“Is that how this works? You have a Riley emotional radar going off inside you?”
“Of course.” He stopped while I was still walking, waiting until I came abreast of him before his arm reached out and hooked me around the waist. “Fuck, we used to drive you nuts at school. As if those pretty green eyes didn’t flash at the best of times, but when we were pushing you…? Why’d you think we hassled you on the bus so much?”
I could feel his strength now, his warmth, see every little quirk of his lips.
“You had every eye on you, which you hated. We were making a scene, which you hated more, but then we’d get you sitting down with us, perched on our laps or wedged between us.” His hand reached out, cupping my jaw. “There’d be this brief moment where I’d feel it—a rush of pleasure, a need that looked like the one inside me.” He brushed his thumb against my jaw and then pulled his hand away. “Then you’d be back to hating it again.”
“I hated it because I had to,” I replied.
“I know. Just makes me wonder how you’ll respond now, without all the chooks of Bordertown clucking. So what did the big fella do that pissed you off so much this morning?”
“Looking for hints of what not to do?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Maybe. Maybe I just want to know what to kick his fucking arse for when I get back to the house.”
He wasn’t quite the smartarse boy from school, but there was a slight hint of mocking challenge there still, like the rough edges of the boy had been rounded off, though not smoothed entirely. No matter where his head was at, though, I was a calm, rational woman and I would remain that, even around the Vanguards.
“Blake started feeling me up in his sleep. I tried to wake him up, but he wasn’t in the driver’s seat, his wolf was.” Ryan stiffened then, his expression becoming thunderous. “He came to, realising what he was doing and…” Fuck, did I do this? “That he’d turned me on in the process,” I said with a shrug. “He proceeded to…deal with that.” A little huff of breath from Ryan. “That was probably the happy part. But when I turned around and tried to reciprocate… He was explaining about alphas and omegas, all useful stuff, but…”
I hissed out my breath, staring up at him, wanting to look away but unable to, so every bit of my anger, frustration, and need poured into that.
“I watched the omegas strut around the school like they ruled it. Fucking Cheryl tried to take me out several times because I was always with you.”
“I know, Riles,” he said, thrusting his hands into my hair and moving closer. “It’s why we were always with you. They knew. On some level, they had to have. We had no connection with her or with any of them.”
“But you weren’t told every day that you weren’t the right person,” I said, pulling free of him. I couldn’t say this if he was touching me, his look of concern enough of a stumbling block, but he kept coming and I kept backing away, and wasn’t that an analogy for whatever the hell this was? “As soon as I worked out what I was, that I wasn’t the omega everyone had been waiting for, they told me. ‘Not them, Riley, they’re not for you.’ It’ll be Cheryl or Valerie or Cy. They were the right ones, and I was the wrong one.” I let out a short bark of laughter. “That has to fuck with a girl’s head, y’know?”
“Riley—”
“No, just stand there and listen. Blake made a comment about how omegas and alphas are supposed to go together. He was just trying to answer a question I asked, but all of a sudden, everything that was hot and sweet and sexy was hard and painful.”
I shook my head, but in the time it took to do that, he had his arms around me and was holding me close.
“Thanks for telling me,” he forced out, the sound of his voice muffled by his tight grip on me. “I’ll tell the others. We’ll be more careful. I know we’re a bunch of fucking dickheads, but on this, I think you’ll find we’re apt students.”
“Trying to keep the peace again?” I asked, eyeing him when he finally pulled away.
“Trying to find my way, love, and hoping that we don’t fuck shit up again.” He held out a hand to me, and I took it, just like I had back then. As he drew me closer, wrapping his arm around my waist and walking me over to the ute he’d brought here, I couldn’t seem to turn my back on the comfort of it, not even now.
“I knowthe guys took you out somewhere fancy yesterday, but I was thinking of something a bit more basic,” he told me as he got us out on the road.
“Basic sounds fine. There’s a sandwich place…” I watched him flick on his indicators, then take a right, obviously with some destination in mind. “You’ve got a plan. Of course you have a plan.”
Even though all the sons were born alphas, there was often an internal hierarchy within the pack. One would emerge as the ultimate leader, making the hard decisions if the pack couldn’t. Others would focus more on the relationship with the omega, the child rearing, certain aspects of the day-to-day running of the town that called to them. Then there were those like Ryan—strong enough that in another pack, they might have been a leader. He was quickly designated the role of problem solver, so while Fen made decisions, the details were often left to Ryan to work out, to ensure they were acted on.
“And you still fucking hate surprises. I couldn’t believe you let Haze take you to a restaurant without it being pre-approved,” he said, glancing at me with a smile.
“So you are getting some details, then?”
“Had to. Who do you think gave him some decent clothes to wear and worked out what restaurant to book?”
“So where are we going?” I asked, scanning the city streets, looking for clues.
“I could tell you, but…” When I glanced over at him, I saw that familiar grin, different now on a man’s face, not a boy’s, but some of that same mischievous energy was there.
“You’re baiting me?” My eyebrow shot up. “You’re still baiting me for kicks.”
“For a reaction,” he corrected, his eyes becoming heavy lidded before focussing back on the road. “Winding you up so that cool façade of yours cracks for just a second. I’m sorry, love, but you got me addicted to that shit. So no, I’m not gonna tell you, and if you sit there and stew, it’s just gonna encourage me.” His eyes remained trained on the road, but his voice? It was a low buzz that made me feel all shivery. “I think you’ll find there’s not a lot I won’t do to get a reaction out of you.”