Page 19 of Alphas Never Hide

Theyard light provided enough light that he shouldn’t stumble into anything, butIdidn’t want the headache of having to take him back toXanderif he fell and hurt himself.Myhead ached enough already without suffering through another lecture from the doctor.Ihuffed out a sigh, recalling his reprimand when shifting hadn’t fixed my ailments.Iknew he meant well, but…

“You’restrong,Hayden,”Dochad said. “Ican see that from the smoothness of your shift, but your magic levelsare unbalanced.That’swhy it’s taking longer for you to heal.Soonit’ll impact other areas of your life too.Don’tpush this or you’ll regret it.I’mnot saying that to be an ass.I’msaying it because it’s the truth.”

“I’lleat a steak whenIget home,”Ipromised, knowing full wellIdidn’t have any meat in my trailer and there were no stores open inWillowLakeat this time of night.Butthe hellhounds hadn’t been around to hear my lie that time either.

Xandershook his head. “Thatwon’t cut it,I’mafraid.Youhaven’t been looking after yourself.Youralpha energy has let you get away with the neglect longer than it would have if you were an average wolf shifter with average magic, but you’ve pushed it too far.Thereis still time to reverse this, but for tonightI’dlike you to stay here.”

Andnow, hereIwas, guiding a stranger to my den.

Ishould have stayed withXander, just like one of those mysterious patients he housed on the second floor of his house, the ones no one ever talked about.

WastheJahallerstill up there?Ibet he must be.Ishould have asked after him.Afterthe neglect the small supe had suffered earlier this summer—again, all thanks to my brother—he would need the support of someone with alpha power.AndifIcould undo some of the damageRobbiecaused, that’d be good.Ineeded to remember to askDocabout him.

IsupposedIwould have seen theJahallerifI’dstayed, butIwas still gladIhadn’t.Andat least this wayI’dbe in my own bed tonight.Ijust wishedIhadn’t come home with a chaperone too.

Xandertold me to come back in the morning so he could gauge my recovery, butIwas banking on him forgetting that he wanted to see me again.Theguy was a good doctor, but he was busy.He’dforget all about me once he started doing his rounds at the hospital or seeing patients.Iwasn’t dismissing his warnings.Iwould take care of it later, afterI’ddealt withRobbie.

“Greatplace you’ve got here.Very, uh, used-car-lot chic,”Ryleysaid. “It’slike we’re staying in a room at a theme park.Itcould be calledJunkyardJungleorGroovyGarageorRustyRelaxation.”

Thetrailer was unlocked, soIpulled open the door and stepped inside.TosayIhadn’t been expecting company was an understatement, but the place was reasonably tidy and in fair condition, considering its age.Thiswasn’t a luxury motorhome likeGageused to call home.Minewas a regular trailer that had already been eight years old whenIbought it twelve years ago.Atthe time,Ihadn’t expected to live in it this long, butI’dnever needed more, soI’dnever moved.Itwas functional.Sure, the place got a little cold in the winter.Andmost of the plastic fittings had become brittle and fragile in the last few years, soI’deither replaced them with duct tape or just gone without.Butit worked for me.

Ryleycame in behind me and shut the door.

Ididn’t look at him to gauge his reaction to the place.Instead,Iwent to the back of the trailer and grabbed two rolled up sleeping bags from a cubby under my bed.I’dnever used them, so they should be clean enough.Theymight smell stale, but since he’d invited himself, he could take whatIgave him.Iset the bundles on the smallkitchen counter before turning to the table.Ithadn’t been made into a bed sinceIbought the thing.Ihoped nothing would break whenIadjusted it.

“CanIhelp?”

“Juststay out of the way,”Imuttered. “Gohave a shower or something.Thereis a clean towel on the rack over the toilet.Helpyourself to whatever else you need.”

“Tomorrow, canIborrow your phone again?Ineed to check on a couple of things.”

“Whereis yours?”

Hisface answered the question for me.Yeah.Thathad been a thoughtless thing to ask.

“Right.Ofcourse.Theytook it.”Iscratched my cheek.Shit.Ishould have thought about him having a family or a mate.Ofcourse they’d be worried.Ididn’t know why my chest tightened at the thought ofRyleyhaving someone at home waiting for him.Itmust be empathy emanating from my alpha power or something. “Uh.Yeah.Didyou need to call anyone tonight?”

Heshook his head. “No, nothing like that.Ijust need to check my emails and things.Makesure the wolves didn’t get into my bank accounts.Itcan wait.So, the shower is in there?”Hemotioned to the only interior door. “I’vebeen dreaming about a shower for weeks.”

“Yeah.Goahead.”

Assoon as he disappeared into the closet-sized bathroom,Iwent hunting through my fridge for something to eat.Asmuch asItried to dismissDoc’swarning, it still rang in my ears.Iscarfed down some leftover pepperoni pizza from theFlyingRowan, thenIfound a chunk of moldy cheese.Howlong had that been back there?Icut off the fuzzy greenbit and downed what was left.Noneof that was ideal, but it was better than nothing.Italso helped take my mind offRyleybeing in my bathroom.Touchingmy things.Gettingnaked.Havinghot water sluice over his skin.Usingmy soap all over his body.Dryinghis naked skin with my towels.

Iwas going to have to bleach them to get his scent out.

Shit.Washe going to be hungry, too?Iopened my fridge again.Asa faun,Isuspected he’d need something green.Ididn’t have much in the way of vegetables.Wouldbread work?Itwas made from grains.Theloaf was a couple of days old, but with a bunch of butter, it’d be edible.

Whenhe stepped out of the bathroom,Ipointed at the counter.

“Thereis bread there, if you want something.Itisn’t much, but it’ll fill your stomach.Butteris in the fridge.”

“Doyou have peanut butter?”

Ipointed at a cupboard. “Tryin there.”

Ifhe wanted to eat, it was up to him to fix it.Iwasn’t catering to him.

Buteven as the thought hit me, the back of my neck started itching, as ifIcould feel my magic poke at me to step up and be a good alpha.Itskittered along my spine, reminding me of all the times my parents had been disappointed in me.Myfather would not have approved of my interactions withRyleyso far.He’dalways been determined to take care of everyone, treat everyone as a pack.AndIdid do that, usually.