Page 54 of Alphas Never Hide

Hishands tightened on mine, and he shook his head. “Iwant you to stay.”

Iclosed my eyes and hugged him tighter. “Good.”

Chapter Twenty-One

HAYDEN

Icouldn’t figureRyleyout.Hewasn’t like anyone elseIknew.

Onlya few people inWillowLakedidn’t automatically defer to me—Van,Gage,Xander, occasionallyBuddy, andIsupposedPawsshould be on that list too.But, even with them, there was a subtle recognition thatIwas the alpha here, no matter how many timesIcorrected them.Beingan alpha was a position that demanded respect.Sure,Icould laugh with them and the others, chat with them, maybe joke around once in a while, but in the end, everyone deferred to me.

SohavingRyleystand up to me, confidently,Imight add, and tell me what he wanted without being coy or averting his eyes or any of the usual shit…Well, it was confusing.Butthat was nothing new.He’dbeen confusing me right from the start.

Ididn’t want to wait to kiss him, but when his stomachgrowled again, almost as loud as my wolf did when he was feeling moody,IfiguredI’dbetter get him fed.Itwouldn’t hurt me any to grab a bite too,Isupposed.Because, fuck, it’d been a long day.SinceIworked a physical job,Irarely tired so easily, but the last couple of days—or maybe the last couple of months—were finally catching up with me.

Whenwas the last timeIhad a decent meal?Icouldn’t remember.

Lately,I’dbeen skipping nights out at the pub to chase downRobbie.Butmy wolf’s usual desire to hunt my brother was abnormally quiet, even with this new lead.Damnit.Ihad to figure out what was wrong with my magic.Icouldn’t stay benched.Notnow.

Andif my wolf never responded again?

Myheartbeats stuttered at the thought.Wasthat possible?

Ifit was,I’dhave to figure out a different way to confrontRobbie.Butone way or the other, he had to be stopped.AndIhad to be the one to do it.Thiswhole situation was my failure to correct, my responsibility.

“Hey, you.”Ryleysnapped his fingers, jolting me out of my thoughts. “Idon’t know what you are thinking about, but that’s enough.”

“Ididn’t mean to ignore you.”

Heshook his head. “Don’tsay shit like that.I’mnot high maintenance.Idon’t need your attention on me twenty-four seven.Butwhatever you were thinking wasn’t good, and no one needs that.”

Isupposed he might be right.

“So, tell me about this place,” he said. “Itmight help you relax a bit to talk through whatever is bothering you.”

“Doyou always use the word ‘so’ so much, or are you still trying to make a point?”

“Fuckoff,” he said with a laugh. “Ikeep telling you it is an amazing word to start a conversation with.Justroll with it.”

“Whydon’t we get cleaned up and then head down to the pub?It’llbe easier to just show you around.”

IletRyleytake the bathroom first.Heseemed eager to change out of the clothing he’d been wearing, and now that he had his backpack, he had options.

AsIwaited,Ilooked around the room.It’dchanged a lot, at least on the surface.ButIcould still envision it as it had been whenI’dmoved out.Fora moment,Icouldn’t quite take a full breath.Mychest was so damn constricted with emotions and guilt and other shitIdidn’t want to deal with right now.WhydidRyleywant to talk about this place?WhatwouldIeven say?

Thelast thingIwanted was to talk about the pack house and why it was no longer a pack house and all the stuff that happened twelve years ago.IfIdidn’t tell him, though, someone else would, because they always did.Itdidn’t take long before newbies called me alpha, like the rest of the assholes around here.ButIdidn’t wantRyleygetting filled in by someone else either…

Irather liked how things were between us now.And, okay,Imight have been thinking about the possibility of more kisses.Althoughwhy,Ididn’t know.Theidea of hooking up had never influenced me before.Wouldthat change when he found out about my past?Wouldhe look at me the same way other potential lovers had looked at me?Ididn’t want that.

Asbizarre as it was,Iliked howRyleysaw me as a flawed guy.Healready knewIlived in a rundown travel trailer behind the garage, so he didn’t have any illusions about me.Andyet he still wanted to kiss me.

Wassomething wrong with him that none of that had scared him away yet?

DidIwant to scare him away?WhenwouldIhave another opportunity to be with someone who saw me,Hayden, asIwas right now?NotasIhad been before the pack dissolved and not asIcould be ifIbecame alpha.

Ryleyopened the bathroom door.Warmhumid air from his shower followed him out.Hiswet hair glistened under the light.Iwas disappointed he wasn’t wearing my shirt anymore, but his clean clothes, wrinkled from having been bundled in his backpack for weeks, molded to his slim body in a way that made me want to explore him.Butthe best part was how refreshed and happy he looked.

“Yourturn,”Ryleysaid with a grin. “Doyou need help cleaning any hard-to-reach places?Ijust put these clothes on, butIcould take them off again.”