Page 4 of Shepherd's Runaway
Dave’s eyes widened a moment before his smile did. He was a beta, almost as tall as I was, and had been running this kitchen for over ten years. He didn’t take shit from anyone, but he was a total romantic at heart. “This is wonderful news!”
“Easy,” I said, dropping my voice to a whisper. “I think he’s in some kind of trouble and skittish as all hell.”
Dave immediately narrowed his eyes. “Is he well? You said you needed the first aid kit.”
“He is. Just a minor scratch on his forehead, but some asshole alphas were giving him a hard time in the parking lot.”
Dave growled. He was a werebear, like most of us here. “You took care of them?”
“Of course.”
“Good.” He took me by the shoulders and turned me toward the door. “Go get dressed. I’ll feed your mate.”
With a chuckle, I did as I was told.
Chapter
Three
RYLAN
Only a couple of minutes after Shep left, another man—Dave, he said—brought me a big bowl of rice with grilled chicken and vegetables.
It smelled so good, and I was so hungry, that my eyes started to burn. Swallowing hard, I willed any tears that wanted to fall back to where they came from. I didn’t know if this kindness was only because I was Shep’s mate, but I knew it was the first I’d received in a very long time.
“Thank you,” I told Dave as I picked up the fork he’d set on the table with my dinner.
“The pleasure is mine.” He gave me a smile and left me with my meal. A meal that was exactly as wonderful as it smelled—tender chicken, crisp vegetables, pillowy rice, all of it seasoned to perfection.
For two days I’d been traveling by foot, staying off roads and trying to zigzag around to not leave too obvious a scent trail. The last thing I’d eaten was a granola around noon the day before.
It didn’t seem fair to me that most Alphas had an animal form they could change into. Omegas didn’t have that. Or if wedid, I’d never met an Omega who could change shape or spoken to anyone who had. I’d heard rumors that Omegas sometimes had some type of power…I scoffed into my half-eaten bowl of food. The only power I’d ever seen among my Omega brethren was beingpowerless.
I’d have given a lot over the last couple of days for the ability to change into a wolf or cat and run through the woods on four paws instead of two legs. Sighing, I slowed down the bites I was taking as my stomach cramped in protest. Taking a deep breath, I made myself set the fork down and lean back in my chair.
Reaching for the bottle of water Shep had left, I twisted off the cap and took a slow drink. I needed to stay on task. This placewasa kindness, and Iwasonly an Omega with no power to speak of, but I had a job to do now. I had to find help. While my mate might be willing enough to feed me, there was no way I could ask him for what I really needed.
I picked up my fork again and took a slow bite. I didn’t want to waste a crumb of this food. I was going to need all the energy I could find.
***
SHEP
Stepping back out into the hallway from the kitchen, I came face-to-face with the second and third in command of our pack. Thorn leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed and looking relaxed, but his black-eyed gaze didn’t waver a millimeter from mine. Hux was more loose-limbed and taking up half the hall just by standing in it. There was something sad in the blue shine of his one good eye. The other was a mottled ruin of scar tissue.
“Well?” Thorn asked, pushing off the wall and dropping his arms.
“He’s my mate.”
Hux nodded, like he’d expected as much. Our not-so-gentle giant wasn’t one to waste words.
“Your mate?”Thorn shuddered. “Are you sure?”
I’d always wondered why Thorn, one of the most loyal men I’d ever met, had such a problem with the idea of mates. He never wanted to talk about it.
I met his gaze again. “I’m sure.”
“Damn.” He took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. “Is he okay? Those guys in the parking lot were assholes.”
