Because they’d reached their destination, there was no chance for Tripp to respond, although it was unlikely he’d speak at all without permission. No one had to describe what this omega’s life had been like. He was obviously trained to keep quiet and obedient. And in a way that had to involve severe punishment for failure. No servient in the Green Mountain Pack showed the same level of fright and subservience that both Blake and Tripp were demonstrating because Eiljah didn’t roll that way. He was tough, but fair, and his punishments only made one think hard about what they’d done. There were no beatings or withholding of food or any of the other misery some alphas employed. The thought of someone hurting Tripp caused a rage to rise within him. And his wolf was howling with the demand to come out and do…something. Someone somewhere deserved a taste of their own medicine.
“Graham!”
He blinked to clear the murderous fury and realized his alpha had been talking to him. So consumed with his urge for revenge, he’d missed an entire conversation between Elijah and Tripp, apparently.
“Sorry, Alpha.”
As usual, Elijah was more annoyed than angry. “Put aside whatever maelstrom is going on inside you and take Tripp to Cora. I want to make sure he and his pup are okay and get a sense of when we can expect him to whelp.”
“Yes, sir.” His wolf pranced with delight over the assignment. He still held Tripp’s hand, too. It seemed right to do so and as the alpha hadn’t ordered him to let go, he kept himself tethered to the boy. “Come with me.”
The omega didn’t move his feet immediately. Instead, he stared at his brother.
“Go,” Blake ordered in a whisper. “Be good.”
At that, Tripp let himself be led away.
Chapter Two
“Everything looks good.” The kindly healer smiled at Tripp as he sat on a high table, legs dangling.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Tripp kept his head down, as an omega should, but he stole glances around the room.
This Green Mountain Pack had stuff he’d never seen before. It looked far more like what he’d caught glimpses of in the human world than it did his old pack. The healer even had some kind of machine that made a whooshing sound. She’d said it was his pup’s heartbeat, which seemed impossible to believe. The beta who’d brought him here and had leaned against the far wall during the entire exam had smiled at the news. He obviously thought it was true.
The healer turned to the beta. “He’s all set, Graham. You can take him to the alpha and let him know this omega has been well cared for by his brother.”
“Thanks, Cora.” The beta peeled himself from the wall and came toward him.
Normally, an approaching dominant would cause him to fold in on himself, to be as small a target as he could. For some reason, this beta didn’t cause him to feel that way. The other dominants in the pack brought out the usual fear, but not this one. And Tripp’s wolf had peeked out from the deep recesses of his mind to investigate. The reaction of both of them was mystifying, although his wolf hadn’t stayed out for long.
He couldn’t hold back the flinch, however, when those big hands reached for him.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. I won’t hurt you. No one will. Ever again.” The man lifted him off the table and set him on his feet.
The beta didn’t let go of him completely. He slid his hands down from Tripp’s armpits to clasp his waist. The touch was firm but not painful. Tripp felt weirdly safe by the contact and the beta’s voice had an oddly soothing effect on him.
“I’m going to take you to the alpha now to sort out the logistics of your lodging. You have nothing to fear from him, either. Okay?”
It took Tripp a moment to realize he was expected to respond. He could only nod.
“Good.” With a brief hesitation, the beta let go of him.
Tripp missed the touch immediately but before he could ponder that surprise, the beta took his hand again to lead him out of the room. It was easy to stay close to the beta if for no other reason than everyone else made him nervous. Even the sigmas milling about, preparing for the evening meal loomed large and scary in his peripheral. When he did dare to glance at any of them, though, there was nothing except smiles being sent his way. He almost relaxed until the beta led him into a big room dominated by a large round table. The Green Mountain alpha sat at it with a male omega on his lap. It was obvious they were mates and the other boy looked…happy.
The beta stopped them a few feet from the alpha. “Cora says everything is looking good, sir. And she thinks we’ve got another few weeks before welcoming a pup into the pack.”
Relief made Tripp’s knees weak at the beta’s assumption that he’d stay with this pack. He’d assumed he would be because Blake had been so sure. Hearing it from someone else was another matter. This was what they’d hoped for in their long journey. Except…
“Blake.” He said the word out loud before he could stop himself. Something about the feel of the beta’s hand in his made him bold.
“Don’t worry about your brother.” The alpha’s tone implied he wasn’t mad at the almost-question. “He’s already out with the head sigma being shown what work we need from him. He seems to have a lot of skills if what he said can be taken at face value.”
“Blake never lies, sir.”Almost never.
Tripp kept his lips closed so as not to state his stray thought. Blake’s orders had been drilled into him the whole way of their journey.You say nothing. I do all the talking and you just nod like a good omega. Do you understand?Yes, he had. He wasn’t going to betray Blake’s trust in him.
“Now comes the harder part.” The alpha sounded regretful, which was crazy. Alphas always did what they wanted and didn’t care what others thought of it. “What to do about you.”
