Page 13 of The Feral Alpha

“I don’t blame you,” Linus whispered, pressing their cheeks together. “Sometimes, it’s all we can do to take our happiness wherever we find it.”

At that, Olson cracked a smile. “Are you trying to tell me that, or yourself?”

“You,” Linus said firmly. He looked into Olson’s eyes. “I will always appreciate you looking out for me all this time.”

“Aww. Now’s not the time to get sentimental, Lincakes. I need to clean up and return to the bar.”

Linus shook his head. “You work too much.”

“I work just the right amount.”

Linus hugged Olson again, then clambered back into the driver’s seat. “There was another alpha who bit you without your permission, too. What’s with all these alphas biting you?”

“That wasn’t an alpha. That was a kid.” Olson pinched the bridge of his nose. “Actually.” He drew several breaths. “They’re both named Rex.”

Linus looked over at him again. “What are the chances that they’re different people?”

Olson bit his lip, his insides squirming. “He disappeared, you know. The kid. He was maybe seven years old. He came up to me at Fast Fries and told me he’d come back to marry me. I completely dismissed him, but... I wondered what happened to him. There’s been no word.”

“And the alpha today...?”

“He can’t string three words together. He’s... damaged.” Olson buried his face in his hands, his thoughts whirling. “He had a fuck ton of scars all over his body, Lin. Like he was tortured.”

Linus looked horrified. “Is that why—”

“Why he can’t speak? Why he lives like a cave-alpha?”

The more Olson thought about it, the sicker he felt. He thought about Rex the boy being captured by the worst people. He imagined Rex growing up knowing no love, and breaking under all the unspeakable things done to him.

“Stop the car. Need to puke.”

Linus stopped. He helped Olson with the seatbelt, and Olson stumbled out of the Jeep.

Olson emptied his stomach into the shrubs. Then he wiped his mouth and wobbled back, accepting the bottle of water Linus handed to him. “What the hell should I do?”

Linus bit his lip. “Do you want to head back into the forest?”

Olson remembered the way Rex had almost bitten the bonding marks on his wrist, and shook his head. “Not right now. I’m not up for more biting. He’s already ruined one of George’s bonding marks.”

“All right. I’m glad you had enough battery left on your phone to use the GPS. I don’t want to imagine you getting lost in here.” Linus reached over to squeeze his hand briefly. Then he took Olson out of the forest, and drove him home.

Rex didn’t show up at the Wine Shack for days. Olson tried not to think about him.

He failed miserably.

On the fourth day, he called his brother, Varrick.

“Before you nag at me to visit our dads, I already did!” Varrick said by way of greeting. “Emmy and Hunter charmed them, as usual.”

Olson sighed heavily. “It’s not about that.”

Varrick’s tone changed immediately, going serious. “What’s wrong?”

“Remember the kid I told you about? The one who bit my wrist.”

“The little shit, yeah.”

“I think he was kidnapped.”

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