Page 63 of Alphas Never Hide

“Whyare you in such a good mood?”Iasked when he kept grinning at me.Itwas unsettling to see the usually grumpy man smiling so much.

Heshrugged. “WillowLakeis happy.”Herubbed his chest and that little smile on his face became a little dopey-looking. “It’sintoxicating.Literally.Ihaven’t felt this drunk sinceIwas a wee lad and discovered my grandfather’s stash of magic-infused whisky.”

“Youmean because of the pack?”

Henodded, making light shimmer over the surface of his dark horns. “Thepack, the magic, everything.”

Iguessed he would know.Asour demon guardian, theguy had bonded to the place.Iconsidered asking ifWillowLakehad been unhappy before, butIwasn’t sureIwanted to know.

“Enjoyyour night,Alpha,” he said.Thenhe wandered off toward the bar to helpJake, or at least offer him moral support.

Iglanced around the pub.Peoplewere everywhere.Theplace had to be overcapacity, but neitherVan, theChiefofPolice, norCarter, theFireChief, were sending anyone away.And, despite the crowd having been drawn here because of me, no one was getting into my space.Everyonejust seemed to be happy to be here, mingling with their family and friends.Theirpack.

And, damn it,Vanwas right.We’dalways been in a pack, but now thatI’dacknowledged it, something had changed.Iclosed my eyes, andIknewGagewas right, too.Happinesswas zinging through the air.

Theassholes were going to be insufferable after this.

BecauseWillowLake—the people, the place, the pack—was happy.Thatfeeling of joy was a physical presence both in the room and inside me.

Irubbed my chest where the warm pack magic hummed.

Wouldit feel like this all the time?Idoubted it.Sensationslike this always went away.Theworld felt wonderful and full of opportunity when you were a child, but then you grew up.Orgasmsfelt amazing in the moment, but then they were gone.Myfamily and my pack had once filled me with a sense of belonging, but then so many of them had abandoned me.

Assoon asIhad the thought, the dazzling streams of light disappeared completely.

Ryley’sfingers twitched against my palm where our hands were clasped under the table, drawing my attention back to him.Holdinghands with him, that felt good too.And, if we kissed tonight,Iexpected that would feel damn spectacular.Butthose things wouldn’t last either.Evenif he was my mate.

Nothinggood stayed for long.

Ineeded to remember that.But, for tonight at least, allIwanted to do was jump into that feeling.Clingto it.Savorit.Memorizeit.Thatway, whenIwas alone again,Iwould have something amazing to remember during those long winter nights in my trailer behind the shop.

Chapter Twenty-Five

RYLEY

Noone knewHaydenandIwere staying together tonight.

So, as we snuck back to the room around midnight, leaving the others laughing and chatting in the pub and the grounds around the inn, it felt like we were doing something illicit, even though everyone had seen us holding hands all night.Ididn’t think anyone would be surprised when we ended up in the same room.

Themood in the pub had been joyful, but in a contented, let-out-a-deep-breath-at-the-end-of-a-long-day sort of way.Theywere happy to haveHaydenaccept he was their alpha, but it hadn’t been a surprise.They’dknown.Itmust be some kind of innate connection.And, whenI’dwatched him make his rounds through the people who’d gathered here tonight,Iknew he was well-loved and respected.Howhad he avoided being alpha before now?Becauseit was obvious that he’d been the leader here for a long time.

Iwasn’t sure what to think aboutHaydensayingIwas a part of his pack, but his words didn’t feel wrong.Maybesome innate connection had formed betweenHaydenand me now too.

CouldIbe in a pack led by a wolf whenIwas half-human and half-faun?Haydenseemed to think so.So, that brought me to the next question:DidIeven want to be in a pack?

WhenI’dleft my herd,Iswore never to live with supes again.Butbeing surrounded by mundane humans all the time hadn’t been an easy way to live either.Faunswere herd animals.Andsupes were supposed to use their magic, even if they didn’t have much.

IfIstayed in this pack, what would that mean?IfoundHaydenattractive, but what happened after we sated our lust and reality set in?Haydenwould realize that as the alpha he’d need to have an appropriate mate.Someonewho was strong and full of magic and who people looked up to and respected.Ahalf-human, half-faun guy with wonky magic wouldn’t be appropriate.Mybirth pack hadn’t wanted me, soIcouldn’t see a powerful pack likeHayden’swanting someone like me in a position of influence.Theyhad hellhounds, a demon guardian, a damn oracle, andMagicknew who else living here.Haydencould do so much better than me.

CouldIstomach hanging around inWillowLakeifHaydenandIweren’t together?Asharp pang shot through my chest at the thought ofHayden’sfuture rejection.Andthat was just from me thinking about the possibility.IfIhad to live through it, it would be so much worse.

ButIcouldn’t answer any of those questions tonight.

Tonight,Iwanted to kiss and be kissed.Iwanted us to hold one another.Andif we went further than kissing and embracing, it would be even better.

Assoon as we were in the room,Haydenshut and locked the door.Hegrabbed me and spun me around.Hegrinned down at me as he crowded me against the door.Hisbody pressed against me as his mouth smashed mine in the hottest kissI’dever experienced.

HolyMotherofMagic.