Page 36 of His Temporary Alpha Mate
I’d brought this on myself.
I jinxed the shift by thinking that I’d be bored.
It was the only explanation for what I was witnessing.
Coming up the path, naked, were three people, all looking to be in different stages of distress.
Reaching for the radio, I called it in. “We have three unknowns at the gate. Shifters.” I caught their scent and amended it. “Birds.”
“Hostile?” Deke replied.
“Unknown.”
“Give me a rundown.”
“Naked. On foot. Two females. One male. Alpha and two omegas by scent. One female and the male are injured.”
“Okay, I’ll ask Aldrin to come take a look at them. Bring them up to the house.”
“The gate?”
“I’m sending down a team. Grady and Trey will help you escort them to the house. I’m not putting alphas around unknown omegas.”
I must have made a scoffing noise. I was an unknown alpha to those omegas, yet Deke was trusting me around them without question. “We’ll talk about that later. Get them up to the house. I’ll have Axel and Chase meet you.”
By the time they got into hearing range, I was out of the hut and onto the road, ready to meet them.
“Here,” I used the softest tone I could while holding out blankets. “I thought you might like to cover up a bit.”
“Please, we need sanctuary,” the oldest omega pleaded, a faint Spanish accent tinging her tone. Given the resemblance, they had to be a family. They all had golden brown skin and deep, glossy brown hair, with eyes the color of milk chocolate.
The alpha and the younger omega shared the same slightly hooked nose and square jaw, the pairingmaking them look arresting. Both were attractive in an unconventional sense. They had to be siblings.
“We can give you that once you prove you mean the pack no harm.”
The alpha studied me. His mother glanced at him for guidance. He nodded. “Thank you,” she whispered before she fainted.
I caught her before she could hit the ground, earning me a growl from the alpha.
“Here, you take her,” I urged him. If she was his mother, he had to be wary of a strange alpha holding her, especially in such a vulnerable state.
He nodded, then tried to take her prone body, but his arms couldn’t even support her weight. They trembled, and he stumbled, pride likely the only thing keeping him standing.
“You’re too injured. Please, let me carry her for you,” I offered gently. The situation was so tense. An injured alpha was dangerous, made more so in this situation by the vulnerable omegas.
“Mateo!” So that was the alpha’s name. “Please, let him carry Amá. Lean on me. You’re barely on your feet as it is.”
Reluctantly, Mateo handed over the still unconscious omega.
“Could I ask what your injuries are? We have a healer coming, but it would be better if they could prepare.”
Getting anything out of the stoic alpha was going to be a task. Thankfully, it wouldn’t be my problem. As soon as I could offload these people, I was heading for a nap. Maybe I would track Dalton down and see if there was time for an orgasm or two before I went to bed.
Okay, that was maybe callous, but I was tired!
Mateo didn’t answer my question. The unconscious omega couldn’t, so that left his sister.
“We are exhausted. During our flight here, we were attacked, so there are injuries from the fight. Our mother was pushed past her limit. For many days now, she has cried and worried over us. We grieve. We will survive.”
