Page 89 of Alphas Never Hide

Heswallowed hard, but didn’t protest whenIreached for the handle on the canopy.

HAYDEN

Thestrange wolfIhad pinned to the ground whimpered.Itightened my teeth around his neck, letting my saliva drench his skin and my tongue flick across the spot in his throat where his pulse was pounding.

“Iswear,Idon’t know anything.Robdidn’t say where he was going.”Heswallowed and whimpered again. “Hejust said to knock the tree over.”

Witha mouthful of asshole,Icouldn’t ask himquestions, soIgrowled, throwing all my power as alpha into the deep, menacing rumble.

Thescent of tears and piss and sweat bloomed stronger.Hewhined.Hisbody was slack.Everythingabout his body language said he surrendered, butIcouldn’t trust him.Icouldn’t trust anyone connected toRobbie.Ihoped this guy wouldn’t want to die, butRobbiealso attracted a lot of zealots.Overthe years, people had willingly sacrificed themselves toRobbie’scause time and again.Wasthis guy the same?

Hedidn’t smell much likeRobbie, so he must be a newer recruit.WhichmeantRobbiemight not have indoctrinated him as thoroughly as someone who’d been with him longer, butIcouldn’t bank on that.

Icouldn’t let him go.Butit also went against everythingIbelieved in to kill a defenseless man, particularly one who was going through the motions, at least, of surrendering to me.So, what shouldIdo with him?

Myteeth dug in a little deeper.Hegasped.Hisbody went limp.Idropped his neck and sniffed at him.He’dpassed out.Okay, then.Thatworked too.

Ilifted my nose to the sky.Icouldn’t smell any other wolves in the area, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.IfRobbiehad a faun, they could hide right in front of me, andI’dnever know.ButIdoubted he was close.Thetruck he’d been in had sped away.

Wherewould he go?We’dbeen so sure he had more tunnels out on his pack lands, but what if he didn’t?

Therewas only one way to find out.

Ilooked down at the unconscious shifter.He’dshifted into his more vulnerable human form as soon asI’dpounced on him, butIdidn’t trust him to stay here once he woke up.Icould leave him, but the world had too many assholes wandering free as it was.

Ina flurry of feathers, a raven dropped to the ground beside me.

“Ifound you,”Mercersaid.Hislong black wing stretched out to point toward the road. “Robbie’sturned around.Hehit a roadblock.He’scoming back.”

Ilooked toward the road, ready to meet my brother halfway.Thenthe unconscious man stirred.Sonof a?—

“Don’tworry about him,Alpha,”Mercersaid. “I’vegot him.”

“Areyou sure?”

“Oakwill stay with me,” he said, just as a massive wolf crashed through the trees.

“Don’tlet him get away,”Isaid.

ThenIbolted toward the highway.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

HAYDEN

Robbiehad nowhere to go.He’dtaken care of this end of the road with that tree, andIhad the other covered with a blockade.Hewas trapped, soIwaited for him to come to me.Inthe distance,Iheard an engine.Ithad to beRobbie.Istopped on the centerline of the road and waited.Thedowned tree was about a mile behind me.

Myheart should be thundering so hard it bruised my ribs.Sweatshould be pouring over me like a waterfall.Butnone of that happened.Sure, resignation warred with a deep desire for retribution.Bitterdetermination vied with reluctance.Butin the end, my love for my mate overwhelmed any lingering sense of familial obligationIfelt for my brother.Aneerie calm settled over me.

Howmany times hadIenvisioned confrontingRobbie?Toomany to count.Nowthat the moment was finally here, allIfelt was relief.

Predictably, as the truck neared whereIwas standing,the engine revved.Thepickup might look like a piece of shit that was more rust than body, but it could still do a fair bit of damage if it hit me.Luckily,Ididn’t plan on letting that happen.

Asthe truck shot toward me,Icaught more and more details.Thebent grille guard.Thecrunched bumper.Theexcited grin onRobbie’sface as he stared at me from his spot in the passenger seat.

Thedriver tried to steer around me, butRobbiegrabbed the steering wheel and pointed the nose of the truck at me again.Thedriver looked horrified—Iguessed it wasn’t every day someone asked you to mow down a person in the middle of the road—but he didn’t fightRobbiefor control.

Therewas nothing quite like playing chicken with a six-thousand-pound truck.