And that’s what it was. Daniel’s fear of judging eyes, of sharp criticism, of being found ugly and wanting. He knew he wasn’t as pretty as other omegas, that his body wasn’t as beautiful. And he couldn’t bear for Thorn to see the truth and change his mind.
“I—”
Thorn kissed his shoulder again. “If you’re not ready for this, that’s okay. There’ll be other chances.”
Daniel felt his chance at happiness slipping through his fingers. Thorn must already be changing his mind in the face of his reluctance. Desperation surged inside him, and he rolled over to face the alpha.
“No, please. I want this. I am ready. I—”
He knew actions would speak louder than words, so he pushed away from the alpha, tugged the tangled sheet from his body and lay back on the bed, shutting his eyes tightly. It helped not to see the mocking expressions or the disgust.
Thorn kissed him again, and Daniel surrendered to him, knowing there were tears trailing down his face.
The alpha eased back, his fingers brushing away the teardrops. “Danny? What’s all this? What are you so afraid of?”
He opened his eyes to meet Thorn’s confused gaze.
“What if I’m not good enough?”
There. He’d said it.
Thorn looked perplexed at his words. “Is there something I don’t know? Something you haven’t told me?”
Daniel’s heart was in his mouth. Had the alpha guessed? Did he somehow know?
“Like a tattoo or a burn or a scar? Is that what’s worrying you?” Thorn continued.
Daniel almost sighed with relief. “No,” he said hoarsely. “Nothing like that.”
If anything, Thorn’s frown deepened. “It wouldn’t matter if there was. You’re already good enough, Danny. I’m not going to decide I don’t want you because you’ve got freckles on your skin, or your waist curves just so.”
“But I have flaws,” Daniel was quick to point out. “Lots of them.”
And Thorn, in comparison, was an Adonis. A sculpted perfection.
Thorn sat back, his eyes running the length of Daniel’s body. Daniel shivered under the alpha’s gaze.
“Well, I don’t see them,” Thorn said.
“But they’re there,” Daniel insisted. “They told me all about them. My arms, my thighs, my stomach...”
“They?” Thorn asked, leaning in. “Who were they?”
Daniel just shook his head.
“Well,” Thorn said. “Whoever they were, they were lying to you.”
His hand caught Daniel’s arm, his fingers running from shoulder to wrist. “Just perfect.”
He pressed two fingers to the top of Daniel’s thigh and dragged them slowly downward. “Lovely. Perfect for holding, for kissing. Nice and strong, too.”
He straddled Daniel’s legs, his hands catching Daniel’s hips. He bent down and pressed a kiss to his stomach. “Beautiful.”
“You… you don’t think I’m ugly?”
Thorn’s eyes snapped to his, anger filling them. Daniel shrank back into the bed with a whimper, and the alpha’s eyes softened.
“I’m sorry, Danny. I’m sorry that someone was cruel enough to fill your head with such unkindness. It’s not true, none of it. You are not ugly. You are very beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as Josh.”
He knew it was wrong to compare, but it had been the same with Jaxon. The omega had never let him forget it.
“Daniel, you are the most beautiful omega I’ve ever set eyes on. You. And you’re here, in my bed, making me the luckiest alpha in the world.”
He pressed another kiss to Daniel’s stomach, and Daniel began to realize that the words he feared weren’t coming.
“I want to feel beautiful,” he whispered. “Can you help me?”
Thorn laughed and surged up the bed, kissing him breathless.
“By the time I’m done with you, you’ll know just how beautiful you are.”
The alpha sat back, climbing off Daniel’s legs. His hands went under him, lifting him up off the bed and moving him to the edge of the mattress.
“What…?” Daniel asked.
“Just trust me,” Thorn said, climbing off the bed. “I promise you’ll enjoy this.”
Daniel found himself on his back at the side of the bed, his knees bent and spread, his feet and ass right at the edge. Thorn stood between his legs, running his hands up and down Daniel’s thighs. There was a beam of light escaping through a gap in the curtain, trailing its way along Daniel’s body.
