Page 73 of Alphas Never Hide

Ilifted my hand in an awkward wave.

Everyonecame forward to hug us or pat our backs and offer their felicitations.

WhenGageapproached us, he gaveHaydena pat on his back. “Congrats,Alpha.”

Haydenrolled his eyes at the demon’s emphasis on his new moniker. “Areyou available this morning?Iwanted to head back out there afterItalk toDocRoberts.”

Gageshook his head. “Thedoctor already sent out a text to everyone, saying that you needed to rest today.”

“Forfuck’s sake,”Haydenmuttered for the second time in a few minutes. “Atext, really?”Hepulled out his phone and navigated to his messages.Hefrowned as he read the doctor’s text. “Ifeel fine, damn it.”

“Takethe day,”Gagesaid. “Thepack is eager to spend more time together.Jeremy’sidea for the competition snowballed last night.Itsounds like everyone is planning to be together today.It’llbe good to help strengthen the bonds.”

Haydenfrowned and shoved his phone in his pocket again. “Iguess.It’sjust thatRobbie?—”

“Hehasn’t gone far yet; there is no reason to think he’ll leave now.Hethinks he’s smarter than the rest of us.Youfinding one of his bunkers?Thatwon’t scare him off.”

“Oneof?Youthink there are more?”Haydenasked.

“Ithink it’s likely,”Gagesaid. “ButIcan’t figure out how he’s keeping them hidden from us.”

“That’senough shop talk,”Jakesaid, and he pulled his mate away.

Teaguestepped forward next.

“Iknew it wouldn’t be long before you bonded.”Teaguesmiled at both of us. “WhenIsaw you together yesterday, your connection was already so strong and vivid.Evenbefore the alpha magic kicked in and madeRyleypart of your pack.”

“Thanks,Teague,”Haydensaid.Heglanced at me, then back to the death mage. “I’dthought we might be, butIhadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.”

“Itwas meant to be,”Teaguesaid.Heoffered us a secretive smile that suggested he’d known quite a lot about our bond.Iwanted to ask, but it wouldn’t change anything.Wewere bonded now, and that was all that mattered.

Well, no, that wasn’t quite true, was it?Therewas one more thing that mattered: my sub-par lineage.

Ibit my bottom lip.Ididn’t like secrets, and not telling those closest toHaydenfelt like a lie.Butwhat if that changed their minds about our bond?Itightened my hand aroundHayden’s.

Mymate’s gaze caught mine, andIswore he could read my mind.Heleaned close to whisper very, very softly in my ear.Hiswords were barely audible to me, probably so that no one else would overhear. “Theywon’t care.Ipromise.Butyou don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

Myempty belly roiled.Iswallowed.ThenIlooked around at the people who’d gone back to their breakfast preparations.

“Uh, hey, everyone?”

Onceagain, everyone turned their attention to us, to me.

“Inthe interest of being upfront and honest,I…”Icleared my throat. “Iwant you to know, becauseIdon’twant it to get out and you thinkIwas trying to lie or something, but my dad was a mundane human.Pleasedon’t let that change how you feel aboutHayden.TheEternalMagicput us together.Hedidn’t have a choice.”

Haydengrowled. “OfcourseIhad a choice.Ichose you.”

“Aw,”Jeremycooed. “Ouralpha is a romantic, who knew?But, uh,I’mnot sure whyRyleyneeded to tell us about his dad.DidImiss something?Isthis somethingIneed to cover in my research?”

Everyoneelse looked as confused asJeremy.

“Ijust thought you should know.Anyway, yeah.That’sall.Ihave nothing else to say,”Ifinished awkwardly.

Gagestepped forward.Thedemon’s eyes took on a reddish hue as he met my gaze, andIknew he was tapping into his magic.Heapproached slowly, like he thoughtImight bolt.Andhonestly,Iwas considering doing exactly that.Pawsfollowed along by the demon’s feet.

“Isense you feel this is a flaw,”Gagesaid evenly as his gaze cleared. “Ican assure you it is not.Noone will think less of your magic or you because of your parentage.”Heglanced atHayden. “Iwould have thought you’d know this,Alpha.Havinga mundane as a parent is irrelevant.Youare a supe.”

“Ido.”Haydennodded. “Buthe thoughtIwas blowing smoke up his ass.”