Mason stood in front of me with a concerned expression. “Are you okay? I thought you were still recovering. Did Ken letyouout?”
“Who is the top alpha in this pack? And where is he?” I askedbluntly.
Masonblinked. “Huh?”
“The top alpha. Whereishe?”
Understanding dawned on Mason’s face as he looked at me gently. “Oh… Um. I know we had one in Scarlet Ridge, but there’s no such thing as a top alpha here in IndigoMountain.”
I stared at him,dumbstruck.
“What?” I said quietly after amoment.
“There is no top alpha here.” He looked at mecuriously. “Why?”
My knees finally gave out and I stumbled to the ground. I couldn’t handle the informationhittingme.
How could there not be a topalphahere?
Who ranthepack?
Who was I supposed to getridof?
Did Gunner knowaboutthis?
Mason kneeled down and quickly helped me to my feet. “Wesley, you’re still hurt. You can’t be running around like this until Ken gives you the greenlight.”
I shook my head in disbelief. There was no way this couldbetrue.
“Wesley?”
“There has to be a top alpha,” I muttered. “Therehastobe.”
“Well, there isn’t,” Mason said. “I know Gunner was our top alpha back in that shithole, but he isn’t around anymore, okay? And there isn’t another top alpha here. It’s better this way. Now come on, let’s get you backtoKen.”
Dazed, I let Mason carry me back inside. Ken was alreadythere.
“Oh, thank the Moon you found him,” Ken said with a huge sigh of relief. “I was worried he injured himself when heranoff.”
“What were you running off for?” Mason muttered at me. “I was just dropping by on the way home from work when I thought I’d see how you and Wesley were doing, and I wanted to ask about these vitamins too, but… Oh, whatever. Anyway, it was a good thing I came here when I did, because he seems really confused and outofit.”
Ken’s eyes fell on me, serious and full of concern. “What were you thinking, Wesley?” he asked gently. There was no accusation in his tone but I was so frustrated and lost that I didn’t know how to answer. I only shook my head and shutmyeyes.
Ken strode over and put his arms around me, pulling me into a firm embrace. “Don’t run out like that again,” he muttered. “You scared the hell out of me. I don’t want you to get hurtagain.”
I nodded slightly into hischest.
Mason shuffled behind us. “Uh… I’m gonna get going. I’ll see you guysaround.”
He let himself out, leaving me alone with Ken in the front hall. After a moment, he broke the embrace and asked, “Canyouwalk?”
“Iguess.”
My knees were still weak, so he put an arm around me and escorted me up the stairs. When we reached the apartment he put me in bed, double-checked my body, and concluded I’d just exerted myself andwasfine.
“I’m not going to ask why you were upset,” Ken began, not looking me in the eye. “I know… you must have wanted a relationship with me. But I’m afraid it’s just not possible. I’msorry.”
Did it even matter anymore? Did I even need to seduce Ken at this point, if there was no top alpha in this pack to work my way up to? Why was I even here if there was no top alpha? What was thepoint?
