Page 61 of Alphas Never Hide

Butwas it normal to hate it too?Because, now what?HowcouldIlive up to this important duty?Iwas a disaster.ThedecisionsI’dmade in the past had injured the pack.HowcouldIever make all this right?

Icouldn’t figure this out tonight.Iknew that.AndsuddenlyIwondered ifJakehad anything behind the counter that’d calm my rising—Ishould call it what it was—panic.Sweatbeaded along my hairline.Myhand squeezedRyley’s.Ifought the urge to run out of the pub and find a place to hide likeSimonused to do.

Inretrospect,Ishould have known that theEternalMagicwould figure out a way to get what she wanted in the end.Andnow, in less than twenty-four hours,Isuddenly had both a pack and a potential mate.

Fuckmy life.

Chapter Twenty-Four

HAYDEN

“Hayden?What’sthe matter?”Ryley’ssoft question jolted me out of my spiraling panic. “Youlook a little flushed.”

“Uh, yeah…”Icleared my throat.

Theblazing brightness of the shimmering golden threads softened and dimmed.Theyweren’t gone,Icould still feel them in the core where my magic lived, but they started to fade from sight.

Asone, the people in the pub moved closer to me.Ryley’seyes widened, and he leaned closer to me.

“Sitthe fuck down,”Pawsshouted.Hiswords vibrated through the room. “Givethe alpha some damn space.Weall knew he was our alpha, nothing’s changed, so sit your asses down.”

Peoplegrumbled, but they did as the cat said.Ilet out a shaky breath.

“Ash,”Pawssaid, “go check the board.Whowon?”

Ryley’sforehead crinkled, and his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “What’sgoing on?”

Iwiped my hand down my face. “I, uh, may have acknowledged the people inWillowLakeas my pack in my head, and theEternalMagicjumped on it and let everyone knowIwas now their alpha.Itbothered me for a minute there, butI’llfigure it out.Idon’t have any other choice.”

“Wasthat whatIfelt?”Ryleyrubbed his chest.

Inodded. “Idon’t think most people could see it, but there were these magical thread things connecting me to the pack.Therewas one going to you too.”

“ButI’mnot your pack,”Ryleysaid, blinking at me like he didn’t understand, his forehead furrowing even deeper in his confusion.

Mychest spasmed at his words.Hedidn’t mean to hurt me;Iknew that.Itwasn’t his fault that he didn’t understand, andIdidn’t blame him.Butit still stung.

“Youcould be,”Isaid. “Iwould like you to stay.”

“Youwould?ButI’m…”Heglanced around, as if suddenly remembering the room was full of supes.Hewas worried about having a mundane human as a father again.Asif any of these people would care about something like that, but he’d figure that out, eventually.

I’dlove to track down his damn herd and hurt them as much as they’d hurtRyley.Anangry alpha wolf shifter set loose in a herd of fauns could do a bit of damage, especially with theEternalMagicas my sidekick.Becauseshe would have my back in this case,Ijust knew it.

“OfcourseIwould.Ithink you belong here, if you want to stay.”

Hiseyes were glossy, but he didn’t look away. “Imight like that, for a little while.Wecould try it for a bit.Seeif it works.”

Onimpulse,Iraised his hand to my lips and kissed it softly. “Ithink this will work.”

Peoplehooted.Shit,I’dforgotten we were in the pub.

Afew tables over,DaphneRiverssaid, “Itold you we needed to be here tonight, andIwas right, wasn’tI?”

Aseries of curses cut across the room of hushed whispers.Iglanced over to seeAshstruggling to get a vintage sign down.Thebets were usually taped to the side that faced the wall.Isupposed it was a good hiding spot, butIwas a little disappointed that they hadn’t found a different place for this last bet.Jake, who owned the place, had been the subject of a betting pool for almost a year and had never known it was there, butIhad.

“Dillon,”Pawssaid, “go help your mate get the board off the wall.He’stoo short to unhook it.”

“Fuckoff,Paws,”Ashshouted back. “I’mnot short.Thedamned wire is caught on the hook.Ijust need to…”Hiswords tapered off as he wiggled the sign to get it loose.