Page 43 of Their Alpha

“My family is right here,” he said, glancing between me and Gideon.

It was cute, and my omega purred at the thought, but I also thought the answer was a copout.

“I don’t have a lot of family,” Artemis said, conceding to my doubts. “None that live nearby, at least. And my closestfriends, Victor and Simon, will completely understand why I’m here instead of there.”

“Whatever the case, I’m glad you’re here,” I said.

It was the understatement of the year, and I knew Artemis could feel that.

We finished eating, but as we did, I was left unsatisfied. What we’d eaten wasn’t a meal, it was a snack.

“We need better food,” I said as we cleaned up and took things back into the house.

“I noticed a small refrigerator in the pantry,” Artemis said. “Is that what the generator around the side of the house is for?”

I nodded. “Yeah, but the one thing I wasn’t able to stockpile, because I always figured I’d have time to get it before we needed to be here, is fuel for the generator.”

“Could we go into the nearest town to get fuel and food?” Gideon asked.

I hadn’t realized he’d been paying attention to our conversation. I hated worrying him with things like that.

Artemis and I exchanged a look, feeling the same thing. We needed to protect Gideon, which meant laying low and not being seen. But we also needed crucial supplies if we were going to do that effectively.

“I think we have no choice but to go find fuel for the generator, at least,” Artemis said. “And honestly, we need more in the way of supplies than you were able to stock in advance.”

I blew out a breath and rubbed a hand over my face. “Agreed,” I sighed. “But I hate the idea of being out around people.”

I hated the idea of taking Gideon out of hiding in any way that would expose him to Goode. There was no way to tell where Goode was or how hard he was looking for us. Hedidn’t know where to look, but to assume he wouldn’t find us was foolhardy.

“I’ll think of something,” Artemis said, squeezing my shoulder and sending reassurance through our bond. “We can do this. We can get what we need safely. Trust me.”

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d trusted anyone other than Gideon, but I trusted Artemis. Part of me felt like I didn’t have a choice.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Artemis

There was no cell service whatsoever at the cliffside house. Part of me liked that. Fletcher had found a place so off the grid that I was confident Goode wouldn’t be able to find us. At least not for a while.

The other part of me didn’t like it at all. If the worst happened, we wouldn’t be able to call for help. My phone couldn’t connect to the internet, so I wouldn’t be able to keep my eyes peeled for news about Goode, or anything else. The only hint of a signal I got was when I walked all the way out to the edge of the cliff. Even then, it was only one bar.

More immediately, the lack of service meant I couldn’t research the nearest place to find fuel for the generator and food to keep us safe and fed for what I hoped would be a few weeks at least. Fletcher vaguely remembered a few places and knew of a nearby town, but in the end, we had topile into my car, since it was an SUV and had more space for our shopping than the dinky car Fletcher had bought the day before, and just start driving.

“Swapping out cars was a brilliant idea,” I said as we pulled onto the main road, if any road that far out from the city could be called main, and headed west.

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about this and a little experience from the last time we ran,” Fletcher said as he stared out the windshield to the road ahead of us.

“It wasn’t just the car he swapped,” Gideon said from the back seat, leaning forward as much as his seatbelt would let him. “He has half a dozen license plates, too.”

That was a good idea, which I let Fletcher know through the bond. Maybe I should have swapped my own license plate for one of the spares before we headed out on this errand.

I felt a sense of reassurance from Fletcher, like I’d spoken my thoughts aloud and he was telling me it was okay. That made me smile.

It was so easy to communicate through the bond. I’d never given bonds much thought before. I’d assumed that maybe one day I’d find an omega to settle down with, but I was in my mid-thirties now, and that possibility had been getting less likely. Not every couple bonded either. Gideon had been right when he’d said bonding was a sign that an alpha and omega were soulmates.

I definitely felt like Fletcher was my soulmate. But I was falling fast and hard for Gideon, too. Maybe it was because the two of them were definitely a package deal. I had no idea how it would work, but I had hope.

We chatted easily about random things as we drove off in search of the right place to shop. At one point, we drove through a small town that had a giant supercenter, but itgave off the wrong vibe to me. Fletcher agreed, silently, so we drove on.

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