The Alpha's Wish: Lost Omegas Book Three: A M/M Shifter Romance Read online

  The crack of a branch behind him had him whirling around.

  Three more wolves, in human form, were approaching him. One of them was the rogue, limping, his injuries still healing.

  “That’s him. The Omega the Alpha was guarding. From his scent, he’s still not bonded.”

  The rogue was speaking to another wolf who was watching Matthew with curious eyes. The man didn’t acknowledge the rogue’s words, instead addressing Matthew.

  “You’re in a hurry. What’s the rush?”

  Matthew didn’t answer, eyes darting from the wolf behind him to the others who were spreading out to surround him. He took a hurried step to the side, stumbling over a rock.

  “Whoa, there.” The speaker jumped forward, catching his arm and righting him. “What say we slow things down, okay? I’m Andrew. That’s Graham, and Paul is the wolf behind you.” He paused, adding, “I believe you’ve already met our friend Cain.”

  The wolf in question shoved his way forward, grabbing Matthew by the shoulder. “Where’s that bastard Alpha of yours who left me for dead?” His fingers dug into Matthew’s skin.

  “Ah-ah,” Andrew said, latching on to Cain’s arm and detaching it from Matthew’s shoulder. “As I said, let’s not rush things. We’re strangers and we probably don’t look too friendly. Isn’t that right, Matthew?”

  Matthew started to nod before the implication of the man’s words hit him. The rogue hadn’t known his name, so how did Andrew? His realization had him stepping back while Andrew tightened his hold on Matthew’s arm.

  “It is Matthew, isn’t it? We just have a few questions for you.”

  “Let go of me,” he said as he tried to shake off the man’s grip.

  “I’ll let you go if you promise to listen to my questions and not run away.” Andrew’s open manner was at odds with the situation. Zack had told him rogues didn’t usually travel in groups. And Matt doubted they normally looked as clean shaven as Andrew who was a stark contrast to Cain with his dirty beard and torn clothes.

  Matthew nodded cautiously and Andrew let him go.

  “The Alpha you were with, it’s Zack, right? Zack Brown”

  Matthew was confused. If they were looking for him, why would they know Zack’s name? The knowledge surprised the rogue. “How the hell do you know that Alpha bastard’s name…” He took a step forward only for Graham to grab him and propel him backward.

  “Matthew and I are talking, Cain. Don’t interrupt,” Andrew said pleasantly as Graham kept a warning hand on Cain’s shoulder.

  “Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Zack is the Alpha you were with when you encountered Cain here.”

  “He broke into the cabin and attacked me. Zack was just defending me.”

  “Is that true?” Andrew turned sharp eyes on Cain, who shrank back.

  “I told you. That Alpha attacked me. Almost tore my throat out.”

  “Hmm,” Andrew seemed unimpressed by Cain’s words as he turned back to Matthew. “And where is Zack now?”

  Matthew stayed silent. He wasn’t going to give the Alpha away after everything he’d done for Matt, even if he was planning to use him to undo his exile.

  “I can take a guess, given his scent is strong on you, that you were with him recently enough. Back that way, is he?” Andrew gestured back the way Matthew had come. “And not alone either. Let’s go say hello.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Zack followed Matt’s tracks through the snow keeping up a fast pace until the scents carried on the wind gave him pause. Shifters. More than one. Including the rogue. His instinct was to run to Matt, protect the Omega, but he fought it down. It wouldn’t do him well to run headlong into trouble, not when he was clearly outnumbered. He stilled instead, listening carefully.

  Whoever they were, they were making their way towards him. They were talking but he couldn’t make out any words. The scents grew stronger, unfamiliar except for Matt’s, the rogue’s and a third that he recognized faintly. It was enough to make up his mind and he strode forward to meet them.

  They had heard him coming and stopped in the center of a clearing. Zack growled under his breath when he saw one of them had a hand on Matthew’s arm. The shifter heard his growl, removing his hand and putting the slightest distance between himself and Matt.

  “Zack, it’s been a long time.”

  Zack gave the familiar shifter a closer look. He knew that scent, knew that face.