“Ready?” Thorn asked.
Daniel nodded, settling back onto the bed. He was still loose and relaxed from all the attention Thorn had paid to his mating gland and tried not to tense up at what he knew was coming. Thorn leaned forward, one hand slipping behind Daniel’s neck to knead at the nape. His other hand dipped between Daniel’s legs, skimming his cock and his balls before moving behind. A finger pressed inside him, and he shuddered and moaned, throwing his head back, which just pushed Thorn’s fingers deeper into his neck. A wave of pleasure traveled down his body to his groin, and he whimpered needily when the alpha pressed a second finger inside him.
“You’re ready for me,” Thorn murmured. “Do you feel it?”
“Yes,” he hummed. “Please, Thorn. I’m so empty. I… I need you to fill me.”
The alpha kissed him as he eased his fingers away from Daniel’s neck and ass.
“And I need you,” the alpha told him.
He held Daniel’s gaze as he pulled back, taking hold of himself as he eased forward again. Daniel didn’t take his eyes from Thorn’s as the alpha pressed inside him. The pressure was almost too much, so tight and hot, but Thorn moved slowly, eased into it, and the pain never came, the tension easing as he slipped in.
Thorn stopped there, both of them breathing hard.
“How does it feel?” he asked Daniel. “Are you okay? Is it too much?”
“It’s a lot,” Daniel choked out. “So, so full. Don’t… don’t move yet? Please.”
“Shh.” Thorn stroked a hand down his cheek. “I won’t move until you’re ready. You’re doing great. Just focus on me, focus on how it feels.”
The alpha continued to stroke his cheeks and forehead, peppering kisses along his mouth and neck. Daniel felt his body start to relax around the alpha, letting out a deep sigh as an itch started up inside him.
He shifted his hips a little, trying to urge the alpha deeper, prompting a laugh from Thorn.
“Want me to move now?” the alpha teased.
“Yes. I want that a lot,” Daniel told him, letting his fingers tangle in the alpha’s hair.
He waited, half-expecting to be told to keep his hands to himself, but Thorn just smiled down at him. The alpha eased back until only the tip of his cock was inside Daniel, and then he pushed back in.
The smooth slide of his body prompted a long moan from Daniel. It felt so good. Was it supposed to feel like that?
Before he could ask, Thorn did it again and again. Daniel was lost in a growing haze of pleasure, barely noticing when Thorn’s hand found his neck again, pressing firmly in time with his thrusts. The alpha’s thrusts grew faster and harder, but it was like Daniel’s body was made for this, taking every inch of the alpha as he plunged into him.
“That’s it, Daniel. So good, so beautiful, taking all of me like it’s nothing.”
“Not nothing,” Daniel panted out, feeling the length of Thorn as he pushed inside. “So much, so good. I can’t…”
He was close to the edge.
“Yes,” Thorn said, thrusting harder. “You’re right there, Daniel. Let go. Just let it all go.”
Another thrust, another press of the alpha’s fingers against his skin, and Daniel was lost. His body tightened around Thorn as the alpha came, wave after wave of pleasure crashing through him. His vision clouded, he cried out, and Thorn pressed close, his body covering Daniel’s.
He surfaced to find himself lying on his side, a low chuckle rumblin
g in his ear.
“That was very hot, Danny.” The alpha’s fingers teased along his hip. “You were beautiful, truly.”
“It felt so good,” Daniel murmured against him. “No pain. I wasn’t afraid.”
Thorn’s fingers paused, and then he cupped Daniel’s cheek and kissed him fiercely. “There will never be fear, there will never be pain. Not with me.”
“I… I know.” Daniel did, finally. He understood. “You’re my mate. My true mate.”
“And you’re mine,” Thorn said, tangling his fingers in Daniel’s hair and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Get some sleep now. It won’t be long before you’ll want to go again.”
Daniel wasn’t sure he believed that. He was bone-tired and drowsy, with Thorn’s warm arms wrapped around him. He felt like he’d sleep for days.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Even days after his heat had ended, Daniel still felt like he was in a happy, hazy dream. He made an early breakfast for Thorn, who had a shift at the firehouse, and sat at the table watching the alpha eat.
