A smile breaks over his face. “So when you do that sex scene—?”
I nod. “It won’t really be me. It’ll be another Red, but she’ll come back to you.” I lean away from him and pout my lips. “But that doesn’t mean I’m thrilled to work with Loser Brad.”
He chuckles, and I wipe his tears with my thumbs. “I love you, Red Jones.”
“And I love you, Rickon Jones.”
He beams and presses a gentle kiss on my forehead. “We’re going to be okay. I promise.” He walks me backward, and we tumble gently onto the mattress on the floor.
I cling to his words as our lips meet.
Zack’s alive and currently safe in the hospital. The OCB and Callisto are tracking down Ray’s secret life and I’m certain they’ll find a way to clip his wings. The chokehold locked around me eases enough for me to breathe. And my first alpha holds me inhis arms and makes love to me as the secondhand bond between us thrums with shared adoration.
We’re okay. We have to be.
Chapter twenty-five
Zack
My pack’s visit dissolved a wall in my mind. Now the thoughts circling behind my eyes come more clearly, as if I’ve become a different Zack. The fear they’d abandoned me crumbled under my ohm-ga’s touch, and even the possibility Cal-ee might keep me locked away on purpose proved empty. Each time he visited the hospital, I sensed no challenge from him. Now I trust he’ll get me home.
Which matters, because today I’m on my way back to the cold cell where Al waits for me.
I test the metal locking my hands together with smug satisfaction. If needed, I could break it clean through, but none of the alphas in this long moving vehicle poses a danger. The dark-skinned one beside me curls in on himself, careful not to bump me as the vehicle sways. But some others have trouble on their minds, like the one sitting behind me. His gaze bores into the back of my head, and his thickened alpha scent ripples toward me, making me uneasy.
To distract myself, I watch the scene through the glass beside me. It’s different from when I ride with Red and Ri-ckon. More of the big blue sky is visible and trees stab into the ground instead of rows of tall city boxes that people come and go from.
The lurching movements as we zip past remind me of fight days back before I met my pack. And, since I’m returning to prison, the sensation has some truth.
Behind me, the air changes as the alpha releases traces of a challenge.
I cock my head, digesting the change. Confidence isn’t the only new thing I gained in the hospital while I waited for my ribs to stop burning with every movement. Before Al left, I asked him why my scent is so different from others’ and he told me most alphas restrain their challenge, especially in public. I never knew that was possible, but now it makes sense why an alpha as powerful as Ri-ckon doesn’t release much scent unless aroused.
Everything was a threat back when I was a fighter. I was on edge all the time, never knowing when my next fight would come, either with challengers, the other alphas I lived with, or the men who fed and taunted us. Now things are different. My voice, my scent, and my desire to challenge can all be adjusted, so I’ve been practicing.
The fool sitting behind me doesn’t realize I’m holding back on purpose.
This time, I know I’m allowed to defend myself. My ohm-ga told me not to get hurt again, so I won’t. A chuckle vibrates in my throat as the weak threat rises.
“What’s so funny, big boy?” The alpha behind me has an odd purr in his voice as he leans forward, scent thickening. His finger scrapes down the back of my neck, the owner clearly not valuing that part of his body. “You know, I’ve been watching you stare out the window, and I’m guessing this is your first time in prison, yeah? I could take real good care of a big, dumb brute likeyou. I’ll only ask for your hole a few times a week, and in return, I’ll do your thinking for you.”
Absurd. Not even my pack tries to think for me.
Having alphas sit so close irritates me enough to begin with, so when his hand slides around to touch my jaw, my nerves fray to the last string. The chilly touch of the metal around his wrists drapes on my nape.
I swing to the silent alpha hunched beside me. “See hand?”
He glances over but quickly drops his gaze, defeat streaming off him. Oh, a coward. I scoff. Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the layers of a challenge, sinking into the first as I let my annoyance show.
“Oh, cute,” the alpha behind me whispers. “Now you want to posture up?”
But my warning isn’t for him. He wants to think for another being? He’s too stupid to reason with.
“See hand on me?” I repeat for the timid alpha beside me. “Touch first, yes?”
Perhaps I haven’t learned this magic well yet, because his entire body jerks as my silent challenge fills the air. The hair on his arms jumps to attention. His black eyes, filled with fear, dart my way before he nods stiffly.
Well, that’s enough.
