Page 7 of Lonely Alpha

I’d talk to a spammer at this point, but it was my omega dad.

“Son, thank the Goddess we got you. I know you’re leaving for your weekend out of town”—I hadn’t actually told my dads why I was going or where because where would tell them why—“but if you have just a few minutes to help us with a website issue, we’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll be right there.” Thank heavens for something to occupy my time.

“No, you don’t have to come. You can probably take care of it from there. Your father and I don’t want to bother you when you’re getting ready to go.”

“Dad, you know you’re more comfortable if you can watch what I’m doing.” Usually that bothered me a little, having them breathing down my neck and asking lots of questions. “So, just let me grab my keys, and I’ll come right to the shop.”

“All right. We’ll be waiting.”

When I got there, they had managed to do something to the website and locked themselves out. I sat down to figure it out, while they stood in their preferred positions looking over my shoulders. This time, I didn’t mind so much, grateful for the distraction.

“Okay, I’ve got this now. It’s fixed and I’ve set it so you can’t lock yourselves out.” It really wasn’t difficult. “Why don’t I just run through your pages and see if anything needs tweaking.” I lifted my hands, prepared to continue working, but Father patted my shoulder, and I turned the chair around to face them.

“We’re good, Son. Wait and fool around with it after your trip. Where did you say you were going?” Father asked.

“Going with anyone special?” Dad added.

“No, just driving by myself.” I knew I was being deliberately obtuse, but I still didn’t feel comfortable telling them about where I was going and why. They’d been so crushed for me when I was heartbroken over Lars. I was afraid that if I told them I was going to the Bearclaw and if they knew the stories about it, they would get too invested before I even went there and met whoever was there to meet me.

“And where did you say your destination is?” Father asked. “Or are you just going to drive for three days?”

“Dads, I’ve been all over the world in the past several years, and you didn’t even know where I was. I think I can manage a weekend trip on my own.”

“Told you.” Dad poked Father in the ribs. “He’s got a date.”

“Mm-hmm.” Father nodded wisely. “You were right.”

Those two were wily. “What do you know?”

They looked at each other and back at me. “Nothing until now,” Dad said. “But we won’t press you for more information.”

“We won’t?” Father frowned under Dad’s glare. “Oh, right. We won’t.”

The two of them were dying to ask, but really, I wasn’t ready to share, and I didn’t even know what made them come up with the idea I might have someone new. But I accepted their respect for my privacy and left them to go home and pack.

Having worn uniforms so much of the time, I didn’t have a big wardrobe, so there weren’t many choices to be made. The weather was predicted to be nice, so I packed my scarred leather duffel with slacks and a couple of button-down shirts, shorts, and a pair of jeans and a few other things, like toiletries.

It felt beyond odd to be going to meet someone new, but at some point, a person has to find a fulfilling life. Lots of people didn’t have a fated mate at all, but they went on to have families with a chosen mate. Why couldn’t I do the same thing?

And why didn’t that sound at all appealing?

Chapter Seven

Lars

I should’ve left earlier and taken the train. Or a bus. Or anything that didn’t involve the man next to me sleeping on my shoulder. I’d tried to shove him off several times, but his response was to snore louder and nestle in deeper.

Finally, after the longest fifteen minutes of my life, I cleared my throat violently, and he got the picture and sat up straight. The woman on the other side of him barely held in her giggle.

Once the plane landed, I was more than ready to get out of that glorified soda can. My wolf hated flying most of all but, since he was incommunicado, he didn’t say much about it. Which was nice because the last time I flew, he kicked up a fuss like no other. Then again, that was the time I left our hometown and, with it, the possibility of William coming back to find me.

I shook my head at the thoughts of him as I waited in baggage claim. Bag in hand, I went outside where my ride was waiting.

Two hours later, the driver had to wake me up. “We’ve arrived. This is the Bearclaw Inn.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, still coming out of sleep.

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