Page 55 of Alphas Never Hide

“IthinkIcan manage.”Ilaughed asIstepped around him to get to the bathroom.

Iclosed the door and glanced at the mirror over the sink to seeIwas still smiling.Hewas so damn easy to be around.Iliked it.Ikept grinning asIstripped off my clothes.Yeah.Idefinitely wanted to kiss him again.Andmaybe, probably, absolutely do more.Atleast for a few nights.

Andjust like that, my smile faded.

Right.

Ryleywould leave soon.

Whydid that thought make my chest ache?

Istepped into the tiled shower stall and turned on the water.Asthe water washed over me, my muscles refused to relax.Myheart raced.Ididn’t want him to leave.

Wait.Hecouldn’t be my mate, could he?

Shit, shit, shit.

Myheart galloped asIstood frozen under the pounding water.Allthe signs were there, weren’t they?First,Ryleywas drawn to the area.Thenmy compulsion to be close to him was strange, to say the least.Andthe icing on top was my unusual desire to kiss him whenIhadn’t wanted to kiss anyone for years.

Whatthe ever-loving fuck wasIgoing to do about that?

Thelast thing anyone needed was to be saddled with a dud of a mate like me.AssumingRyleyeven wanted a mate, he wouldn’t want me if he knew more about me.Imade bad decisions.Ihurt the people who counted on me.Iwasn’t fit to be an alpha, andIdefinitely wasn’t fit to beRyley’smate.

Thenthere was the fact thatRyleydidn’t feel comfortable being around supes.He’dbeen anxious every time he met someone, andIknew that wasn’t because he was shy.Ryleywas not a shy guy by nature, but his herd had really fucked him over.Sohow would that work whenIcouldn’t leaveWillowLake, and he wouldn’t want to stay?Iwasn’t the alpha, butIcould never leave, not until a new alpha was here to take care of everyone.

Whatwas it thatRyleyhad said whenI’dfirst found him in the woods?Sonof a fucking, cloven-hoofed dick weasel.Yep, that sounded about right.

Chapter Twenty-Two

RYLEY

Haydenwas quiet when he came out of the bathroom.Heremained quiet the whole way down to the pub.Iwasn’t sure what’d happened between him going into the bathroom and now, butIdoubted it involved any masturbatory fun.No.Helooked queasy.AndwheneverIcaught his eye on me, he looked away.

Shit.I’dcome on too strong.

Ohwell.Ifhe wasn’t interested,Icould take a hint.Ihadn’t surrendered the key to the other room toJakeyet, just in case, soI’dstill have a place to sleep tonight.Itwas a letdown, though.Ithought he was as keen to kiss, and possibly do more, asIwas.

Mybrain scrambled for some other explanation.Like, what if he was hungry?Thatcould make him queasy, right?Wolveshad enormous appetites and all he’d eaten today was that breakfast bagel.

So, beforeIgot worried thatI’dbe sleeping alonetonight,I’dget him to eat a big supper to get his blood sugar up and his magic replenished.Ihadn’t lived with supes for a long time, andIdidn’t use my magic often, butIknew the supe equivalent of being hangry was not something to mess with.

Whenwe stepped into the pub, the amount of magic in the place overwhelmed me.Myskin tingled, and the hairs on the back of my neck quivered.IgrabbedHayden’shand.

“Holyfuckeroo.”

“What?”Haydencast his gaze around the room, as if looking for a threat. “What’sthe matter?”

“Thereare a lot of supes in here,”Iwhispered into his ear. “Isit safe?ShouldIorder and take it back to my room?”

Ishould have expected this, especially whenI’dmet so many supes inWillowLakealready.Butsomehow none of that had prepared me for seeing all these beings gathered in one place.

Wasthat a troll in the corner?Andover by the pool table, the minotaur we’d seen at the café that morning was leaning over to take a shot.Plusthere was the incubus and the merman and the bear shifter…Thelist kept going on and on.

Hayden’sforehead furrowed. “Wecan eat upstairs if you want, but why?”

I’dtold him this already.Hadhe forgotten?Ileaned in close until my lips brushed his ear.Heshivered as my breath washed over his skin. “I’monly half-supe, remember?Mydad was mundane.Mostsupes don’t like my kind.”

“That’sbullshit,”Haydensaid, way louder thanIwas comfortable with.