoth black SUV waiting.

Ryker opened the door, then climbed into the third row with Jensen.

Sugar got in, taking a seat in the second row, pulling Ridley up to sit beside him, Diesel squeezing in beside them.

Steele got in the driver’s seat with Titus riding shotgun.

The shock of the city after the ambient noise of the underground threw Ridley.

He’d always thought the city was exciting but, now, it was all too much.

The neon signs were blinding. Sirens screamed shrilly in his ears as they passed, leaving him unsettled.

The scents of food and garbage mixed with the ocean water from the port turned Ridley’s stomach.

It had only taken a few days to turn him into a different person. What happened in a week, a month, a year?

Ridley sagged against Sugar, his head on his broad shoulder, his fingers threaded with Diesel’s on his thigh. It wasn’t a long trip, but the arena…the arena wasn’t just a whole new world, it was like waking up to find he’d landed on Mars in his sleep.

At first, it seemed like they’d driven into one of those parking lots that allowed tourists to park their fancy cars to walk around and see the sights.

Most of those lots sat empty now. Most of the tourists who could afford to visit the city knew better than to abandon their vehicles.

They had drivers who would drop them at their destinations and pick them up. But this lot was full.

There was no rhyme or reason to the types of cars that parked there.

Some were large gleaming luxury SUVs like the one they’d taken.

Some were race cars with swooping hoods and doors that opened upwards instead of out.

There were no less than a dozen motorcycles, some loud and slow, cruising bikes, but most of them were what his sister used to call crotch rockets.

Ducatis, BMW, Suzuki. These bikes were sleek and dangerous.

Ridley wondered if he’d say the same about the owners.

The sudden flurry of activity within the confined space had Ridley’s heart rate spiking. He watched as each of them donned their masks, pulling their hoods up. Goosebumps rose along Ridley’s skin. He’d forgotten how intimidating they looked .

Steele got out and opened the back door to the car.

Diesel hopped free, then helped Ridley down, Sugar following close behind.

Once everyone was out, they all surrounded Ridley.

Titus walked in front of him, Diesel and Sugar flanked him, Ryker and Jensen walked directly behind him, while Steele brought up the rear.

It was like they were guarding the president.

Panic spiked, making his coat suddenly seem too warm.

Was he truly in that much danger?

The frenetic pace of the city seemed muted somehow, like someone had encased the lot in a clear glass dome.

It made Ridley’s skin crawl. He relaxed a bit when Sugar and Diesel closed their hands around his upper arm.

It soothed him to feel connected to someone, even if he couldn’t actually feel their skin through the jacket.

Ridley blinked in confusion when he realized the lot wasn’t just a parking lot.

Right in the center of the asphalt was a giant hole.

Ridley’s heart knocked around behind his ribs, irrational fear gripping him tight.

The closer he got, the more his fear spiked, a metallic taste flooding his tongue.

They had to stop, right? Slow down? They weren’t just going to all jump into some gaping hole in the ground?

Once they approached the inky black void, Ridley flushed, grateful nobody could see his reddening skin in the darkness. It wasn’t a hole in the ground, it was a staircase, painted black, illuminated by low iridescent purple lights that lined each riser.

“What is this place?” Ridley whispered as they walked the stairs leading them back into the underground.

Nobody answered him. Instead, Titus said, “Once these doors open, you need to have your game face on. They’re going to expect you to walk with your head down and your eyes averted.

Those in the first room won’t notice, but once we breach that second set of doors, all eyes are going to be on you.

We can’t half-ass this. You need to act like… like…”

“Like I’m the queen of the underworld?” Ridley murmured, echoing Linus’s earlier words.