“You’re not having any?” Thorn asked him.
“I’ll eat with Sammy. He’s taken to throwing as much food as he eats. I figure it’s better if he sees me eating, too.”
“Then we’ll make sure to have as many meals together as we can this week. He’ll soon decide eating is better than playing.”
Thorn gave him a hug and a kiss as he was leaving, staring questioningly at Daniel’s stomach. “Anything yet?”
Daniel laughed but shook his head. “It’s a little too soon, isn’t it?”
“I guess I’m just excited, that’s all.” He pressed another lingering kiss to Daniel’s lips. “See you this evening. Don’t forget to bring Sammy over to the packhouse this morning. They’re doing finger painting. I’m sure he’ll love it.”
“What toddler doesn’t love an excuse to get covered in paint?”
“They’ve got aprons,” Thorn assured him.
“Tell me that again tonight when I’m washing paint out of his ears.”
Thorn was still laughing as he walked out to his car. Daniel waved him off and headed back inside. He should do some housework, and maybe make a start on the lasagna he had planned for dinner.
He was elbow-deep in the breakfast dishes, Sammy playing on the floor nearby, when the doorbell rang. Drying his hands on the dishcloth, he checked to make sure Sammy was occupied and wandered out to see who it was.
His heart skipped a beat when he saw the police officer at the door. He pulled it open and hoped his fear didn’t show on his face.
“Can I help you?”
The officer seemed a little confused to see him. “I was looking for Thorn, though I see his truck’s not here.”
“He’s on shift at the firehouse.”
“I should have guessed. I’m Deputy Thomas. And you are…?”
“Daniel.”
“Nice to meet you, Daniel. Maybe you could ask Thorn to give me a call? He has my number.”
“Sure. What should I tell him it’s about?”
“Nothing important. I caught some kids driving around town on a stolen moped yesterday. The owner doesn’t want to press charges, he’s just happy to know where his vehicle is, but the kids said they found it abandoned on this property, right out near the road. I was wondering if Thorn knew anything about it.”
Daniel’s heart was racing from the word ‘moped.’ His moped. The one he’d stolen from Harrison and ridden to freedom.
“He’s never mentioned anything about a moped to me. So you don’t think the kids took it?”
“They definitely stole it, alright. But the owner is a county away. It seems like it had been stolen already, driven out here, and dumped. The kids saw an opportunity and snatched it. Thankfully, it’s still in good condition. I’d say the owner wouldn’t be so content to let it slide otherwise. But I guess we’ll see if he still feels that way when he comes to pick it up.” The sheriff smiled at him. “I won’t keep going on, I’m sure you’re busy. You’ll tell Thorn I stopped by?”
“I’ll tell him,” Daniel promised, knowing the blood must have drained from his face.
He said goodbye and shut the door, leaning heavily against the wall and listening as the deputy’s car drove away.
Harrison owned the moped. Which meant Harrison knew Daniel had driven it here. He’d be coming for them. The pack would be coming. They might suspect he was long gone, that he’d just dumped the moped and kept running, but they wouldn’t take that on faith. And that nice, chatty deputy would tell them exactly where he’d picked it up. It would lead Harrison right to Thorn, right to Thorn’s pack, and straight to Sammy. It was only a matter of time. Hours or days. Unless… unless Daniel gave them no reason to come looking.
He checked his watch and hurried back inside, getting Sammy ready to head to the packhouse.
“Finger painting, huh? Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
He carried Sammy most of the way there, knowing time was short and he’d need as much of a head start as he could get. Kira readily accepted his excuse that he needed to return to the house and finish getting dinner ready. Daniel couldn’t do more than give Sammy a quick kiss and a hug, not without arousing suspicion. Once he was out of sight of the house, he ran all the way home, wiping the stray tears from his cheeks. He found a pen and paper in the kitchen drawers and hurriedly wrote a note. It was the hardest thing he ever had to write, but he didn’t have the time to take care with his words. He had to be long gone before Thorn came home.
