“You’ve got the measure of us, all right.”
“Not big readers, huh?” he asked innocently. Cole’s sharp gaze was on him, the alpha’s eyes wide with surprise.
“I think the last thing Thorn read was the manual for the dishwasher,” Zane joked.
“Hey, that thing is complicated. It’s got, like, ten settings. How can there be ten different ways to clean dishes?” Thorn complained.
“There aren’t,” Cole insisted. “There’s just one.”
“Like you’d know,” Josh teased. “You haven’t cleaned a single dish since I got here.”
That had the rest of them in stitches.
“He’s got you there, Cole,” Duke said.
“What?” Cole grumbled. “They get clean eventually.”
Josh thought the alpha might be angry at him for making a joke at his expense, but Cole just smiled in exasperation and shook it off.
“How are you finding working in the stables?” Zane asked him, changing the subject.
“I haven’t been trampled yet,” he said cheerfully.
“Not for lack of trying,” Cole added darkly, and then seemed to realize why that was not an event he wanted to recount for his friends. Josh saw the panic in his eyes and decided to help him out. It wasn’t to his benefit, either, for yesterday’s conversation to go any further than the two of them.
“I haven’t been around horses much before, so I’m keeping my distance.”
“But you know how to ride,” Thorn said suddenly. “I’ve seen you on a horse before.”
There was only one thing he could be referring to.
“Yeah, but it was just for that one role. Kind of a crash course in how not to fall off more than a comprehensive lesson in how to ride.”
“Maybe Cole can give you some pointers while you’re here,” Zane suggested.
Josh guessed that was the last thing either of them wanted.
“Maybe,” Cole said vaguely. “The horses aren’t really ready to take riders just yet.”
Zane frowned and opened his mouth as if to argue, but Josh got there first. “So, what do you guys do?”
He wasn’t the only one happy with the change in topic. Next to him, Cole relaxed a fraction. They spent the next few minutes bouncing back and forth between the guys. Brax was the most straightforward, being a doctor who worked out of a clinic at the children’s home. Zane seemed to be part clinic manager, part housekeeper. Duke and Thorn’s lives seemed more nebulous. When Thorn said something about carpentry, Cole made an off-the-cuff remark. Josh saw the other alpha’s hackles rise and neatly stepped in with a question. It drew Thorn’s attention back to him, dialing the emotions back down to neutral. It happened like that a few times, back and forth, between one or more of the group. Josh started to relax into it, feeling more in control, when he got the sense he was being watched a lot more closely by the alphas. Unsure of why, and not liking how it felt, he fell back on his tried-and-true methods of distraction.
“So Thorn, if you’re going to be a firefighter, does that mean you’ll be in the calendar? I can totally see you as Mr. July. Smudged with soot, your arms bare, all those muscles showing. You’ll drive the omegas wild.”
Cole went very still next to him, and the mood at the table went flat.
“Uh, probably not,” Thorn said awkwardly, watching him with bemusement before glancing at Cole with raised eyebrows.
Zane jumped into the conversation, talking about a local festival on later that week. Josh breathed a sigh of relief that the scrutiny was lifted, even if his usual method had backfired.
He focused on his food for the rest of the meal, and the next time Cole and Thorn snapped at each other, he let them have at it. Brax stepped in eventually to shut it down. By the time they were finished eating, tempers were frayed and the atmosphere at the table had turned sour. It was a relief to get up and start clearing away the dishes. Any excuse to put some distance between himself and this strange group of alphas.
Chapter Six
After an awkward end to their brunch, Cole waved the others off and started clearing the table. Despite all the jokes aimed his way during the meal, if he didn’t do the dishes, there wouldn’t be a plate or cup clean for dinner.
He was just filling the sink when he heard a clink and turned to see Joshua setting a pile of plates on the counter.
“I can manage,” he said.
He knew he wasn’t the only one a little put out by Joshua’s behavior during brunch. Things had been going well at the start, but they went downhill fast.
“It’s the least I can do. I wasn’t looking forward to more burnt toast for breakfast.”
Cole snorted.
“Well, if there’s one thing we can make sure you learn this month, it’s how to work the grill. Who burns toast?”
“My apartment has this novel invention called a toaster,” Joshua said dryly. “Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”
“Is that what you live on?” Cole queried, eyeing the omega’s slim frame. “Toast?”
Joshua shrugged. “I eat a lot of salad. And chicken. But I never cook, I don’t usually have the time.”
“Schedule keeps you busy, huh?” Cole didn’t really want to know the ins and outs of the omega’s life of stardom, but talking was better than sniping.
“When I’m filming, it’s fourteen—sometimes sixteen—hour days. I usually fall asleep waiting for the toaster to pop.” He set some glasses next to the stack of plates. “It’s probably a good thing I don’t eat food like this too often. I don’t know what I’m missing.”
There was something quite sad about that, but Cole pushed the emotion away. This omega was a movie star who courted controversy. He didn’t need or want Cole feeling sorry for him because his busy life didn’t go hand-in-hand with gourmet cooking.
