"Get a room, you two!" a mocking voice called out over the sounds of the evening street traffic, startling me back to awareness.
I pulled back and stared up at the Alpha. His breathing was ragged, there was a slight flush to his skin, and his body trembled ever so slightly as though with the effort of holding himself back from something.
"Alrick!" I hissed under my breath, forcing a smile to my lips for anyone watching. "What's wrong with you?"
There was no response; he just stood there and watched me with the predatory look that I remembered from the lake. Oh, hell! I was going to ease away, but I thought better of it, afraid it might trigger him to attack. I was standing dumbly in the center of the sidewalk, desperately trying to think of a way that we could get home with no money, no transportation, and now, no protection when a movement near the ground caught my attention. I glanced distractedly down at the large turkey that was pecking at my leg and looked back to Alrick before doing a double take. I..Iknewthat bird! What on earth wasVladdoing in this Podunk town in the middle of frozen nowhere?
I opened my mouth to speak, but he shook his head, the movement barely perceivable, and began to wander toward the edge of the woods, pecking at the ground every so often as he went. I grabbed Alrick's hand and wrapped his arm around my waist, hoping we looked like a couple heading out for a romantic walk, and followed a discreet distance behind. A hundred yards or so into the trees, Vlad's rotund human form was leaning against a small pine, its thin branches appearing to flail with the effort of supporting him.
"Vlad!" I rushed forward to hug him only to stop back when Alrick growled. "Alrick! He's a friend!"
"I don't think it was aimed at me, sugar," Vlad said calmly, studying Alrick curiously. "I think he picked up on Jackal's scent." He nodded off to the side. "Come on out, Cupcake!"
I felt my brows inching up as a Beta that I recognized from the Blood Valley pack stepped out from the shadows.
"Hey, Sebastian."
"Jackal? What are you doing here?" I stared in disbelief.
"We got married!" Vlad squealed before the Beta could answer, shoving his left hand in front of my face and wiggling the fourth finger, a thin band of silver catching one of the last rays of light.
"Congratulations," I said slowly, trying to wrap my brain around what had to be the most unlikely mating I'd ever heard of. Seriously. A turkey and a wolf? That made Harry and Spencer’s mating look almost traditional, and I caught myself fighting back a laugh as I wondered what Cian would have thought ofthat.
Jackal smiled indulgently as he rubbed circles on Vlad's back. "I think we better keep it down a bit, Pumpkin."
"Sorry," Vlad dipped his head to kiss the Beta's cheek. "I'm still so excited."
Jackal winked at him and then turned back to me. "We were taking the scenic route back home from Harry's place and thought we'd stop to check this place out." Jackal's brow furrowed. "We had just decided to get back on the road when Vlad caught sight of you and thought you might need help."
"Oh, we do," I agreed. I gave our friends a brief run down of how we'd ended up in the small town that Vlad said was called Cordova. It was, as Alrick had suspected, on the Alaskan side of the border, but barely.
"That's insane." Jackal whistled under his breath, sneaking a look at the still silent Alpha standing stiffly at my side. "Is he always this quiet?"
"Sort of," I said with a sigh. "But he's been acting really strange for about the last day." I looked at Alrick's stony face and shook my head. "Really, really strange."
"There's been a lot of strange here," Jackal said calmly. "So much strange, in fact, that we need to all get out of here as soon as possible." He sent a side look to the still silent Alpha and raised a brow my direction.
I nearly groaned at the nod to my loss of manners; more evidence that I wasn't the type of Omega that an Alpha would ever want.
"Alrick," I jostled him slightly, waiting until his smoldering eyes met mine. "I know you remember Vlad, right?" He gave a small nod, so I continued, "This is Jackal, his mate." The Alpha's eyes narrowed at the Beta, and I huffed in frustration. "Alrick, he's a member of Rafael's pack. You met his Alpha at Harry's party, remember?" No response. "He's a friend of Clint's."
Thatcaught Alrick's attention – however briefly – and his expression cleared as he nodded to Jackal.
"I offer my service," Jackal said quietly, lowering his eyes in submission.
"I accept," Alrick returned, finally lucid. "A word?"
"Of course." Jackal followed him a short distance from where Vlad and I waited.
We stood and watched as they spoke; Alrick stood tall, projecting an Alpha presence, as Jackal dipped his head, knowing his place in any pack. When they returned, Alrick sought my eyes.
"I'm not…well," he ground out, the telltale shudders racking his body again. "I'm not sure how much longer I can hold things together." He drew in a deep breath. "To keep you safe," he inhaled deeply, "I'm handing you over to the representative from the Blood Valley pack. I need you to follow Jackal."
Vlad and I exchanged a worried look as Alrick slumped back against the tree behind him. Uncertain what to do, I turned to Jackal who stood at his side, a grim set to his mouth. Shaking his head, he helped the Alpha down until he was sitting against the tree, his forehead braced against his knees.
"There's a motel in town," Jackal said, his calm tone belying his stressed countenance. "Sebastian and I are going to go rent a room together," he said, shooting Vlad a hesitant look. "Once we have the key, we'll move Alrick." He turned his worried eyes on me. "You should be safe there until I can get help."
Chapter Twelve
