by Kian Rhodes
Suddenly I understood the problem.
I had approached the situation as an officer with the Council of Packs Security Division. Clint, on the other hand, was seeing it as an Alpha werewolf whose pack had been threatened by an ally. When I put myself in his shoes, when I considered how I would have responded in the same situation, shame bloomed inside of me.
"You're right," I said finally. "Regardless of my intentions, I did. It will never happen again." I looked back to meet Trevor's eyes. "Trev, I should not have brought my job into your home. I also should not have been so hard on Harley. No matter what, he's not a hardened criminal and shouldn't have been treated like one." I caught the flash in his eyes and continued before Trevor could speak. "And I do believe you that he isn't faking it. I've had absolute faith in your abilities since they manifested," I reminded him. "Can you forgive me?"
Trevor's face was tight, but he nodded. Holding out my hand, I waited for him to take it and then closed my eyes, inviting him to feel my contrition for himself. He curled his fingers gently around my bigger hand and smiled.
"It's okay, Rafe." Trevor squeezed my fingers and then let go. "Please don't do that again."
I shook my head in agreement and looked back up to Clint. "Are we good?"
"We are," he agreed gruffly. "This time."
The warning didn't go over my head. He'd overlook this transgression, but a repeat would be addressed more forcefully. An Alpha myself, I understood completely.
"Thank you." I nodded to the second chair. "Do you want to sit down and go over this?"
Clint began to shake his head, but, to both of our surprise, Trevor spoke up.
"I would, please."
"Okay." I reached for the first stack and passed Trevor the profile information and messages from the dating website. "We know that Harley had a secret life that he hid from his pack."
Trevor scanned them and then looked up questioningly. "But Harley was already living with a pack that had purchased him as mate to an Alpha who told him – regularly and in no uncertain terms, from what I've heard – that he wasn't wanted. How else was he supposed to find a mate?"
"If that was all it was, why didn't he tell anyone about it?"
Trevor rolled his eyes. "Embarrassment, maybe? Or fear that he'd be sent away before he could find someone? Isn't that what happened when he told his mother about Scott?"
Trevor had a point.
I returned the pile of messages to their spot and reached for the pictures. Trevor studied them one at a time, a smile playing over his lips. "What are these supposed to tell me?"
"I'm not sure," I admitted. "But it is very odd that he recognizes himself in those pictures, but not in the mirror."
"I don't think it is," Trevor disagreed quietly. "Maybe what he's recognizing is his history with Scott. You can tell from those pictures that they were intimate, so maybe they're triggering an emotional memory of good times. Levi said the hope of that was the reason that Scott was initially allowed to interact with Harley."
Okay. Score two for the Empath.
"Rafe, why is the COPSD so determined to disbelief that Harley was a victim in all this?" Clint asked, his eyes locked on the picture that Trevor still held. "If that's all you've got, you're grasping at straws."
"Honestly, I think a lot of the suspicion is due to Harley's reputation before he disappeared. He had a history of sneaking around, slipping into Zade's bed after he was told not to, and kind of gave the impression that he'd do anything to get what he wanted."
"Which was?"
"For Zade to claim him." That answer, at least, I knew. Or thought I did until Trevor laughed.
"Yes?"
"So you think that Harley was a willing part of the plot to force Zade to claim him?"
"That's one theory."
Trevor flipped through the stack of dating app messages and pulled one free. "But he was still looking for a suitor online at the same time?"
"It's possible."
"And he arranged to be kidnapped on the same day that he was supposed to be meeting this hottie for an all-night hookup?"
"Establishing an alibi."
"I see." Trevor sent an amused glance at Clint. "So, Harley used a dating site that no one would know about to set up a date that he didn't tell anyone about to establish an alibi so he could force a different Alpha to claim him?"
When I listened to Trevor string the segments of the theory into one long snake, I had to admit it sounded pretty shaky.
I sighed. "You made your point, Trevor. I'll start back at the beginning."
Chapter Seventeen
Harley
"Are you okay, Har?"
Scott and I were sitting together on a wooden bench under a towering pine tree. After Trevor had thrown all of the visitors except Scott and me out, talking about it seemed rather anticlimactic.
"Yeah. I think so." I scuffed the toe of my shoe in the dirt. "You don't think I'm faking it, do you?"
"I know you're not," Scott assured me, squeezing my hand. "If they'd known you as long as I have, they'd know it, too." He shifted on the bench, slipping his arm around my waist. "We'll get this all sorted out."
"Trevor seemed really mad."
Scott nodded. "I think Trevor's a kind of victim's advocate."
I nodded. That explained a lot. Of course, it didn't tell me how I was going to prove that I wasn't faking my memory loss. Then an epiphany hit. Maybe the people on the dating site were the key to finding out what had happened to me. I mean, I've heard of people being slipped drugs and crap like that. Maybe someone accidentally overdosed me.
The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. If I could just get my hands on those papers! Since I doubted that Scott would approve of my plan, I faked a big yawn.
"I think I'm going to go lie down for a bit."