  “Andrew?”

  “One and the same. It’s good to see you again.”

  Zack tried to remember the last time he’d seen Andrew. It had been a Pack gathering, to celebrate a mating between an Alpha from Andrew’s Pack and a cousin of Derek’s, almost a decade ago. He’d heard, a year or so later, that Andrew had been exiled over some trivial dispute. His father had been angry at the news, another young wolf cast out from a Pack for no real reason other than their Alpha status. ‘Where have things gone so wrong,’ his father had asked, ‘that they’d disown their own sons?’.

  “You know him?” the rogue spat, glaring daggers at Zack.

  “You’re not the smartest rogue,” Andrew commented, before addressing Zack again. “Cain here says you attacked him.”

  “I found him in my home, assaulting Matthew. He was spoiling for a fight, so I gave him one.”

  “Matthew said the same, and neither of you are lying.” Andrew turned back to the rogue. “I’ve heard of you, Cain. You’ve been on the Warrior’s radar once or twice before. If I were you, I wouldn’t want to come to our attention again. Consider this your only warning. Next time, I guarantee our meeting won’t be so pleasant.”

  The rogue snarled, looking ready to argue.

  “Want me to finish him off?” Zack offered, taking a step towards him. The rogue backed off, crouching in submission as he stepped backward before he shifted into a mangy wolf, shaking off his tattered clothes as he slunk off into the trees.

  “He was fast outliving his usefulness, though he did help us find Matthew here,” Andrew commented.

  While the rogue’s exit had eased the tension, there were still three wolves standing between him and Matthew. Sure, he’d known Andrew all those years ago, but if a year in exile had changed Zack, then a decade as a rogue meant he no longer knew the man standing in front of him.

  Andrew must have sensed his thoughts. He nudged Matthew forward. “Your Alpha wants you over next to him before we get down to business.”

  He could see Matthew open his mouth to deny the connection and spoke before he could.

  “Matthew, come stand beside me. We can discuss the ins and outs of our relationship later.”

  Matt stepped forward quickly, standing just behind and to the side of Zack. The Alpha settled a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently, relieved that Matthew was in one piece. The Omega shot him a look filled with uncertainty, clearly choosing the devil he knew rather than the one he didn’t.

  “What brings you and your friends out to this part of the woods?” Zack asked, turning his attention back to Andrew and his friends. His best guess was that they were tracking Matthew but, if that were true, why surrender him?

  “You’re not the easiest man to find. We had an approximate location from a rogue you had a run-in with last month so we thought we’d try our luck. We found Cain and he pointed us in the right direction, then we ran into Matthew here, though he wasn’t so keen to help us find you.”

  It was heartening for Zack to hear, that even though Matthew had run, distrusting Zack’s motives, he hadn’t betrayed him.

  “You’re part of Fenrir’s Warriors?”

  He’d heard of them, of course. They’d been the main talking point of every Interpack meeting since Gray Valley had lost its Alpha successor to them. Rumor had it there’d been a fight with their Enforcer over an Omega, and Joshua had lost.

  “Yeah, and I’d love to tell you all about it. Maybe we could head back to your place, have a sit-down?”

  Andrew seemed in earnest, there was no sense of decepti
on. His interest appeared to be Zack himself and not Matthew like he’d assumed.

  “Sure, we’re about five minutes from my cabin,” he replied, turning around and bringing Matthew with him.

  Matthew was glancing between him and Andrew. Zack was about to ask him what was wrong when the Omega spoke to Andrew.

  “If you were looking for Zack, how did you know my name?”

  Andrew grinned. “Call it an educated guess. Your Pack and Bear Lake have been trying to search for you without letting on why but rumor travels pretty fast and it wasn’t too hard to work out what had gone on.” His expression turned sympathetic. “It’s hard being kicked out of your Pack. But even harder to choose to leave of your own accord. I’m glad it was Zack here you ran into, there’s a lot worse out there.”

  Matt glanced back in the direction the rogue had taken.

