Page 41 of Alphas Never Hide

Ifwe’d formed a closer relationship, would things have been different?

Watchinga few more after-school specials together or taking him for runs in the woods wouldn’t have solved all our problems, butImight not have been so damn oblivious.HowhadImissed the signs he was a murderous, power-hungry asshole?

Myeyes were open now, though, andIwouldstop him before he did anything more.

Butfirst,Ineeded to get out of here.

“Better?”Iwhispered whenRyley’senergy felt calmer.

Ryleytilted his head to look up at me.Heblinked.Hishazel eyes stared straight into mine.Theintensity of thelook made me freeze.Ididn’t know whether to pull away or try to get closer.Asclose as the bars would let us, anyway.Helicked his lips, andIknewIwouldn’t be letting go of him.Notyet.

Hismouth brushed against mine and my fingers tightened at the nape of his neck.Hetasted as sweet asI’dimagined, with a hint of cinnamon.Myeyes closed asIsavored the feel of his lips and his mouth and his tongue…Fuck, his tongue.Itdanced against mine in the most erotic way.Icouldn’t remember the last timeI’dlet myself get lost in something as simple as a damn kiss.

Whenthe kiss ended, we stood looking at one another through the bars of the cage.Icleared my throat and let my hands drop to my side.

“Youshould get out of here,”Isaid.

“Youhave the worst ideas,” he said, but his words didn’t carry any heat.

Ascreech, like feedback on a microphone, shot through the room.

“Well, look at the rat caught in my trap,” someone said.

Ifroze, becauseIrecognized that voice.Sure,Ihadn’t spoken toRobbiein a dozen years, butI’dnever forget what he sounded like.

Ryleyturned to face the door with his fists raised, but no one was there.Istrained my ears and caught the crackle of static.

“Heisn’t here.It’sa speaker,”ItoldRyley.

“Didyou set my other pets free too?That’snot nice, brother.Idon’t play with your things.Youshouldn’t play with mine.”

“Comehere, turd wrinkle,”Ryleyshouted as hepranced on his hooves. “Callme a pet to my face,Idare you.”Thenhe whipped around and frowned at me. “Anddid he just call you his brother?Isthat true?”

BeforeIcould answer,Robbie’slaughter filled the room.Thesound made my hair stand on end.Itried to shift again.Ibegged my magic to listen, to obey.Itdidn’t.

“Yes,”Ireluctantly admitted.Thankfully,Ryleydidn’t threaten me with his hooves again. “Letme out,Robbie.Thishas gone on long enough.”

“I’velost everything because of you,”Robbiesaid. “ButI’mnot giving up.Whenyou’re gone,I’llfinally be the alphaIwas supposed to be.Yourmagic will pass to me, likeDad’spassed to you.”

Ryleyglanced over his shoulder at me. “Didhe have aDarthVaderposter on his wall when he was a kid?BecauseIfeel like there had to have been signs.Didhe have a teddy bear?Someoneshould have given him a teddy bear.Anda vintage poster of the originalStarTrekofficers.Justsayin’”

“Itdoesn’t work that way,Robbie,”Isaid, ignoringRyley’scommentary. “Youknow that.”

“Ofcourse it does,”Robbiescoffed. “Dadlied.Momlied.Everyonelied to keep the power to themselves.Butit doesn’t matter now.Thisisn’t howI’dplanned this, but…”Italmost sounded like he was sniffling.Washe crying?Noway.Mybrother didn’t succumb to feelings like that.Henever had.Buthe’d always excelled at mimicking them. “Youtook my pack,Hayden.Whydid you do that?Everythingis gone.Mypack and my house and my property and my pets…”

“Enoughwith thepetsshit already, you fruit fart,”Ryleysaid, waving his fist toward the part of the wall from where the sound was emanating.

Sharppain reverberated through my chest asIremembered exactly what it was like to lose everything.Only, in my case, my life had been upended because of my brother, whereasRobbiehad lost his through poor choices and greed.

“Istill love you,Hayden,”Robbiesaid. “You’remy big brother.Youwere supposed to protect me.”

“Ilove you too,Robbie.I’llhelp you.YouknowIwill.”Myvoice sounded clogged with more emotion thanI’dexpected.Irubbed my chest.Ihadn’t expected talking to him to hurt this much.

“Help.Yeah, right,”Robbiescoffed. “IthinkI’llpass.Idon’t need your kind of help.”

Thestatic-filled background noise ended abruptly.

“AndIthought the fauns were bad,”Ryleywhispered to himself. “Youmust have had some fucked-up family dinners.”