Page 20 of Alphas Never Hide

Ijust…

Havinghim here, in my space, it was…

Iwasn’t the damn alpha.Andno one was supposed to be here.Itwas my den.Inever should have agreed to have him here.

Ignoringthe impulse to jump in and prepare food for him,Iturned my back to him to study the table.Howdid this work again?Iflipped up the worn seat cushions to reveal the ledge where the table needed to fit.Right.Iremembered how it worked now.Afew minutes later, it was done.Itlooked damn uncomfortable, but it was a place to sleep.Igrabbed one sleeping bag and shook it out.ThenItossed the other, still rolled up, to one end forRyleyto use as a pillow.

Done.

Ilooked around, expecting to findRyleywaiting impatiently, but he wasn’t hovering at my side.Ididn’t remember hearing him go outside, so…

Asoft snore made me spin toward my bed.Oh, fuck no.Istomped to the bed and found him tucked undermycovers, with his damp head onmypillow, wearing one ofmyT-shirts.Whenhad he gone digging through my stuff, and how hadn’tIheard him?

Mywolf instincts meantIwas territorial.Inormally heard every little thing, particularly in my den.Theback of my neck should have bristled as soon as he tugged open the cupboard whereIstored my clothes.Myteeth should have snapped at him as soon as he touched my bed.Myfucking bed.Theheart of my den.Butnone of that had happened.

Wasmy magic absolutelyFUBAR?Orwas something else going on?Ithad to be my magic.Ididn’t wantDoctobe right, but if he was,Ineeded to findRobbieand end this before anything more went wrong.

Icleared my throat to wakeRyley.Nothing.

Inudged him with my foot.Stillnothing.

Ipoked him.

Finally,Igrabbed his thin shoulder, which seemed so much smaller and more fragile now than it had when he’d been in his faun form, and shook him.Hard.

“Goaway.Sleeping.”Hegroaned and swatted half-heartedly at me.Hepulled the blanket up higher and nuzzled into my pillow again.

Nope.Thatwasn’t happening.He’ddrool all over my pillow.AndIdidn’t need his scent in my bed either.

Evenif he smelled like somethingIwanted to lick.

Nope.Heneeded to get out of my bed.Iwhipped the blanket away and damn near swallowed my tongue.Hewasn’t wearing pants, but at least he wore boxers.Wait.Werethose mine too?

Whatwas even happening right now?Whywas my wolf so calm?

Hefrowned and reached blindly for the blanket again.

“Out,”Isaid.

“ButI’mso comfy.”Hecurled around my pillow.

“Youaren’t staying in my bed.Move.”

Buthe was asleep again, making that cute little snuffling noise.Hemust be exhausted if he could drift off in the company of an angry alpha.Irubbed my aching head.AllIwanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep, butIcouldn’t with him in there too.

Yes.Thebed was big enough for both of us, but that wasn’t the point.

Ipried my pillow out of his arms.Ishoved my hands under him and hauled him out of my bed.Hehummed softly and pushed his face into my neck.Hiswarm breath fluttered over my throat.Thesensation tickled and teased my sensitive skin like a lover’s caress.

Everypart of my body was suddenly very aware of the man in my arms.Ipressed my nose against his damp hair and breathed in untilIcould find his scent under the layers of my soap and shampoo.

Ifroze.WhatwasIdoing?

Icarried him the couple of steps from my bed to the sleeping bagsI’dput out for him.Hedidn’t wake.Mostshifters shared some traits with their natural animal counterpart.So, as a shifter who was like a goat, he should have bolted awake when he was being manhandled by someone who was essentially a predator.Thathe was still sound asleep must mean he trusted me to take care of him when he was vulnerable.

Ithad to be an alpha thing.Probably.

ButnowIfelt even more responsible for him.Damnit.Istomped back to my bed and grabbed another sleeping bag from the cubbie.Ithrew it over him becauseIdidn’t see a way to wrangle him inside the zipped bag while he was sleeping.Hehummed a contented sound and snuggled into the bundleI’dgiven him for a pillow.