  Andrew saw where he was looking and nodded. “Yeah, like Cain, though he was more of an opportunist. Probably thought it was his lucky day when he ran into you. Then cursing his luck when Zack showed up.” Andrew grinned at Zack but quickly turned serious.

  “Of course, he’ll probably spread the word that you’re here.”

  “So will Derek, now that I’ve turned down his offer.”

  “Derek? Oh, right. The Alpha’s son who you were…” Andrew started to say.

  “Yeah,” Zack said quickly. “He wanted to rekindle things, on the side, until he figured out about Matthew and thought he’d make a useful bargaining chip for us to use against his father.”

  Matthew was trying hard to hide his interest in the conversation and Zack was careful to direct his words at Andrew.

  “I don’t think he was too happy when I took off after Matt.”

  Now there was nothing covert about Matthew’s attention, the Omega’s eyes on him.

  “Well, whatever you choose to do next, Matthew can’t stay here. And you’re not likely to be living the quiet life once the details get out.”

  Zack knew Andrew was right. The moment he’d chosen Matthew over Derek, he’d enmeshed himself in Matthew’s troubles. The Omega couldn’t stay here, and neither could Zack.

  “If Derek’s still at the cabin, I may be able to reason with him,” he suggested, not believing his own words.

  But Derek was long gone, the cabin’s front door ajar.

  Zack invited them inside, but Andrew sent Graham and Paul to scout the surrounding woods.

  “Don’t want anyone to sneak up on us. A little warning will come in useful,” the shifter commented.

  Zack encouraged Matt to take a seat on the couch, sitting next to him. Andrew sat opposite them.

  “So, like I said, we’ve been trying to track you down for quite a while now. When I say we, I mean Fenrir’s Warriors.”

  “How long have you been with them?” Zack asked. He couldn’t imagine Andrew choosing to join a group of rogues like the FW.

  “Oh, since the early days. I wandered for about a year after I was exiled. Across the outskirts of Pack lands, avoiding other rogues, fighting when I had to. By the time James found me, I’d practically lost the will to live. A group of rogues, notorious for tracking younger wolves, had picked up my scent. They'd been on my trail for weeks and it had reached the point where I’d stopped caring. I just wanted it over."

  His eyes held a distant look, the memories clearly painful.

  "They caught me, dragged me to this house filled with other young shifters. They were running an illegal fight ring and a brothel. I was too weak to fight so they decided I'd earn my keep in other ways. But I guess I wasn't as complacent as they'd expected. I left my first client bleeding. One of the handlers dragged me outside, promised me the beating of my life. But then James was there, standing between me and the rogue. Fought him off, killed him. I was… I was in bad shape. Hadn’t eaten in days, hadn’t slept in a week. I passed out. Woke up a day later, in a house with a handful of others from the house. They were mostly like me, kicked out of their Packs, left to fend for themselves. James called it a halfway house. It was a kind of screening process. They watched how you did while there, to see if there was a reason your Pack had decided you were a rogue.”

  “And if they found one?” Zack asked.

  “They’d move on by themselves usually, sometimes they were asked, sometimes they were told.”

  “And the rest of you?”

  “There’d be jobs to do. You’d be introduced to others. Sometimes you’d go to work in the human world. Did a few months of fruit picking one summer, tending Christmas trees another. The kind of stuff that paid cash in hand and no one cared too much if you were who you said you were. It wasn’t Pack but it was better than being alone.”

  “So, they kept you around for manual labor?” Zack didn’t try to hide his skepticism. This didn’t sound like any group of rogues he’d ever heard of.

  “They were giving us time to grow up, mature, learn to control ourselves. Then the real work started.”

  “Real work?”

  “Surveillance, intervention in situations that contravened Pack law, that sort of thing.”

  “You’re telling me Fenrir’s Warriors give a damn about Pack law?” The irony wasn’t lost on Zack, nor Matthew, from the expression on the Omega’s face.

  “More than most Packs do, these days,” Andrew replied, voice not rising to match the heat in Zack’s tone.

  “So where do I come in?”

  Andrew grinned. “James would like you to consider joining us. It’s not Pack but it’s better than anything else you’ll find out here.”

