Page 45 of Trust No Alpha
*
It was difficult at first to meet Thorne’s eyes, to look at him, though I found myself staring all the time. I was used to beautiful Alphas. My brothers were quite handsome, though Mathias was sharper and cruder than the others. But Thorne was no child like they were. And he wasn’t old like Father. He was mature and refined and elegant. He had a control about him, and an intelligence that drew me as much as his physique and darker coloring.
It was hard to look at him because every time I did something inside me jolted with a strange need. It made me feel like a stupid child. Like I couldn’t control my body or my thoughts.
Whenever I did look at him, I caught myself staring. Sometimes he caught me staring. Then my face would flush hard and fast, and I’d look away, or rush from the room.
At night I’d hear his footsteps creaking above me and he’d enter my dreams, vague scenarios with Thorne always surrounding me, his presence, his energy, his warmth. Voices echoed in my dreams. I couldn’t make them out. Except in one dream I heard my name called and a distinct sentence.
Kris, you’re safe with me.
Dreams. They fed fantasies and lies. Thorne, no matter how he had gotten the designation, was labeled a dangerous Alpha. How could I know I was entirely safe?
Thorne still hadn’t told me the details of Ian’s death. Though well-mannered as Father had taught me, I still wanted to pry. I kept telling myself it wasn’t my business. But it was. I lived here now. I needed to know I was not in more danger than I had been if I’d remained at home.
On my sixth day as a guest in Thorne’s home, I was scrolling every news feed I could find for the Vandergale name and scandals. I’d found nothing so far.
Still tracking my brothers’ messages, I figured out they had not told anyone outside the household that I was gone. Father’s messages, after he returned home from taking care of his Burn, consisted of business as usual, and hiring private detectives to search for me.
There were two by the name of Scard and Toley. I kept track of them as well.
I had been worried those first days that my tracks in the snow leading to Thorne’s shed would be found. Thorne said he’d already taken care of it. The man thought of everything. Plus, he’d gone to town for supplies on my third day here, and had done a bit of shoveling to get out. His tire tracks from his truck combined with the shoveling showed nothing out of the ordinary.
But today Thorne came to me, a strange look on his face.
“I got an odd message today.”
I looked up from my position on his couch. “What?”
“A man named Scard. Does the name sound familiar?”
I nodded. “One of Father’s private dicks.”
“Well, he does ask about you specifically, saying you are missing from the neighborhood and your father is looking for you.”
“Did you answer?” I knew he would have to answer in order to deflect any suspicion from himself.
“I told him I’d never had interaction with any Vandergales, though they are neighbors of mine.” His smile showed white teeth, and lit up his whole face.
“Good.”
“But he wouldn’t let it go, and he sent another message saying he had researched me and found out my designation as dangerous.”
Thorne sat on the couch by my side. My insides fluttered but I ignored it. I hadn’t been feeling well all day. A stomach upset. So I ignored it.
“He outright asked me if I preyed on runaway Omegas.”
Immediately, I was angry. But Thorne still smiled. “What do you think I should say?”
“The truth.” I paused, still horrified that some stranger would ask such a rude question of a man who’d only showed me kind assistance. “Well, the half-truth, that is. You haven’t told me details of why you have the designation, but I can see you’re no predator. Tell him that truth.”
Thorne leaned back into the cushions and stared upward.
“It’s an insult to you,” I continued. I had the strange impulse fantasy that if the man Scard was standing before me right now, I’d punch him in the jaw. Hard.
“Maybe.”
“But it is insulting. He doesn’t even know you.” I leaned back into the couch, mirroring his posture. My head spun. I hadn’t eaten much today.
