Page 46 of The Feral Alpha

The soft thump must’ve caught Olson’s attention; he cracked his eyes open, glancing at the open locket.

Then he jerked upright, closing his fist around the locket. “You—”

Rex wrapped his arms around Olson, hugging him tight. “Mine.”

Olson seemed to swallow hard. “The—The man here. This is my alpha.”

A rumble came out of Rex’s chest; he nuzzled Olson harder. “Mine.”

“Are you not jealous?”

Rex shrugged and pulled Olson back down so they could cuddle together. “Sleep.”

Olson turned with a frown, watching Rex closely. Rex smiled and rubbed his nose against Olson’s shoulder.

Like everything Olson was, this too felt right.

Rex closed his fingers around Olson’s wrist, rubbing his thumb over the bonding marks there. “Mine.”

Olson’s breathing hitched. Ever so slowly, he relaxed, covering Rex’s hand with his own. “This is all... too good to be true. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

Rex tangled their feet together and wriggled his toes. “No shoe.”

A snort. “It just means that I keep expecting something bad to happen.”

Rex growled, wrapping his arm and leg around Olson. “Protect.”

“Well. Hopefully that’ll be enough.” Olson sighed and pulled Rex more snugly against himself. “For now, we pretend that everything is going to be fine.”

13

A DREAM THAT’S NOT A DREAM

He bounded up to Olson two days after his sixteenth birthday, grinning so wide that the gap in his teeth was showing. “Olson, Olson! Guess what, guess what, guess what?”

Olson couldn’t help but grin. George’s excitement was infectious. “What?”

“I got my license. And my dad’s keys.” George held up the Jeep keys, his entire body trembling. “Let’s go!”

“Where?”

“Out there.” George beamed. “The high desert.”

“Right now? Really?”

It was something they’d been talking about; George had shown him several pictures of the nature preserves, but they hadn’t had the chance to go alone. Not until now.

“It’s 9PM,” Olson said.

“Yeah! We’ll camp overnight. And take pictures in the morning. I’ll set an alarm and everything.”

Olson shivered. “You’ll make me look pretty?”

“Yes.”

They scrambled to pack, first at Olson’s house, then at George’s. When the Jeep was filled with food, water, and blankets, they piled into it, Olson catching George’s hand. “Do we have enough for gas?”

George nodded. “I brought some cash. I don’t think we’ll get stranded.”

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