“I guess your work pays off in other ways,” he said.
Joshua made a non-committal noise in response, setting the last of the dishes on the sink beside him.
“How do you and your friends know each other?”
Cole could hear the effort Joshua was making to keep his tone casual. He might have missed it, seeing how Joshua’s mannerisms seemed to change on a whim. But having spent a few days in close proximity, he was starting to pick up on the subtleties of the omega’s tone and expression.
“We were in the army together; we were a team.”
“Oh,” Joshua said with a grin. “That explains why all you guys look like you could be on a calendar of your very own.”
Cole shook his head in exasperation, reaching for another plate. Joshua kept talking.
“So you were a team, and now you’re…”
“And now we’re a pack,” Cole said shortly.
It wasn’t like it was a secret anymore. They’d come right out and told the world, even if it hadn’t filtered into Joshua’s little corner of it just yet.
Joshua went very still next to him.
“A pack?”
His voice was small, shorn of the pretension he’d had just a moment before.
“Yep,” Cole said, taking pains not to look at him. “Brax is our alpha leader. His mate Oliver is our Defender.”
“I didn’t think there were any packs left here,” Joshua said softly. “I mean, aside from the crazy isolationists, of course.”
Joshua wasn’t wrong there. The majority of packs left in the country were armed isolationist groups who only came to the world’s attention when things went horribly wrong. The last one had involved a vicious fight with police two years previously that had killed over a dozen.
“We’re the exception to the rule,” he said. “No one seems to know if they want to champion us or control us.”
“People can’t leave well enough alone, huh?” Joshua said softly.
“Not where packs are concerned. We’re something of a novelty.” Cole grimaced. “I hate standing out from the crowd.”
“Oh?” Joshua perked up. “Why’s that?”
Cole didn’
t really want to get into it, but he had brought it up. It would be rude to shut down the conversation now.
“I’m the pack’s Protector. It’s my job to work from within and keep them safe. I do that by being unobtrusive about it.”
“But you don’t live in the house with them?”
Perceptive and curious. Cole was going to have to be careful about what he said around Joshua.
“Duke’s there. He’s also a Protector. It helps to have us spaced out. Besides, I like time to myself now and then.” Or as much as he could get, as often as he could get it.
“But when you’re with them, you keep them safe?”
“That’s my job,” he said shortly, glancing over his shoulder at Joshua.
He was a little taken aback at the wistful look on Joshua’s face. But then, remembering their conversation only the day before, maybe it wasn’t such a surprise.
“You know, we have a psychologist up at the house. She works with the kids, but she also helps the adults out from time to time if you needed someone to talk to.”
It was like a shutter being pulled down: Joshua’s expression became a blank canvas. He smiled politely at Cole, but it was empty. It never touched his eyes.
“Thank you, but I’m not much for talking.”
Cole shrugged and turned back to his dishes.
“Sure, I get it. I’m not the kind of person who opens up to strangers, either.”
He set a glass upside down on the sink to drain.
“Hey, do you want to grab a cloth and start dry—”
Glancing over his shoulder again, he found he was addressing an empty room. He snorted and shook his head. He didn’t know what was going on with that omega, but he had enough trouble of his own without borrowing more from someone else.
Still, there had been a point during brunch when he felt like he’d seen a different side to Joshua. And now he’d glimpsed another. How many faces did Joshua wear? How many were masks, and which one was the real thing?
Chapter Seven
After the embarrassment that was brunch, and then ditching the alpha instead of helping with the dishes, Josh was surprised when Cole approached him the next morning with an invitation.
“The harvest festival is in town this week. We were planning on going this afternoon, if you want to come. Might be nice to get away from the cottage for a few hours.”
Josh hesitated. After the past few days, he wasn’t sure he trusted himself to act with care around Cole and his friends.
“It’s not much,” Cole added. “A few stalls, a few games and rides, popcorn and cotton candy. Might not be of much interest to a city guy.”
It sounded… wholesome.
“I guess a break from sweeping might be nice,” he joked, indicating the brush which was resting against the stable wall.
“Great,” Cole said, turning back toward the cottage. “Dress casual, unless you want to stick out like a sore thumb.”
“But I left my cowboy costume at home,” Josh called back. It was true enough: none of his clothes were really suited to yard work or mucking out. He’d made do with what he had.
Cole turned around, an amused grin on his face. “I can lend you a plaid shirt. Maybe a cowboy hat?”
Josh laughed, picturing himself swamped in checkered plaid and stumbling around with the hat covering his eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind, thanks.”
In the end, he went for dressed down. Just a plain pair of jeans and a T-shirt with some sneakers. He emerged from his room, and Cole looked him up and down from his vantage point by the front door.
“Will I pass muster?” Josh asked him.
“You look like a college kid home for the holidays,” was all the alpha said, but Josh didn’t miss the way his gaze lingered.
“Is that good or bad?”
“It’ll do.”
