Page 27 of Alphas Never Hide

Whenwe climbed into the truck a few minutes later,Iwas drooling.Theextra-large coffee with vanilla and hazelnut syrups and rich cream smelled amazing.Thepaper bag with my vegetarian breakfast burrito already had a greasy film seeping through from the melted cheese, and the icing on my cinnamon bun, which had its own little box, was so thick the box couldn’t close.Ididn’t know what to devour first.

Haydendidn’t have that problem.He’dfinished his meat lover’s breakfast bagel in the few steps it’d taken us to walk from the restaurant to the truck.Thatcouldn’t be good for his digestion.Thenagain,Idoubted his plain, dark roast coffee—straight up, without any cream or flavoring, that coincidentally also smelled like misery—was good for his stomach either.Someoneneeded toinvent a coffee syrup flavor called “raw meat” for predatory shifters everywhere.Butnow thatIthought about it, there might be a bacon flavor, which could work in a pinch.IdoubtedHaydenwas the only supe with a predatory alter ego in their shifted form, so maybeI’dsuggest that to the barista whenIwas in there next.

IfIever went back, becauseIwas leaving.Soon.

“Doyou need anything else?”Haydenasked.I’dlike to pretend he was being sweet, wanting to make sureIhad everythingIneeded, but there was way too much attitude for that to be true.

“Nope,”Isaid around a mouthful of my burrito.HolyMagic, was it good.Thegooey, warm cheese was melted perfectly.I’dbeen too long without halfway decent food.Thewolves kept me fed, but their idea of a meal had been mashed potatoes from a box.Weeksof exactly the same thing.IfInever saw another mashed potato again,I’dbe happy.

Assoon asIwas in the truck’s cab, we were off again.

IexpectedHaydento make for the outskirts of town, but he didn’t.Heturned a corner, then another, before he swung left into an angled parking stall in front of the police station.Youwouldn’t be able to do shit like that in the city.Crossingopposing traffic to park, even if there weren’t any cars coming at us, wasn’t really the done thing.Especiallynot in front of the place where police officers hung out.

Ileaned forward and tucked a chunk of my sandwich in my mouth asIlooked at the building. “Whatare we doing here?”

“Youare making a statement about what happened to you.”

“Hmm…Andwhat about you?”

“Thatdoesn’t matter.Vanneeds your statement.”

“IsVaneven here now?Didn’this message say he was going to sleep?”

“So, talk toDilloninstead.”

“Wasn’the out withVanall night too?”

“Ryley, get out of the truck.”

Ileaned back in my seat and took a sip of my sweet and milky elixir of life. “Nah.I’mgood.Maybelater.”

Haydenground his teeth together. “Ryley…”

“Weboth know you’re going out to hunt for that wolf.I’mnot letting you go alone.”

“I’mgoing to the garage.”

Didhe thinkI’dbuy that lie?Hecould wear a neon sign over his head that said, “I’mlying,” and be less obvious.Althoughhis inability to lie was kind of sweet; it suggested he didn’t do it much.

“Yeah.Ofcourse you are,”Isaid.

“Areyou getting out?”

“Notyet.Ineed to finish my breakfast first.Youknow, since it’s the most important meal of the day.Yousaid you needed to go to work, so don’t worry about me.I’llfigure it out.”Ilooked up and down the road for landmarks. “Thegarage is over there, right?”

“Right.”Hayden’sgrip tightened on the steering wheel.Hethrew the truck into gear again and sped toward his garage.Whenhe parked up,Imade no move to get out.Hayden, on the other hand, tried to salvage his lie. “Well,I’lllet you do your thing.I’llbe inside if you need me.”

“Noworries.”Iwaved him off.

Heslowly climbed out of the truck and walked to the door.Helooked over his shoulder at me, andIwaved at him.Youknow, with how often the guy walked away from me, it was like he was trying to make sureInoticed his ass.AndIhad.Itwas a nice ass.Ibet he did lots of squats to get a nice plump butt like that.Oh, the thingsIcould do to it…Isighed asIwatched him cross the sidewalk and open the door, because none of that was going to happen.

Assoon as he was out of sight,Ihopped out of the truck, which wasn’t an easy task while balancing my hot coffee and my breakfast.Iset everything in the back of the truck before climbing over the tailgate.Istretched out across the bed of the truck and wishedI’dthought to grab a blanket to make it a little more comfortable.

Faunshad a reputation for not taking their responsibilities seriously, butIwasn’t like most fauns.AndI’dmade a promise to the doctor to watch over the stubborn assed wolf.Sothat’s whatIwas going to do.

Ithad nothing to do with the bizarre feelingIgot whenIwas aroundHayden.Howcould a stranger make someone feel warm and safe?Ididn’t know.ButIcouldn’t shake the feeling that ifIstuck close to him, nothing would happen to me, even in a town filled with supes.Nope.Mydecision to sneak into the bed of his truck had nothing to do with that at all.

Afew minutes later,Iheard the door to the garage open asIswallowed the last of my vegetarian sandwich.Istayed very still as footsteps neared the truck.Haydenmuttered, “Thankfuck.”