"Oh. Okay." Scott looked at me a little oddly, making me wonder if I'd given myself away. When he stood and offered to walk me back to the guest house, I barely held back a sigh of relief.
I was shuffling through a stack of papers that had been left on the small dining table when the sound of the front door opening took me off guard. If Trevor had allowed Zade and the others back so soon it had to have been the shortest exile in history.
“Harley?” It was Levi’s voice calling my name. “Are you here?”
Crap! Somehow I’d completely missed the fact that Levi had been allowed to stay. And, of course, that was the exact moment that I located the papers I was looking for.
“Yeah, Levi,” I called back, quickly folding the pages together and stuffing them down the front of my pants. “I, uh, was just about to lie down.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Levi agreed, rounding the corner into the small breakfast nook. “That was pretty intense earlier. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “I mean, it’s frustrating to be suspected of being a criminal, but I guess I can understand that it seems suspicious.” When Levi tried to smile, the light from the overhead fixtures glinted off the tears in his eyes. "Are you okay, Levi?"
"What? Yes, of course." He drew in a breath. "I probably just need to rest for a bit."
"I don't think you are," I disagreed slowly. "Why don't you sit down?" I crossed to sink and filled two cups with water, setting one in front of Levi.
"Thanks." Levi leaned back a little in his chair and sipped from his glass.
"What's wrong?" I managed a small laugh. "Besides the obvious, I mean."
Levi's matching smile warmed my heart a little. "Nothing you really need to worry about."
I raised my eyebrow and he sighed. "Okay. Other than my dumbass husband getting kicked off the property? The thing that's bothering me is how adamantly opposed he is to you and Scott being together."
"Why?"
When Levi shook his head, I suddenly caught his meaning. "Oh! Zade and Scott?" When Levi laughed, I cringed. "You don't mean… Zade and me?"
&nb
sp; "Well, no. Not exactly, anyway," Levi assured me.
"You know there's nothing like that going on, right?"
"I do," Levi agreed. "It's just, well, complicated."
He finished his water and patted my shoulder on the way to put the glass in the sink. "I'm just being paranoid. I'm sure it'll be fine once he's back and all, but for now, that nap really does sound like a great idea."
I waited until Levi had retreated to his room to scamper off to my own room and close the door, wishing it had a lock. I carefully unfolded the papers and smoothed them out, gritting my teeth at each crinkling sound.
I read each string of messages carefully, but the first several were fairly benign. Polite greetings sent, all with a respectable photo attached. My responses were, well, a little less polite, if I was going to be honest. In fact, most were snotty at best and, sadly, self-centered in reality.
The last page was a departure from the rest, at least, as far as the approach of the other man. Where all the rest had been friendly and respectful, this one was, well, not.
It was pushy.
Aggressive.
Rude.
It was also the same page that I had been reading at the meeting when I began to shake. I wasn't sure why, but there was something about it that disturbed me.
Drawing in a calming breath, I studied the picture in the upper corner of the message box.
Where the others had been tasteful images of neatly dressed men, this man was nearly nude, raw, and a little intimidating.
The man was bare-chested with only the barest line of fabric visible at the very bottom of the picture to suggest that he was wearing anything at all. His hair was so closely cropped that it could have been anything from chestnut brown to black; all I could be sure of was that it was dark. His mud-colored eyes seemed a little smallish in his large, square head and his smile was really more of a grimace. His torso was oddly hair-free and covered with an alarming number of jet-black tattoos that seemed to be words but in a language that I didn't recognize.
The longer I stared at him, the more I noticed a tightening in my stomach that seemed to almost vibrate with unease. Somehow I knew that if anyone could tell me what had happened to me, this man could.
There was no name anywhere on the page, just a nickname of sorts – Lix-u-good - that I guessed was used to protect his privacy. Which, of course, was going to make it hard to track him down.
Unless…
I shook my head, trying to convince myself of just how terribly bad of an idea I was contemplating. It was definitely foolhardy, but how else was I supposed to get the answers that I needed?
I turned my attention back to the first page that I had set aside; the one that had my name and the picture that I knew was of me, even though I didn't actually recognize it the way I did the ones on Scott's computer. It had all of the information that I would need to log into my account and try to make contact with Lix-u-good.
The only thing I needed was a way to access the website.
There was only one person I knew that had the means to help me and I was pretty sure that asking Scott to let me use his laptop to hit on another man would be pushing my luck too far.
Like it or not, I was going to have to be creative. And, as much as I hated to risk hurting Scott, more than a little devious.
I waited until I heard Levi moving about in the bathroom, apparently having abandoned his nap for a shower, and then slipped out through the front door and into the comforting darkness.
It was only a short walk to the other side of the compound where Scott's van was parked. To my relief, it was dark. Instead of knocking, I took a deep breath and pulled up on the door handle, surprised when the door opened easily. My eyes were already accustomed to the darkness and in the tiny space it was a simple task to find Scott. The sight of him stretched out on the bed that we'd canoodled on earlier that night sent a tiny shiver down my spine. He was flat on his back and nude except for a towel that was barely managing to stay tucked around his waist. His chest rose and fell with his soft snores.
