Clint shook his head. "I only have the one helmet."
Rafe looked amused. "I have Colby's spare helmet." He narrowed his eyes at Clint. "He can ride with me, if you're not comfortable with him behind you."
"Rafe?" I spoke softly, really not wanting to add any fuel to the fire, so to speak. "It's probably best if I go home. I don't want to go if Clint doesn't think it’s a good idea." I held my tongue, hoping that I'd managed to strike the right combination between meek and eager to please.
Rafe cocked a brow at him and Clint snarled, "He rides with me."
Clint held out his hand for the spare helmet that Rafe had been swinging by the straps and carefully fitted it to my head. He gestured to the Beta who had brought me to town, waving him back toward the pack lands, and straddled the motorcycle to steady it while I climbed on.
The mountain road that we rode along wound through forests of ancient trees with leaves that glowed red and orange in the bright moonlight, but I barely noticed, focusing instead on the memory of the night before. We crested the top of a mountain pass and Rafe drew to a stop, overlooking the valley below. Clint pulled up alongside him and they stared into the distance for a long moment without speaking. Rafe dropped his motorcycle back into gear and pulled away. Expecting that Clint would follow immediately, I was startled when he reached back instead and pulled me up tighter against him. One at a time, he brought my arms forward so that they circled his waist, encouraging me to clasp my hands in front of him.
"Hold on to me, Trevor." Clint patted my hands, his low voice rumbling through me as the wheels beneath us began to turn again.
On the way up the mountain, I'd been too caught up in my memory to enjoy the scenery. On the way down the other side, I was snuggled against Clint's firm back, breathing in his scent, and enjoying the sensations of the motorcycles strong vibrations as they moved my body against him. In short, I couldn't have said what the scenery on that side of the mountain looked like either.
~*~
As expected, the Blue Ridge sentries began to howl the instant that we crossed into their territory. When they did, I suddenly realized that I hadn't asked why we were coming here. I knew Adalwolfa had theorized that Cal might have hired someone to hex me, but I thought that was why the Blood Valley crew had come this way.
When we reached the pack housing, I stared around in shock. Back when Cal had sent me to auction, it had been little better than a shanty town. Now, the tattered tents and ramshackle shanties had been replaced with tidy rows of longhouses covered in white, clapboard siding. A large garden plot replaced the clearing where Cal had chained me to the Saint Andrew's cross and whipped me. Instead of groups of barely dressed shifter's lazily lounging about the grounds, everyone I saw was neatly dressed and seemed to be occupied with specific tasks. Five young men that I remembered as troublemakers were waiting politely for us to dismount, their security uniforms perfectly pressed and their faces carefully blank.
"Welcome." An older shifter that I didn't recognize stepped out from behind them. "I am Alzhat. You've come about the Omega?"
Rafe nodded, quickly introducing himself and Clint. In keeping with tradition, I was ignored and, to be honest, I was fine with that.
"He is inside, with Zade, our Alpha," the elder said, starting up the path and gesturing that we should follow. "The situation is a bit..unusual."
Inside the large central room of the building was a comfortable seating area. Log couches piled with cushions were arranged around a massive open fireplace. Several more vaguely familiar shifters in security uniforms lined the far wall. Three members of Rafe's Blood Valley pack sat silently on one of the large sofas, their eyes trained on a loveseat against the wall where a young Alpha – he couldn't have been more than twenty-two human years – sprawled, legs spread and arms wrapped around a very uncomfortable-looking Levi who was perched in his lap. The Alpha growled and chuffed, rubbing his face into Levi's neck like an overly affectionate cat and scenting the Omega repeatedly. He didn't even seem to realize that we had arrived.
I watched them for a moment and I could feel my eyes widening as I turned to Clint. "Why is Levi here?" I paused and my jaw dropped. "Did that guy justlickLevi'sface?"
Behind us, Rafe snorted. "Well, this is gonna be awkward."
ChapterThirteen
Clint
"Trevor! Clint!" Levi's voice was heavy with relief when he saw us. "You're going to take me home, right?"
The young Alpha – Zade – growled at Levi's words and pulled him tighter, scraping the Omega's jugular with the tips of his fangs and making Levi shriek.
"Easy there, son," Rafe said calmly, walking up in front of them and drawing Zade's attention. "Let the Omega down, and we can talk about this."
Zade lifted Levi in his arms as he rose to his feet, setting him down gently on the couch and turning to face Rafe. Or rather, to stare down at him. The punk might be young, but he was big – easily towering over Rafe's six foot eight and weighing in at no less than two-hundred-fifty pounds of bulging muscles – and I was suddenly clear on why Rafe had asked me to tag along. After all, the kid was big, but my werewolf was larger still.
"He's mine," Zade growled in warning, shifting his body to stand between Levi and the rest of us.
Rafe and I exchanged a look and I reached for the buttons on my shirt. I hadn't packed any spare clothes and wasn't keen on riding back naked because I’d shredded the ones I had on during my shift, but Trevor's hand on my shoulder caught my attention.
"Can I?"
I bit back the instinctive refusal. "Be careful. A besotted Alpha can be territorial and dangerous."
"Yes, Alpha."
Even though Trevor's face remained passive, I couldn't shake the feeling that he was laughing at that. I narrowed my eyes, but he had already turned away.
"Hi, Zade." Trevor walked slowly to where the kid stood and looked up, smiling gently. "My name is Trevor. I'm a friend of Levi's. Can I sit with you?"
