Page 51 of Their Alpha

Fletcher took the lead with everyone’s cleaning duties. I definitely didn’t mind. The more he was given the chance to take charge of things and feel like he had some sort of control over our bizarre situation, the more Fletcher relaxed and shone. The increased comfort I felt from him through our bond was dead sexy in so many ways. My thing for having an omega take control of me extended beyond the bedroom, and Fletcher had everything I needed to be in my happy place.

For a while, we forgot Goode and the dangerous situation we were in entirely.

“I feel like one of the palace servants in evil King Freslik’s palace,” Gideon said late into the afternoon, as hescrubbed the hardwood of the living room floor on his hands and knees.

We’d taken all the rugs outside to beat them and moved the furniture to the side of the room that Gid had already scrubbed. A little soap and elbow grease had already made the room so much brighter and homier.

“Are there stories about the palace servants?” I asked, carrying a load of wood across the room to the holder next to the crackling fireplace. “Or is it just the princes?”

“Oh, there are stories about the palace servants, too,” Gideon said. “One is a foundling who it turns out is actually a dragon-shifter, like the alpha princes. Another finds some magic seeds and plants them in the garden and goes off on adventures in the sky. And another is so pure of heart that when they are mistaken for one of the princes, a nobleman falls in love with him and marries him, and when that nobleman becomes king after King Freslik meets his just end, he becomes the King Consort.”

“I like that,” I said, brushing off my hands, then heading outside again for another load of wood. “You’re so passionate about these stories. You really should write your own versions.”

Gideon pushed himself up from where he’d been scrubbing. “Depending on how much time we spend here, I might. I bought a few notebooks and some pens this morning to compensate for having to leave my laptop behind.”

I knew it bothered Gideon that he’d had to leave his work and his passion at the farm, but Fletcher had been right when he’d mentioned to me earlier that any electronics we might have with us would be a way for Goode to trace and find them.

That reminded me of the one electronic device I stillhad with me. When I headed back out for another load of firewood, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and checked for service. There wasn’t any in front of the house, but luckily, as I moved around the back, towards the edge of the cliff, I picked up just a little shred of service.

I decided to take that opportunity to call Victor while I could.

“Hey, Artemis. It’s good to hear your voice,” Victor answered the call.

I laughed, “You saw me last week and I texted you earlier.”

“Yeah, but I know what you’re dealing with right now,” Victor said. “Simon and I are worried about you.”

That made me smile. Good friends were worth their weight in gold.

“Have you heard anything about Goode in the last twenty-four hours?” I asked.

“Only that he’s dropped off the radar,” Victor answered. “I did a little asking around, even managing to contact his assistant, but no one knows where he is now.”

That concerned me. I glanced toward the drive, as if Goode would come racing up the gravel at any second.

“Goode’s assistant said he expects Goode has gone back to The People’s compound for a while,” Victor went on. “They don’t generally do cell phones.”

“The alphas have them,” I said, filling in the little I knew from chatting with Gideon. “Some of the betas and omegas have them secretly. I doubt anyone is going to be calling them to check on Goode anytime soon, though.”

“Do you want me to put out some deep feelers to see if I can pin down Goode’s location?” Victor asked.

“Yes,” I said, swimming with relief. “But I’m not sure how you’ll be able to let me know. I’m going to turnoff my phone for a while. There’s some concern that Goode will be able to track us through our electronics.”

“Does he know you’re with Fletcher and Gideon?” Victor asked, sounding surprised.

“No,” I said. “But I don’t want to take the chance of him finding out.”

I could practically see Victor nodding on the other end of the call. “I’ll do what I can here to figure out what’s going on for you. If I hear anything, I’ll call and leave a message.”

“I’ll check once a day in case you call.”

I was happy with that arrangement. We talked for about a minute more before my signal started to falter, then we said goodbye. As soon as I ended the call, I turned my phone off entirely before sticking it back in my pocket.

“Is everything okay?”

I turned at the sound of Fletcher’s voice as he approached me from the kitchen porch.

“Yeah,” I said. “I think we might actually be alright.”

---