The truck’s heater blasted warm air, making Alex’s eyelids droop. He fought against the sudden wave of exhaustion, determined to stay alert. Trusting Wade enough to accept dinner and a place to sleep was one thing. Letting his guard down completely was another.
Streetlights flashed by as they drove through the quiet town. Few people were out at this hour, the sidewalks mostly empty. As they approached an intersection, the flash of red and blue lights caught Alex’s attention.
A police cruiser idled at the corner, an officer inside visible through the windshield. Alex instinctively slouched lower in his seat, ducking his head as if fascinated by something on the floor.
Wade glanced over. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Alex replied, trying to keep his voice casual. “Just tired. It’s been a long day.”
Wade slowed for the stop sign, nodding to the officer as they passed. The cruiser remained stationary, no sudden flashing lights or wailing sirens. Just a routine patrol that had nothing to do with Alex or what had happened miles away in that rental house.
Still, Alex didn’t straighten up until they’d turned onto the highway leading out of town, the police car no longer visible in the side mirror.
“Sure there’s nothing you want to tell me?” Wade asked, eyes on the road ahead.
“Nope.” Alex stared out the window at the dark shapes of trees rushing past. “Nothing worth mentioning.”
Not about Drew. Or the blood. Or how he’d fled a murder scene with nothing but the clothes on his back and a dead phone. He especially didn’t mention how he’d killed a man who’d been planning to kill him first.
Wade made a noncommittal sound that suggested he wasn’t entirely convinced, but he didn’t press the issue.
The road wound upward into the mountains, leaving the town lights behind. Soon they were surrounded by forest, the headlights cutting a bright path through the darkness.
“Almost there,” Wade said after a few minutes.
They turned onto a driveway that wound through thick trees before opening up to a large home nestled among towering pines. It looked sturdy, well-maintained, and Alex’s jaw dropped. Exactly who was mate? The place looked more like a resort-level fortress than the simple cabin Alex had expected.
“Home sweet home,” Wade said, killing the engine.
Alex stared at the place, wondering what the hell he’d gotten himself into. But as the cold night air hit him when he stepped out of the truck, he couldn’t bring himself to regret his decision. At least tonight, he’d be warm.
As they walked toward the house in the rain, Alex felt like he’d crossed some invisible threshold. For better or worse, his path had now intersected with Wade’s.
His mate’s.
Life had a twisted sense of humor sometimes.
Chapter Two
A bunny shifter.
His muscles were locking in place, preventing Wade from lunging forward and snatching his mate into his arms. He swallowed, trying to add moisture to his throat.
When Quinn had found his mate, Wade had joked and said they didn’t need more mates. Now Alex was in his bedroom, a collar around his fucking neck like he was someone’s property.
But the bunny shifter was closed off, hiding whatever was going on with him. And somehow, the cops were involved. Wade hadn’t missed how his mate had ducked down when they’d passed the police cruiser.
He left Alex upstairs, freshly showered and now wearing one of Wade’s T-shirts and a pair of sweatpants that hung too loose on his slender frame. His mate had practically fallen asleep standing up while Wade showed him where the towels were.
The exhaustion etched into the lines of Alex’s face had been enough to stop Wade from asking the questions burning on his tongue.
Wade’s mind was occupied with the sight of his mate curled beneath his blankets. A bunny shifter with a collar that clearly wasn’t just for show.
The implications made his jaw clench.
Wade padded barefoot down the stairs, hunger gnawing at his stomach despite having already eaten. Feeding his mate had somehow awakened his own appetite again.
The house hummed with quiet conversation, laughter drifting from the kitchen at the back of the house. Of course that’s where they’d be. The kitchen had somehow evolved into the mates’ unofficial meeting spot, probably because Jalen kept it stocked with snacks that mysteriously disappeared faster than anyone admitted to eating them.
