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Victor climbed in beside me. “Where are you staying?”
“Anchorage. I live on campus.”
He stared at me. “You blacked out and ended up in a different country, naked, in the woods about two hours from your hometown? Is that what we’re going with?”
I’d already told them that I didn’t remember how I got all the way up that mountain. It did seem pretty impossible when he put it like that.
“Not the weirdest thing that's ever happened. I once got drunk and ended up in Tijuana, with a brand new tattoo on my ass. A buff chicken with its chest waxed. Getting it lasered off hurt like a bitch.”
They all stared at me now, their eyes incredulous. I just shrugged. I’d gone off the rails a little after they abandoned me and then Ma died.
Xander shook his head. “I shudder at the things that could have happened to you. You could have been abducted, or assaulted. Hell, you could have driven off a cliff.”
I didn’t point out that I had no idea where my car was. It was just one more thing in the shit pile that was my life. The sad thing was that Xander was right—anything could have happened to me. I didn’t want to study that black abyss in my memory too hard just yet. I’d done a thorough examination of my body, and couldn’t find any kind of defensive wounds or indications of assault. But how would I know?
The truck was silent until we pulled into the town limits of Last Chance. It was probably the most Beta town in all of North America. Secluded away from the toxic fallout that had struck the US and was rumored to have caused the genetic changes that resulted in Omegas and Alphas, most of the people who lived here were third or fourth-generation Beta. They wouldn’t know how to spot an Alpha if one walked right up to them and punched them in the face.
No one voluntarily moved to Last Chance. It was cold eleven months of the year. Dark all day for at least two of those. It snowed a ridiculous amount, and everyone knew everyone's business. But it was home to me, and always would be.
We drove down streets I knew by heart, pulling up in front of a familiar house. My home, with its low picket fence and weathered wood siding, was where all my best memories had been made. Except it wasn’t mine anymore.
“I sold this place after Ma died to pay for her hospital bills. I can’t stay here.”
Will looked over at me. “We know. We moved into our old house after Dad moved down south. Couldn’t do one more winter, he said.”
I looked over at the whitewashed house beside my childhood home, almost as packed full of memories. “Oh.”
“Pull your hood up. Don’t want to give the neighbors something to talk about just yet.”
Xander opened the door for me and ushered me out, shooing me up the path, his eyes darting left and right like he was waiting for attackers to pop out of the bushes. Unlikely in Last Chance, but there was a definite likelihood of neighbors in the bushes.
McKnight took off into the woods beyond the house as soon as the door was open. I watched him go with a pang, kind of hoping he’d come back.
Reaching the front door, I stepped into a foyer that contained a multitude of memories. I could still hear our shouts and screams as we raced down the stairs, and there was probably still a bloodstain on the banister where Will had split open his lip one day.
“It hasn’t changed a bit.”
Sure, the TV was bigger, and their mom’s knickknacks had been stored away after her death so it was a little more masculine than normal, but otherwise it was like stepping into the past.
“Go get cleaned up. Will, find her some clothes. Victor and I will make something to eat.”
Will saluted his older-by-six-minutes brother. “Sure thing, Boss.” He spun around and picked me up in his arms. “Let’s go, Za. We’ll raid Victor’s closet. He’s still got those skinny little chicken sticks he calls legs. I warned him not to skip leg day, but, you know?” He grinned, shrugging like he’d tried to do the humanitarian thing with no success.
“Fuck off, Will. My thighs are as big as yours. My dick’s bigger, though.”
I couldn’t help my grin. They’d argued like this as long as I could remember, despite being identical. They were less identical now, though. Xander had a full sleeve of tattoos up one arm, his shoulders bulkier, like he lifted weights. Victor had let his hair grow long and wavy, and had his bottom lip pierced close to the corner. Will had stayed organically Will, the base model that had just gotten bigger and somehow more handsome.
I tried not to think about Will’s flexing shoulder muscles as he carried me up the stairs, or the fact that he was close enough to kiss. I tried not to think about how much I’d wanted him to kiss me when I was younger, or the way that he’d looked at me the night before he left. Like he wanted me.
I really,reallytried not to think about what it would be like to spin in his arms, wrap my legs around his hips, and feel the hard length of his dick against my core. I bit my tongue so I didn’t moan, but apparently, it wasn’t only their physical strength that had gotten a power boost when they’d become Alphas.
“Fuck, Zaley. You smell irresistible.”
The low growl in his voice made my whole body tighten with need. “Why are you resisting?”
He blinked rapidly, like he was trying to come up with a reason, an excuse. Anything. “It’s not right. You aren’t in control of your wants.”
I snorted, and it wasn’t very ladylike. No one had ever accused me of being a lady, though. “I wanted you to fuck me when I was sixteen, before we were Alpha and Omega. This need isn’t new.”
