Page 55 of Their Alpha

He walked with the slow confidence of an alpha who had finally found the prize he’d been searching for and who knew he could just reach out and take it.

At least, that’s how he walked at first. He stopped cold for a second when he spotted Artemis standing on the porch by Fletcher’s side, the two of them shielding me.

“Mr. Montgomery?” he asked, surprised.

At least, pretending to be surprised. Something about his shock reaction felt off to me.

“What a pleasant surprise,” he continues with a smile, approaching the porch as if he’d been invited. “I had no idea you knew my husband.”

“He’s not your husband,” Fletcher snapped, reaching a hand back, like he was searching to make certain I was still there and still safe. “He’smyhusband.”

Goode’s smile didn’t falter one bit as he came to stand at the bottom of the porch’s two stairs. It was obvious his smile was for Artemis, but he glanced briefly at Fletcher before saying, “I think the law would have something to say about that.”

“Your cult marriage is the one that’s not valid in the eyes of the law,” Fletcher growled. “Our court marriage is.”

“Now you know we don’t recognize omega-omega marriage in the community,” Goode said, still smiling andsounding every bit like a righteous pastor gently chastising a wayward family member. “Any marriage but that between an alpha and an omega, or barring that, a male and a female, is considered anathema in the eyes of God. Marriage is for the purpose of procreation and spiritual guidance. It’s not a vessel for the sins of the flesh.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I hadn’t heard someone speak those sentiments to me personally since I fled The People.

“I think you should leave,” Artemis said. “Gideon is protected, both by his husband and by me.”

“And who are you to these two?” Goode challenged him. “In our interview, you told me you were married. Is that marriage with this one?” He gestured to Fletcher, his fake smile slipping into hate for a moment. “Are you here to collect your wayward omega as well?”

“I’m here to protect my…friends,” Artemis said.

I didn’t know if I wanted him to call me his omega to Goode’s face or not. I didn’t know if I deserved that honor. Fletcher was Artemis’s omega, I was just…extra.

“Get off my property,” Fletcher growled, balling his hands into fists. “I won’t let you take my husband.”

Goode stepped back with a look of shock. “Who said I was here to take anybody? I simply came to chat with…Gideon, to clear the air. There’s so much confusion between us right now, isn’t there, my friend,” he addressed me directly.

I was almost completely shielded behind Fletcher and Artemis. I could just barely see through the gap between their shoulders.

“I’m not leaving with you,” I told him, surprised that I could summon enough courage for that.

“I didn’t say you had to,” Goode said with a shrug. “Consider me a visitor.” He glanced to the side, to where the ladder leaned against the side of the porch and the pile of shingles in the corner that Artemis and Fletcher had been planning to use to patch a few spots on the roof. “Or better still, consider me an extra set of helping hands. God smiles upon the man who helps his neighbor. Let me help you.”

“No,” Fletcher said. “Get back in your car and leave.”

Artemis shifted to face him, and after a glance between the two of them that I knew was bond communication, they both turned towards me.

“If we chase him off, he’ll just come back with reinforcements,” Artemis whispered so that Goode couldn’t hear him. “He doesn’t have anyone with him now. This could be the best chance we get to eliminate the problem he poses without causing too much fuss.”

“Are you suggesting we kill him?” Fletcher said, paling. He then lowered his voice even more and whispered, “Please say you’re suggesting we kill him.”

“Fletcher!” I hissed. I didn’t have to say more, I just stared at him with wide, shocked eyes.

Fletcher winced. “I know, I know. Except I wouldn’t put it past him to try to kill all of us.”

He had a horrific point. How did you safely deal with someone when you knew they had murder and abduction on their mind? Artemis still had his phone so in theory, he could call the police, but what would they do? You couldn’t arrest a man for visiting the omega he believed was his husband. For trespassing, maybe, but Artemis was right. He’d just come back with reinforcements.

We had to deal with this problem ourselves, one way or another.

Artemis and Fletcher stared at each other for a longtime. I could have sworn I felt the conversation they were having, too. Stranger still, even though my baby wasn’t more than a collection of cells inside me that wasn’t even rounding my stomach, I felt them pulse with…communication as well. That was the only word I could think of to describe it.

We nodded to each other, then straightened and faced Goode again, like we’d been in a team huddle and now knew our game plan.

“You can stay,” Artemis said. “We do need help with the roof.”

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