Page 97 of Alphas Never Hide

Everyoneelse shrugged and looked at my mate.

“Youknow, theUnitedFederationofPlanets?”Ryleyexplained. “Hasno one else seenStarTrek?”

Itsounded familiar, butIwasn’t sure. “Isthat a show?”

“Isthat a show?”Ryleyrepeated my question in mock horror, turning his attention from his brother to me. “Neitherof you have seenStarTrek?Ican understandConnynot knowing about it, the herd only allowed weird old movies, musicals, and shows that reinforced the idea of obedience and traditional roles, but you,Hayden, what’s your excuse?”

Ishrugged.TVshows had never interested me.Therewere always too many other things to do.Showswith fakelaughter and stilted dialogue never held my attention for long, not whenIcould rebuild an engine or repair a transmission.

“WhataboutStarWars?StargateSG-1?BattlestarGalactica?LostinSpace?”Ryley’seyebrows crept up on his forehead when my face stayed blank. “Weneed a movie night.”

“Don’tsay that too loudly,”Ashsaid, looking over his shoulder atJeremy, who was eyeing us curiously from the bar as he filled a pint glass. “We’vehad so many movie nights lately,Ineed a break.”

“Why?Whatdo you mean?”

“Jeremydecided all the supes need a pop culture education, especiallyJake,”Ashwhispered. “Ilove movies as much as the next person, but…”

Hecut off his words whenJeremyappeared beside us and set a full pint glass in front ofVan. “Whatare you talking about?DidIhear someone mentionStarTrek?”

Ryleyraised his hand. “That’dbe me.Ican’t believe no one knew whatIwas talking about.”

“No,”Ashgroaned.

“What?”Jeremygaped.Heshook his head and put his hand on his chest. “I’msorry.Idropped the ball.Ihaven’t introduced them to any of the space greats yet.”

Ryleygrinned. “Weshould plan?—”

“Amovie night!”JeremyandRyleyfinished in unison.

Thistime, everyone at the table groaned, butIcould tell no one was too upset by the idea.Asthe conversation progressed to setting up days and times,Iturned my attention toVanandGage.

“Didany ofRobbie’speople know where to find the unicorn?”Iasked.

Vanfrowned and shook his head. “Nothingyet.Theyweren’t lying when they said they’d never heard of one.”

“We’llfind him,”Gagesaid.

“BecauseJakehad a vision about it?”Iasked.

Gagenodded. “Yeah, that’s part of it, butNelsonis also one of my best.He’llfindMorgan.”

“Ihope this is the end of this shit,”Isaid.

“Don’twe all,”Vanmuttered, lifting his glass.Thenhis gaze caught on something at the door.Iglanced over to seeParkerslip inside.Hisgaze darted over everyone, then he quickly made his way to the pool table where he normally hung out.

WillowLakePubwas primarily a hangout place for supes, but some humans were regulars here, too.Parkerwas one of them.Itwas surprising he hadn’t seen under theEternalMagic’sglamour yet, given how long he’d lived here and how long he’d been crushing on our local minotaur.Levi, who’d been lining up to take his shot, spun around with his pool cue in his hand, like he could sense the other man was near.Yeah.Ididn’t thinkParker’scrush was all that one-sided.Hegreeted the human before turning his attention back to his game.

Parker’sgaze caught on mine, and he nodded.Thenhe placed money on the corner of the table, a sign that he would take on the winner of the current game.Iswore his hand shook, just a little, but then he leaned against the wall and started teasingLevi.Justlike normal.Huh.Hemust not have seen anything magical atJeremy’sminiOlympics, or he probably wouldn’t be that calm.

“Hey, what’s up?”Ryleysaid.

“Nothing.Justsurprised to seeParkerout tonight.Withthis many supes in one place, most humans stay away.”

“Yeah,Icould see that,”Ryleysaid. “So, what are we doing tonight?Goingback to your place?”

Icringed.Ididn’t want to takeRyleyback to my trailer again.Hedeserved so much better than that. “Italked toJake.Hesaid we could stay here for a while.Ithought you’d want to stay close toConnyandGretchen.”

Ryleyslipped his hand in mine. “Dowe have to?Ikind of want to get back to the trailer.Itisn’t like we can’t come back tomorrow to see them.”