Page 105 of In Knots

“I wanted to come,” I say.

Huge grins, then his nose twitches and the smile descends to a frown. His head snaps around to Bear and he lowers his voice.

“Word is there’s a missing omega.”

“Official word?” Bear asks.

“No, not official. Underground enquiries being made as to her whereabouts.”

My grip stiffens around Bear’s waist, and he covers his hand with mine, stroking my fingers. Huge notices the movement. “Can I assume this is her?” Bear doesn’t answer and Huge nods. “Just be careful, my man. The guy asking around has power and influence.”

“My dad,” I blurt out, meeting Huge’s eyes. “I don’t want him to find me.”

“Hey, we’re not going to tell anyone, sweetheart. But like I said, you need to be careful.”

Bear’s hand over mine tightens. “We will be.”

“Good, then let’s get the hell out of here. If I’m not back by six, Zoe will skin me alive.”

Soon we’re on the road again, this time our party much bigger. We ride slower now, soaking up the never-ending countryside rolling away to the horizon. The men take it in turns to ride up front, nipping in and out of each other’s paths, calling and signalling as we go. One old rider cruises alongside Bear’s bike, pointing out the large birds of prey circling above the distant treeline, an old stone circle deep in a valley and a flash of red fox scurrying into the undergrowth. I nod and smile at him, taking delight in everything he shows me.

I can see why they love this so much. The sense of freedom, the rush of air, the roar of the bikes. I smile so hard under my helmet that my cheeks hurt.

After a while we stop again, this time at an old country pub, with a thatched roof and small windows, pale pink roses crawling up the white painted walls, and a large garden sprawling away at the back, the grass covered in bright dandelions and tiny daisies. The alphas commandeer several picnic tables in the shade and I climb onto the bench beside Ryan while the others go inside to fetch pints.

“Are you hungry, princess?”

After days of rutting in heat, I’m starving.

“Very,” I confess.

“Good, because this place doesn’t serve salad. You’re going to have to make do with pub grub.”

“Pub grub?” I say, a little unsure. Isn’t a grub a small insect?

“Trust me.” He kisses the end of my nose. “You’ll love it.”

The others return with our drinks followed soon after by several waitresses, their arms full of plates. Each one is piled high and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much food balanced on one plate before.

“Steak and kidney pie and chips?” one of the waitresses asks and Ryan motions to me. A crusty golden pie ringed with a mound of fat chips lands in front of me, and my nose wrinkles. Ryan laughs.

“Just try it, princess?”

“But kidney?” I mutter.

Ryan leans in and whispers in my ear a little too loud. “You’ve had Bear’s balls in your mouth. I promise you, this tastes much better.”

“I heard that, dickhead,” Bear chuckles. “And I’m sure Alexa would agree my balls taste much better than yours.” They both look my way and I plunge my fork through the pie, scooping up pastry and a dark meaty sauce and shovelling it into my mouth so I don’t have to answer.

I chew and realise practically the whole motorcycle club is watching me. Even if I hated the pie, I’d force myself to choke down every damn ounce with a grin plastered across my face. I don’t want them to think I’m stuck up and picky. But actually, the pie is incredibly tasty, warming and comforting.

“Good?” Huge asks.

“Hmmm,” I say as I chew my mouthful. A look of satisfaction passes across the faces of the alphas and then they all get stuck in.

Buzz picks a chip from my plate and holds it close to my lips. “Bet you’ve never eaten chips this good as well.”

It’s golden like the pastry and glistening with salt. I stick out my tongue and lick at the crystals. I look up at Buzz with big seductive eyes and then before I know it, he stuffs the chip inside my mouth.

---