  “What makes you think I’d be interested?”

  The other man shrugged. “You’d have joined the Enforcers if it had been offered, so you know the truth about life out here. By yourself, it won’t be a long and happy one. With us, there’s a chance.”

  “A chance for what?” Zack couldn’t work out exactly what was on offer.

  “A real life, with safety and company. Not the kind you’d planned but one you can be proud of. Fenrir’s Warriors stand for Pack justice. Doing the right thing. Keeping the innocent and the vulnerable safe. And not allowing the power of individual wolves to tip the balance even more in the favor of the usurpers.”

  “Usurpers?” Matthew asked, surprising both Andrew and Zack with his interjection.

  “Pack leadership used to be quite a stable thing. Sure, there’d be the occasional death of an Alpha in a fight between Packs but it was rare that an internal dispute unseated a primary or secondary Alpha line. In the past hundred years, it has been happening more and more. The stability of Packs has been in jeopardy for a long time. We aim to restore it.”

  It was a grand speech to match a grand plan.

  “Look, you don’t have to make any decisions now. James would like to meet with you. He’s better at all this recruitment stuff, but he’s being pulled in multiple directions at once right now and we thought a familiar face might fare better than a stranger. We do need to leave, though, and soon.”

  Zack couldn’t make any decisions without talking to Matthew. Who knew what was going through the Omega’s head right now? Zack wanted to see him safe, whether the FW could help with that or Matthew had other ideas, Zack would stay with him until they worked it out.

  Andrew caught the look that he exchanged with Matthew. “Why don’t I give you two a moment? I have some calls to make.”

  He stepped out the front door and moved away into the forest. Zack stood and moved to the window, watching Andrew’s back as he walked away.

  “I thought they were here for me,” Matthew said from behind him. “I thought they were from Bear Lake.”

  He turned to see Matthew sitting forward, hands on his knees.

  “What are you going to do?” the Omega asked him.

  “I don’t know. What about you?”

  “Well, I can’t stay here. Cain knows I’m here and so does Derek. It won’t be long before my family and Bear Lake track me down. I guess, maybe I could go with them?” He nodde
d his head in the direction Andrew had gone. “They don’t seem so bad.”

  “I think we should both go with them. For now, at least. We need to put some distance between us and the cabin. The FW seem more resourceful than I’d realized.”

  Matthew’s pensive expression changed to one of relief. It was enough to make Zack’s mind up. They’d go. He’d hear out Fenrir’s Warriors and he and Matthew would have each other’s backs until the time came for them to part.

  Zack packed a bag of belongings and a second of food, and they walked out in search of Andrew. The other Alpha indicated the bags they carried. “Is this a yes?”

  “It’s a ‘we’ll see’. I’ll hear James out, see what he has to say.”

  “Good,” Andrew hesitated. “We hadn’t factored Matthew into the equation, or your connection, and the need to move you so soon. We’ve had to change our plans somewhat to find you somewhere safe to hole up until things die down.”

  “We’re not going with you?” Matthew asked, shuffling a step closer to Zack.

  “Yes and no. We think we’ve found you somewhere neutral where you’ll be safe. If you choose to join us, we’ll find you somewhere more permanent. Come on, we’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  They drove through the evening and night, the Warriors taking turns at the wheel. Zack offered to take over to give them a break, but Andrew politely turned him down. Zack watched Matthew battle sleep for an hour or so after midnight before the younger wolf finally gave in and slept. Zack couldn’t blame him for being so cautious. They were among strangers, friendly strangers at that, but still, Matt couldn’t be feeling too secure right about then.

  Andrew took a few calls on the journey and just after dawn they pulled into a lay-by.

  “Right, as cliché as this sounds, we’re going to swap vehicles,” Andrew announced. “You two are coming with me in that SUV, Pamela over there is going with Graham and Paul.”

  It didn’t seem to come as a surprise to either of the two other men, Paul readily taking the wheel from Andrew as they climbed out. Pamela pulled Andrew aside, speaking in undertones before handing him a set of keys.