Ug. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up, but the promise of my tea tipped the scales for me. I struggled to sit up and blinked in the dimly lit room. "Where are we?"
"The Hidden Dale Inn," Clint responded slowly. "Don't you remember us coming here earlier after the meeting with the bog witch?"
"No." I reached for the steaming cup in his hand. "I was pretty tired though."
Clint nodded but, even in the dim light, I could see the concern on his face. I took a swallow of the tea and felt my face twist in displeasure. "This is the wrong tea."
"Yeah, they don't sell the stuff you drink at home here," Clint explained. "The gal at the store said this is the closest they have." His brow furrowed. "You said it was fine when she asked you."
For the life of me I couldn't remember the conversation he was referring to, so I swallowed another mouthful of the bitter tea and reached for the dry toast he had brought me to eat. Clint must have decided that that meant I was ready to start my night, because he settled into a chair by the small corner fireplace with his own steaming cup – coffee, from the smell of it – and began to talk.
“How much do you remember of the conversation with Adalwolfa this morning?”
I took another drink of the tea as I considered the question. “Not much, I guess,” I admitted.
Where most Alphas would have been angry or irritated, Clint just acknowledged me with a slight nod. I tried to focus as he explained that Dr. Paul thought I might have a medical condition that was basically causing my body to reject Clint’s claim. I suppose that I should have found that concerning, should have worried about the future of our relationship, but all I was worried about was whether or not her treatment would clear up the lost feeling I was living with and make me feel better. I realized I had spoken out loud when Clint responded.
“She said it will.” His face was tight, but his voice was calm. Controlled. “Maybe you should take some time to think about it?”
“I don’t think so.” I finished the last bite of my toast and washed it down with the nasty lemonish tea. “I think we should do it.”
Clint’s eyes took on a sadness that I’d never seen in them before, but he nodded. “I’ll call Adalwolfa.”
ChapterSix
Clint
The first few hours after Adalwolfa’s spell had been cast were some of the most uncomfortable of my life.
With Trevor once again an unclaimedhumanOmega, leaving him unattended was just not an option. After all, the issues in my past demanded that I never again leave an Omega –anyOmega - in danger and, claim or not, my wolf still saw Trevor’s safety as our personal responsibility.
It certainly didn’t help at all that I was still every bit as drawn to Trevor as I had been that first night in the interview room at the auction house. That attraction was even further compounded by the intimate knowledge I now had of what I was missing out on.
In the tiny room, Trevor's scent overwhelmed me, making me so hard that it was almost impossible for me to concentrate on anything but the exotic Omega who was currently curled up on the bed, casting nervous glances at me from under lowered lashes. And concentrating on him was no hardship at all. While most Alphas will tell you that their mate is still as attractive as the day that they met, I wouldn't.
At the auction house that night, Trevor's body had been thin, underweight, and crisscrossed with welts. In our time together, the wounds had healed, of course, but he had also filled out. Not just in lean muscle – although there was plenty of it - but his previously sharp hipbones fit more perfectly in my hands. His slightly thicker thighs cradled me perfectly when I was inside him, and the little bit of extra padding from the twins he had borne had plumped his already gorgeous rump into a mouthwatering treat.But the changes in him went far beyond just the physical.
Trevor had made great emotional progress as well; he was far from the frightened, broken man I had bid on that night. He stood tall and, even though his voice was still naturally softer than some, he spoke confidently. He no longer hesitated to give his opinion, and the days of me having to press him to make unsolicited observations were long gone. Trevor had blossomed into a capable, determined being who enhanced the lives of everyone he came in contact with. Trevor had been beautiful when I met him, but he was so, so much more appealingto me now than he had been the day that we met.
It may have been Rafe, Colt, and I that had rescued the kidnapped Omegas, but Trevor was the one who had suggested that I foster them. He had directed the construction of the dormitory buildings where they could have safe, private quarters, and he had personally overseen each and every Omega's medical care to bring them back to full health. In short, Trevor had effortlessly become an integral part of the Coruscation pack. My Omega was remarkable inside and out, and my wolf was as confused and devastated at the thought that he may not want us anymore as my human side was.
Yeah, so, naturally, his presence alone was a bit distracting. If I was going to redirect my focus from him long enough to find a way to reclaim my mate, I was going to need a little help. Luckily, I’d anticipated that and it wasn't too much longer before a knock came at the door.
"Hey, Colby." I held the door and caught a whiff of the Blood Valley Omega's scent as he walked past. Where Trevor's was light and clean, with the faintest undertones of molasses and sugar that everyone else claimed they couldn't pick up, Colby's scent was thicker, with more musk and spicier undertones. Still appealing – what Omega's wasn't? - but he couldn't compete with Trevor.
"Dude." Colby's bright blue eyes were laughing at me. "Did you seriously just scent me?"
Embarrassed, I shrugged. "Sorry."
Colby knew that it was an instinctive response to being unclaimed and near an Omega, so he just rolled his eyes and shooed me out the door. I checked that it was locked after it closed behind me and made a mental note to try and get my animal instincts back under control. After all, Colby may have thought it was funny to have me nosing around him, but, friend or not, I was pretty sure that his Alpha wouldn't be so forgiving.
Once I was out the door, there was finally enough space between Trevor and me that I could clear my thoughts from the clouding of his presence. Once I did, I realized that I had no actual plan on where I was going or what I was planning on doing once I got there.
The inn where we were staying faced a street that was surprisingly busy for the late hour, but the side roads on either side were quiet, dark, and barely traveled. I eased into the shadows on the south side where I was shielded from the moonlight and leaned against the building to consider my options.
Rafe had called Bane back in Blood Valley before Trevor and I had left the library. There was already a contingency of his men on their way to Blue Ridge to investigate the possibility that Trevor's previous Alpha, Cal, may have been involved in Trevor's situation, so there was no need for me to go there; not like I would have been willing to leave Trevor long enough to, anyway. And even if I'd thought it was a good idea to take Trevor with me to confront Cal, I couldn't. Not right then. When Adalwolfa had cast the spell a few hours earlier, she had been quite specific that it wouldn't settle until midnight and a single glance up showed the moon was only at the ten o'clock position.
I stretched and drew in a deep lungful of the crisp night air. The smells that drifted on the wind were different from the ones in the forest and vast open spaces at home. Hidden Dale was home to large numbers of humans as well as all different species of shifters. Their jumbled scents mixed with the smoke from fires heating the homes, the exhaust from cars as they ambled by, and the faint reminder of meals drifting in the air in a disjointed hodgepodge that all but assaulted the senses.My wolf subconsciously isolated the individual layers as I breathed it in and found each one more disagreeable than the last.