He didn’t bother packing. It needed to look like he’d been on his own, or Harrison would never believe his story. Setting the letter carefully on the kitchen table, he ran for the door before he could change his mind. He grabbed the keys to Thorn’s motorcycle on the way out, hoping the alpha would forgive him that last betrayal. He’d be too slow on foot.
As he drove off down the driveway, praying that no one from the pack was around to see him, he hoped he was doing the right thing. No, he knew he was. He had to protect Sammy, Thorn, and Thorn’s pack from Harrison and his people. Once Harrison found Daniel, he’d never let him go. And if he found him with another alpha, with another pack, he’d make them pay for Daniel’s betrayal. Daniel couldn’t let that happen.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thorn got a call from Brax on the way home from the firehouse.
“Is Daniel with you?”
“No, I’m not home yet. Why?”
“Sammy’s here. Daniel dropped him off this morning, but he never came back. Cole called over to your house just now, but he’s not there. Neither is your motorcycle.”
Thorn struggled to get his head around that. “Maybe he went to town to buy some ingredients for dinner? I told him he could take the bike if he needed to. He knows how to ride.”
Though Thorn had specifically asked Daniel to tell him before he took it, since he wasn’t all that experienced.
“I’ll get Cole to drive the route into town and check in with the sheriff’s office. Maybe the bike broke down, or he got stopped or something. Did he have a driver’s license with him?”
“I never thought to ask,” Thorn said. “Let me check the house. I’d know better than Cole would if anything’s out of place.”
He passed Cole on the road, the alpha giving him a wave as he turned toward town. Thorn drove to the house, a feeling of unease growing in his stomach the closer he got. Something wasn’t right, but he was damned if he knew what that something was.
He jumped out of the truck and ran inside, calling out, “Daniel?”
Even though he wasn’t expecting an answer, he was disappointed all the same. In the kitchen, he found a dish of uncooked lasagna sitting by the cold stove. And on the table, propped up against a glass, was a letter with his name on it. Dread filled him as he reached for it, unfolding the paper and reading. Cursing, he dropped it back on the table and called Brax.
“Daniel’s gone. He took off. I found a note he left for me. He�
��s in trouble, Brax, and I think we might be too.”
He was torn. There was so much to explain, and his every instinct was telling him to get out on the road and go after his mate. But he couldn’t. He had a pack to protect, he had Sammy to protect, and there was a threat looming on the horizon.
“Come to the packhouse,” Brax said. “We’ll figure it out and make a plan.”
Thorn hesitated. If he left now, went after Daniel…
“He’s been gone for hours, Thorn. You won’t catch up with him. Wherever he’s going, he left for a reason. We need to understand that before we go chasing after him.”
“I’ll be there in five,” Thorn told him, hanging up.
The others were waiting for him in the living room.
“Thorny!”
Thorn lifted Sammy into his arms. “Hey, kiddo. Did you have fun painting?”
“Uh-huh. Did a picture for Daddy.”
“I’ll bet he’ll love it.”
Thorn didn’t have the heart to tell Sammy his dad wasn’t there to see it. He didn’t need to know anything about Daniel being gone, not until they were sure.
“Sammy, come into the playroom with me and Eric,” Alice said, holding out a hand. Thorn set him down, and Sammy skipped away happily, oblivious to the worry in the room.
“What did the note say?” Oliver asked as soon as the kids were gone.
“That he lied to me, to us. He’s part of another pack. He ran away, but now he’s realized that he made a mistake, so he’s gone back to them. He left Sammy here because he wants him to be safe.”
“Because he doesn’t think Sammy’s safe in his pack? That doesn’t make sense,” Duke said. “Packs are safe places for kids.”
“I thought so too, but… Daniel mentioned a name in his letter. Harrison.”
Brax and Duke both tensed at that, prompting curious looks from the rest of the room.
“Who’s Harrison?” Nathan asked.
“He was army special forces, like us,” Brax said heavily. “Went off the rails on a mission, earned a dishonorable discharge for his troubles.”
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