Page 16 of Alphas Never Hide

“Trygetting a hoof to the face, then you’ll really know what it is like when someone tries to blind you,”Haydenmuttered.

“IsaidIwas sorry.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Ithought back.Hewas right.Oops.

“Sorry,”Isaid.

Haydensnorted like he didn’t believe me.

“So,”Jeremystarted, drawing my attention back to him. “Areyou faster in your shifted form?Howdo you run on only two hind legs?Doyou hop?Wouldyou go faster if you had one of those wheelchairs they make for differently abled dogs?Youknow, so you could lean your front half on the wheels and run with your back legs.Ibet you could get some pretty good speed up.”

Iblinked at the strange man. “Pardonme?”

“Well, it looks like you escapedRobbiein your shifted form, soIwas wondering why.Itseems like you would befaster with longer human legs than two shorter goat-like legs.”

Iblinked at him some more.

“Unlessyour human legs are just as short…”

“Fine.You’reright.Myhuman legs are longer, which meansI’mtaller than this, too,”Isaid, only becauseIcouldn’t handle anyone envisioning my long human torso on little stumpy human legs.Theproportions would be all off.Ididn’t thinkIwas a vain person, but it looked likeIwas. “Theytook my shoes, soIshifted.Myhooves are sturdier than my bare feet.”

Helooked down at my hooves, which was easy considering howIwas seated.Theywere sticking straight out in front of me.Asa human,Ididn’t think he could see much in the shadowy darkness of the back seat, but his lingering gaze still made me squirm.Iwasn’t usually self-conscious about my shifted form, but suddenlyIwanted to get in touch with the murderous dragon and book an appointment with his nail technician.Ifmy hooves were buffed and shiny with a clear coat of polish,Imight feel better about everyone looking at them.

“Butyou were limping.”

“Imessed up my ankle whenIkicked the lock to break it.”

Atthose words, everyone gasped.

“Alock?”Isaacasked.

Inodded. “They’dput me in a cage.”

“FuckingRobbie,”Haydenmurmured.

Iwasn’t sure why he sounded so shocked and disturbed by the idea.Heknew someone had held me against my will.Whatdid he think they’d done to keep methere?Tellme to sit and stay like a dog?Iwas a faun, which meantIhad some goat-like qualities.Determinationwas one of them, although my human dad had just called me stubborn.Iwouldn’t stay somewhere just because someone told me to.

“Hmm…Isee…”Jeremysaid eventually and made another note in his book. “Thatmakes sense.Doyou have a little loin cloth thing in your shifted form?”

Washe being serious?Orwas he trying to lighten the mood?Iglanced down. “Doesit look likeI’mwearing a loin cloth?”

“Levitold me he has a loin cloth, soIthoughtI’dask,”Jeremysaid, sounding disappointed. “Theycould have taken it along with your shoes.”

Whathad the dragon said about someone calledLevi?Icouldn’t really remember.NowthatIwas reasonably safe, my energy was flagging.Ididn’t bother hiding my yawn when it hit me.

“Maybeease up on the questions,Jer,”Ashsaid from the front seat. “RyleyandHaydenhave had quite a night.They’reprobably exhausted.”

Jeremylet out a long sigh, but tucked his pen and notebook away.

Afew minutes later, we passed a sign welcoming us toWillowLake.Noone spoke asAshdrove us through the deserted downtown streets before turning into a residential area.Aswe arrived at a regular-looking house on a regular-looking street, the garage door opened.Ashguided the vehicle right inside.Assoon as the engine was off, the door slid down behind us, and a light came on.

Aman in his pajamas approached us.Hemust havebeen sleeping when they called to say they were bringing us to him.Hishair was a wild mess of curls, and he had creases on his cheek from his pillow, like he’d fallen asleep while waiting for us to get here and had just woken up.Ash,Jeremy, andIsaacpoured out of the vehicle, butHaydenandIstayed seated.Theman leaned forward and peered through the passenger door window atHayden.

“That’squite the shiner,” the stranger said.Thenhe looked in the backseat at me. “Hi, you must beRyley.I’mXander.”

“Thedoctor?”Ieyed him, trying to figure out what kind of supe he was.