I grasp him by the back of the neck and pull him in. For a moment, I just let the rise and fall of his shoulders sink in. This has been a year in the making.
“I’m so sorry, Gage. I made a fucking bad decision. Can you forgive me?”
“I think at this point we’ve both made some shit ones,” he says, pulling away and meeting my eyes. “Let’s give this a go for her. But next time you’re having a crisis, how about leaning on your packmates instead of disappearing?”
I smile. “Deal.”
"I'm fucking glad to not be the dominant anymore." Gage admits.
I grunt. A deep empty well in my center that's been empty since Nick died starts to fill again.
We look down at Winnie.
“Should we put her in her bedroom?” Gage asks.
I shake my head. “Her bedroom is her nest. She told me that once.”
Gage’s brow furrows. “That’s not okay. This place is too small for her. What about her heat?”
My whole chest warms at the mention of her cycle. That’s the time most scent-sensitive omegas and alphas would bond.
“She hasn’t brought it up, so I’m not pressing.”
Gage still looks concerned.
Corbin
We'd stayed until Winnie woke up from her heat spike. I'm still half hard just from the memory. Now we've picked up the rest of the pack.
Something feels off the moment we enter the small station. My pack is behind me. They wanted to see where I work now that they’re thinking of staying in town. A man stands in the middle of the lobby. He’s a slim alpha speckled with dirt and grease. His long, slicked-back hair might be brown, or it might just be dirty. He smells of oil and lake scum. His beady eyes catch on me.
Deputy Erin stands behind the counter. Her mouth is set in a hard line, and she looks as though she’s been arguing with the guy.
“Can I help you?” I ask, letting my dominance roll over the room a little. The alpha’s head tilts back, showing his throat in an involuntary supplication gesture before he regains control of himself. He growls, and my pack stiffens. I hold my hand up. This is my job. I have it.
“He says he’s looking for his missing dog,” Erin says, holding up a picture of a puppy that very much looks like Deputy when I first found him. My heart sinks, though I keep my face neutral.
“Is that so?” I ask. My pack has spread out around the room. They lean against the walls and sit on the edge of chairs.
“Yeah.” The alpha’s voice is like a flat tire over gravel. “Ran off about three weeks back. Need him.” His mouth works around a wad of tobacco in his lip.
“Three weeks is a long time to be missing your dog. Why not look before now?” I know the likely reason, but I want to suss the man out.
He shifts a little. He knows that I know.
“Just busy,” he evades.
“Uh-huh. Couldn’t be that you lost count, what with all those other puppies up at that ranch just outside of town?”
The alpha’s eyes darken.
“No harm in having animals,” he says.
“There is if you're cruel to the animals. If they’re caged and never get a chance at a real life. If they’re underfed like that puppy was. Or living in their own feces.” Erin flinches at that. “And that’s just the moral side. Because, you see, the moment I found that puppy and people told me where they thought it came from, I opened an investigation into your operation.” The alpha doesn’t look so confident now. His eyes shift from me to my pack.
“The investigation is ongoing,” I continue, “but we did find that you haven’t properly registered any of those animals, and so the dog isn’t in your name.”
He scoffs. “Fine. I’ll register him.”
