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“Ohh, this is prime-time entertainment.” The first alpha offered a fist to Uriel; Uriel gave him a fist bump. “Uriel, right? I’m Jorvik, and this fucker here is Maddox. Good thing we were coming through this way, we’ve seen you on the chat but never had the chance to meet you in person.”

“Yeah, it’s great to put faces to your names,” Uriel said.

Maddox gave Uriel a fist bump too, then pulled out his phone. “So where are we going?”

Uriel gave them Fenn’s address. “Friend of mine. He’s being tracked down by kidnappers for revenge.”

Jorvik’s expression grew thunderous. “Buckle in. We’re getting there as fast as we can.”

With a roar of its engine, the car leaped forward, throwing them against the seats.

“Thanks for stepping in to help,” Uriel said. As an omega, he would’ve apologized for taking up their time, but in his alpha persona, he accepted things from his alpha friends without being self-conscious about it.

“Of course,” Jorvik said.

“Goo goo,” Cassie said from her chest carrier.

“Aww,” Maddox said, craning his neck to look. He couldn’t see much, though; the carrier was hooded to protect Cassie from the wind during flight. “Bringing your kid along, really?”

“We were in the middle of nowhere when I got the call for help,” Uriel said. “None of my usual babysitters were nearby, and I wasn’t leaving her with Hunner.”

Maddox snorted. “Afraid she’ll grow up spouting pickup lines?”

“Oh gods,” Uriel said.

“He’s already promised to cover my lair in pickup lines when we get home,” Bruiser muttered.

“Oh? You’ll be living together?” Jorvik asked with interest.

“No!” Uriel frowned. “We haven’t talked about that.”

He remembered Bruiser offering him shelter, though, and he wondered how long it would take for him to start following the alpha home.

“Uriel, has Hunner told you any of Bruiser’s embarrassing childhood stories?” Maddox asked deviously.

“No,” Bruiser growled. “Don’t.”

Jorvik laughed loudly. “We watched you grow up, little dragonet. We know your embarrassing stories too.”

“Don’t tell Uriel,” Bruiser growled louder.

Maddox’s phone buzzed. “Hunner says to tell him the one with the knife and the pantyhose.”

Bruiser straightened up, looking panicked. “Not that one!”

“Why not?” Uriel couldn’t help asking.

“It happened when Lil B was six years old,” Maddox said slyly.

Bruiser tried to grab him, but his seatbelt yanked him back in place.

“Lil Bruiser saw a ninja in a painting with a piece of black cloth covering his eyes,” Maddox said. “One day, when his mom accidentally dropped a black pantyhose on the floor, he decided that he was going to be a ninja too. He wrapped the pantyhose around his eyes. Except he couldn’t see through it. So he tried cutting out eye holes with a pair of scissors.”

“Oh gods,” Uriel said, already knowing how this story would end. Bruiser dropped his face into his hands.

“Obviously it didn’t work,” Jorvik said.

“Nope,” Maddox said. “He brought his mom’s pantyhose to the kitchen and tried to stab it with a knife.”