Page 84 of Alphas Never Hide

“She’shuman.”Heswallowed. “Andshe’s pregnant.”

“Withyour?—”

“Yes, with my baby.”Hefrowned at me. “Yousound likeMom.”

Thatwas a sobering and disturbing thought. “Itwas just a question.”

“Yeah, well, it was a shitty one,” he said. “Iknew we couldn’t stay with the herd.TheytreatedGretchenlike she was a phaseI’dgrow out of, but we’re fated.Iknowwe are.Whenwe found out she was pregnant,Iknew we couldn’t stay.”Heshuddered. “Iremember how they treated you.Therewas no wayI’dbring up a kid in a herd like that and she agreed.So, we left.IthoughtI’dlook you up, see if you’d let us crash at your place for a bit.Gretchenis super smart and has all these plans.She’salready got a master’s degree and everything.WethoughtIcould be a stay-at-home dad while she pursued her career.”

“Whathappened?Howdid you end up here?”IthoughtIknew where this was going, butIasked anyway.

“Westopped at a motel one night.”Hewiped his eyes. “Idon’t know how they knewIwas a supe, but they did.Theysaid ifIwent with them, they wouldn’t hurt her.Shewas just starting to show, and they held a gun to her belly.Ididn’t know what to do.”Heshook his head.Helet out a shuddering sob. “Ihaven’t seen her since…Sincethat day.”

“I’msorry,Conny.Truly.”

“She’llbe getting close to delivery now.”Theif she is still aliveremained unspoken.Conny’svoice broke as he covered his face with his hands.

Isuspected she would be.Basedon whatIknew ofRobbie,Iwas certain he’d think having a baby supe to sell would be a good money-making scheme.Icouldn’t let that happen.I’dwanted to hurtRobbiebefore, but nowIwanted to kill him.

“Hesaid,”Connycontinued, “that ifIdid as he said, she and the baby would be safe.”

Ihoped the liar hadn’t lied.Foreveryone’s sake.

“We’regoing to get out of here,”Isaid.

WhenConnyopened his mouth to protest,Iheld up my hand to stop him.

“Wewill findGretchen.Mymate and friends—” it’d only been a few days, but yes, those peculiarWillowLakerswere my friends, “—they’ll help us.Ican guarantee they’re looking for me right now.”

“Iwondered if you’d found someone.”Heeyed the lock of hair that marked me as being mated.Hismouth twitched a little, like he wanted to smile, but the impulse died under his worry.Connyslumped. “Butthey won’t find us.I’vebeen out here for months, and they haven’t found us yet.Roblikes to drag me through the woods with him and have me hide him in the forest while he watches people hunt for him.Thereis this one guy.Roblaughs every time he sees him.”

Yeah.Ihad a pretty good idea who that one guy was.

“It’llbe different this time,”Ipromised.IhopedIwas right.

Chapter Thirty-Four

HAYDEN

“Somethinghappened,”Isaid, picking up speed.

“What?”Gageasked as he lengthened his stride to match my pace.Hehad shifted out of his demonic form so he could move more easily through the trees, but he was still keeping up with me.

“Yeah, their trail suddenly became strong enough thatIcan pick it up too.Itisn’t as clear as it should be, but it is better than it was,”Dillonsaid from right behind me. “Thereare five other wolves and someone else.Amage, maybe?Ican see magic lingering in the air.Andfor some reason they went from being four-footed to two-footed.”

Oakwas silent.Hisgaze stayed on the sky more than the forest.

“Anotherfaun,”Isaid.Infact, the scent reminded me ofRyleya little. “Whywould they take their human forms?They’dbe faster on their paws.”

“Itis welcome news for us, though.Wemight catch up and overtake them,”Dillonsaid.

“I’lllet the others know,”Gagesaid, pulling out his cell phone.

“Goodjob,Ry,”Imuttered. “Keepdoing exactly that.”

Lastnight, when my alpha magic had erupted and spewed over everyone,I’dseen a golden thread connectingRyleyto me.It’dfaded from sight afterIbecame alpha, but the moreIconcentrated on my bond with him, the moreIcould sense it.Andthrough that link,Itried to let him knowIwas coming.Thathe wasn’t alone.

AndIswore, just for a heartbeat, thatIcould feel him too.Awarm sensation had wrapped around me.Itfelt like love, reminding me of all the best moments of my life: my parents telling me they were proud of me, the first timeIshifted and saw my wolf, and the momentIacceptedRyleyas my mate.