They climbed into Cole’s truck, rolling down the windows to get a breeze going as they drove. It was good to feel the wind in his hair, blowing away the many cobwebs that had wrapped themselves around him in recent weeks. Soon he’d have a clean slate, a chance to start over. The past would be forgotten once more.
“The others are meeting us there,” Cole said, turning on the radio and flicking through the stations until he found something with a beat.
“How many of you are there?”
“With the kids, a lot. But Brax’s cubs are too young for the festival, so I think he and Oliver are staying home with them. The others you met at brunch should be there though.”
It didn’t escape Josh’s notice that Cole had sidestepped his question. But then again, he was the protector of his pack. It made sense that he might not want to give details about them out to just anyone. And that’s exactly who Josh was: just anyone, practically a stranger.
Cole pointed out a few places of interest as they drove, but there wasn’t much to see. They really were out in the sticks. Whatever that meant.
“Did you always plan to live outside of the cities?”
“No,” Cole said. “Always thought I’d find a mate and settle down in the suburbs.”
“What changed?”
A heavy silence fell over the car, Cole’s hands tightening around the steering wheel.
“Everything,” he said eventually.
Josh kept quiet after that, not wanting to prod at whatever sore point he’d just discovered.
“We’re here,” Cole said a few minutes later, turning down a narrow lane and driving into a field. They joined a short queue of cars that all parked in neat rows. Despite there being no markings in the field, everyone seemed to know instinctively what to do.
“The guys are already here,” Cole said, climbing out. “That’s Thorn’s car.” He indicated a four-wheel drive parked a few spaces away from them.
They followed everyone else toward the entrance, just a little archway that led into the next field. There was a ticket booth with two smiling women collecting money and handing out tickets.
Josh stuck his hand in his pocket, only for Cole to say, “Don’t sweat it, I’ve got this.”
They reached the top of the queue, Cole flirting a little with the ladies as he asked for two tickets. He handed one to Josh as they stepped through.
“That entitles you to one ride on the merry-go-round or three rings if you want to play the ring-toss game. Don’t go too wild.”
Before Josh could thank Cole or think of a suitable reply, the alpha strode away toward Duke, Thorn, and Zane. Josh considered following him, but Cole didn’t look back, and the group moved off without so much as a glance in his direction.
It wasn’t like Josh couldn’t keep himself entertained for an hour or two. He’d never been to a festival like this before. Glancing around, he took in what he could see, happy to notice that he wasn’t dressed too differently from everyone else. Not enough that people would stare, at least.
He headed in the opposite direction from Cole and the others, walking the outer edge of the field. There were stalls spaced out along one side, selling food mostly. Along the top of the field were crafts and clothes. A third side held the various game booths, one where you shot water guns, another where you tossed rings. In the center were the rides, mostly for kids, but a few that seemed to take adults too.
After his first circuit, he went back to the food stalls to take a closer look. There was everything from homemade jam and chutney to pies and cakes.
“My goodness, you’re too skinny,” one of the women said to him, plying him with samples.
“I wouldn’t be for long with your jam in my kitchen,” he joked, vowing to buy a jar before he left to bring home with him. It would liven up his toast when he needed a treat.
His hands sticky after all the food, he looked for somewhere to wash them.
“There’s a stream just through those trees,” someone said, pointing to the edge of the field. “Don’t fall in.”
“I’ll do my best not to,” he promised.
He wandered along the path through the wo
ods, following the sound of running water. Sure enough, he found the small stream, crouching next to it and rinsing the sticky jam from his hands. He got up, wiping them dry on his jeans, and turned to head back to the festival.
As he followed the path back, he encountered a group of older teenagers walking toward him. They seemed to be arguing among themselves. He got a few curious stares as he passed them and quickened his pace. He wasn’t surprised to hear their footsteps follow after him a few seconds later.
“Hey, wait up,” one of them called.
He didn’t slow his pace, just kept moving.
They broke into a run, and one of them stepped into his path, forcing him to stop.
“What’s your hurry?” the alpha said, grinning as he looked Josh up and down.
“Just heading back to my friends,” Josh said politely. “I don’t want them to leave without me.”
“I know you from somewhere, don’t I?”
“I don’t think so,” he said smoothly. “I’ve just got one of those faces.”
“No, no,” another of them chimed in. “You’re Joey Karsley. I’d know your face anywhere.”
“Sorry, but I really need to get back,” Josh said, sidestepping to walk around them.
The alpha moved to counter him, bringing a hand up to Josh’s chest and shoving him lightly.
“What’s your hurry?” he said again.
“Look—”
“We just want to talk,” his friend added. “We’re fans of yours.”
“Yeah,” one of those behind him said. “Especially your recent work.”
The group stepped closer, hemming him in. Josh’s instincts were screaming at him to get away.
“I can sign a few autographs if you like. We could take a few selfies,” he said, pretending not to know what they meant. “But then I’ve really got to get back to my friends.”
“We were thinking more of a re-enactment,” the alpha in front of him said, licking his lips. “My friends and I would like the chance to see your skills firsthand. We won’t take no for an answer.”
Keeper (The Lost Pack Book 2) Page 3