"Scott?" I said his name softly, not wanting to wake him if I could help it.
His lips curved into a smile and a sigh replaced one snore, but other than that, there was no indication that I was disturbing him.
Easing the laptop from its spot on the shelf, I sank down onto the floor and opened the lid, wincing as the bright light assaulted my eyes.
Well aware that I was working with stolen time, I hurriedly typed the website into the address bar and waited impatiently while the site loaded. From there it was an easy process to send a message to Lix-u-good.
Dear Lix, I began, using the greeting that I'd shortened his user ID to in our later communications. So sorry I missed our date. I was in an accident, but I'm better now. If you're still interested, I'll be at the mixer tomorrow at four – ready, willing, and eager to make it up to you!
Clicking the send button, I snuck a peek up at Scott, but he was still dead to the world. Closing the computer and returning it to the shelf, I tried to leave, but couldn’t seem to make myself walk out the door.
Instead, I was drawn closer to the bed.
A barely remembered sensation began to tingle at the base of my spine as I watched the man sleep. Even in the barely-there light, he was beautiful and my hand reached for him of its own accord. I hesitated briefly and continued, emboldened as I remembered the way he'd responded to my touch earlier. I tugged at the little scrap of fabric covering Scott's groin and let the sides fall open.
"Harley?" Scott's voice was thick with sleep.
"Yeah." I stared down at his naked body.
"What's wrong?" His long lashes drifted up and his blue-green eyes shone in the darkness.
I shook my head and then realized he might not be able to see me in the dark. "Nothing. I just missed you."
Scott reached one hand up and held it out to me. When I took it in mine, he drew me down onto the bed and wrapped me in his arms.
"Are you sure that you want this?"
"I really, really do."
Scott's response was a growl deep in his throat as he rolled me beneath him and lowered his lips to mine.
Chapter Eighteen
Scott
The sound of the van's passenger door creaking open jolted me awake, but I played possum as I watched through barely cracked eyes, unsure of who would have been invading my space without knocking and why. It wasn't exactly as if I was in a public place. When Harley inched his way into the back and said my name, I was about to respond, but bit the words back when he moved to pick up my computer.
What the hell?
I continued to feign sleep, watching him through my barely open eyes as he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and began to type as quietly as possible, glancing up occasionally to be sure he hadn't been detected.
When he finally put the computer back, I was debating whether or not to speak up when he came to stand by the bed, staring down at me with hungry eyes. When he reached out to touch me, moving the towel that I'd fallen asleep in aside and baring me to his gaze, the question of what he'd wanted with my computer was suddenly much less interesting. Once I had his lean body beneath me and he was whimpering into my mouth? Yeah, I forgot about it all together.
"Damn, you feel good," I muttered against his neck before biting down gently.
"Scott.." Harley whined, bucking up against me. "I need.."
He trailed off with a gasp when I ground down against him. "What, baby? What do you need?"
Instead of answering, Harley hooked one leg over my thigh and held me close as his hands burrowed between us to tear at the buttons on his jeans. I helped by lifting my weight off him and supporting myself on my elbows. It might have been more helpful for me to quit kissing him as well, but I wasn't willing to.
The last of Harley's clothing hadn't even hit the floor before my body was reacting predictably to having all of my Omega's warm, soft skin was pressed
against me. And when I rolled my hips, dragging our hard cocks together, Harley's back arched and the choked sounds that forced their way out of him made my blood thrum.
When his other leg came up to wrap around my waist, I had to force my more than eager dick not to drive into the slick hole he offered. I raised up to my knees and stared down at the beautiful Omega stretched out for me like a willing sacrifice.
"I'd forgotten how gorgeous you are," I growled, brushing a kiss over his belly and sliding my hands beneath him to palm his firm ass. Lifting him up, I folded him nearly in half and buried my face between his cheeks, licking my way through his crease until my tongue found his tight little pucker.
A shudder ran through Harley's body, relaxing his muscles. I grinned and shoved my tongue through the tight ring. "That's right, baby. Let your Alpha in."
I released one butt cheek, keeping him balanced in my other palm, and wrapped my hand around his twitching cock as I continued to tongue his loosening rim. When I slid one finger into his tight ass, finding the tiny bundle of nerves with no problem, it was met with a keening cry as Harley began to ride my hand, making me regret that I'd removed my tongue. When his body began to throb around my fingers, I knew it wouldn't be long before he found his pleasure and I removed my hand, swallowing his leaking cock instead.
Harley clutched at my hair and the sting sent an erotic thrill through me, making me growl my approval. He shrieked again, his dick swelling against my tongue. When my finger returned to his ass, sliding in to rub over his prostate again, his entire body tensed and then began to pulse in rhythm with his heartbeat.
"Holy shit," Harley gasped, staring at me in wonder. "That was.." he trailed off with a laugh. "I don't even know what it was."
"That's good to hear," I murmured, kissing my way back up his body to his lips. "I'd hate to think I didn't turn you on anymore."
Harley laughed at that, the vibrations rubbed his soft skin against my rock-hard cock where it was sandwiched between our bodies, making me groan.