Page 3 of And Omega Makes Four
But it never comes.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!?” A deep voice snaps me back to reality.
I look up to see the car stopped a few feet away as the driver climbs out with a look of fury in his eyes.
His shining, sparkling, blue eyes…
I frown, immediately on my guard. He’s an alpha. And a wolf. But I don’t recognize him or his scent. He’s not from around here. Which could be very good...or very bad.
His nostrils flare as he catches my scent, and his eyes narrow as he kicks his car door shut and marches toward me. I’m vaguely aware of two others climbing out of the car behind him, but I can’t look away from those fiery blue eyes. “You could’ve been killed.” He stalks toward me, pissed off and demanding answers. “Why didn’t you move?”
“I...I...” I shake my head, suddenly unable to conjure any of the words I once possessed. I must look like a complete idiot.
“Kyle, calm down,” one of his companions is saying. “You’re scaring the poor thing.”
“Fuck calm,” the one called Kyle snaps and looks back at me. “I don’t like how close I came to killing someone just now. Do you understand?”
“I’m sorry.” It takes a minute for my brain to start working again, but it finally does. “I didn’t mean... Um, it was...an accident.”
“Sure, sure.” Kyle waves his hand dismissively.
“Kyle, stop.” A much calmer alpha with a warm voice puts a hand on his companion’s arm and gently tugs him away. “Go back to the car and calm down. Everything’s okay. Everyone’s safe. Take a breath, okay?”
“Frankie...”
“Go on.”
Kyle glances at me once more, and then returns to the car.
“Are you okay?” Frankie looks me over as if checking for injuries. “You look like you’ve gotten a little banged up.”
“I, um...I’m fine.” I clear my throat and try to sound stronger than I feel. “I’ve just been hiking, and I got turned around.” It doesn’t matter how friendly he may seem, I can’t afford to tell anyone the real reason I’m out in the woods in the middle of the night. There’s no telling how they might react.
Three alphas traveling alone? They’d probably leap at the chance to return me to my pack and put themselves in their good graces. That would secure them just about any favor they’d want.
“Mhmm...” Frankie doesn’t look convinced, but he’s not pushing the topic either. “Well, if you’re just out for a hike, I don’t suppose you would be interested in catching a ride with us.” He throws his thumb over his shoulder and glances back toward the car.
“I didn’t say that,” I blurt a little too quickly. “I mean, I’d be really grateful for a ride, actually.”
Frankie cocks his head to the side, more concern shining through. “You don’t even know where we’re going.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I admit. “As long as it’s far away from here.”
“I see...” Frankie crosses his arms over his chest and nods. “Well, at the very least, let's get out of the road before another car comes along.” He gestures for me to follow him back to the car.
“Devon, make room in the back for our hitchhiker, will you?” Frankie instructs the third alpha as he approaches the vehicle. “Looks like we’re gonna have a passenger for a little while.”
“Oh?” Devon looks at me appraisingly. He’s younger than the other two and has a slimmer build. If it wasn’t for his scent, I’d almost mistake him for an omega based on his physique. However, there’s definitely something very “alpha” about his movements.
“Frankie, are you sure about this?” Kyle says as Frankie opens up the door to the backseat and begins tossing stuff into the trunk. “We don’t even know this kid.”
“I’m not a kid,” I protest. “And my name is River.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’re very mature, River.” Kyle rolls his eyes at me. “Wandering out into the middle of the road and freezing like a deer in headlights screams good decision-making skills.”
“I-I was just surprised.” My lower lip juts out, but I do my best to hide my hurt over his insult. In a quiet voice, I whisper, “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“Kyle, enough.” Frankie stops him from continuing his lecture. “It’s not like it costs us anything to give him a ride, right? We’ll drop him off when we get to town. Then, he can go his way, and we’ll go ours.”
