Chapter Twelve
Scott
Once Harley had disappeared into the building with Levi, Zade began to walk toward the tree line, motioning for me to follow. Once the forest had swallowed us, he stopped and turned to face me, legs spread and fists planted on his hips.
"We need to talk," he said without preamble.
I raised a brow but held my tongue.
"I want you to give Harley some space."
I felt my eyes narrow but was more concerned with holding back the wolf trying to break free to worry about whether my evil eye offended him. I drew several deep breaths, the effort slightly hampered by my fangs erupting. Still, once I had my breath, I forced my voice to remain steady. "No."
Zade snarled at me, showing me that his fangs had breached his gums also. "Yes."
My fingers began to tingle as my claws broke free and a growl began deep in my gut, my lips twisting into a grimace as the wolf started to gain the upper hand.
"Hold up, boys," an unfamiliar but unmistakably Alpha voice rode the breeze toward the spot where I was squaring off with Harley's current Alpha.
To my surprise, Zade seemed embarrassed by his arrival. "Hey, Clint."
Clint? Oh, right, the Coruscation werewolf Alpha. Trevor's mate and our host. I'd only crossed paths with him a few times, so it wasn't so odd that I hadn't recognized his voice. I turned to meet his eyes, still trying to force the wolf back into compliance. "Nice to see you, Clint."
"You, too, Scott." The werewolf glanced curiously at Zade. "Sure looked like you two were about to throw down," he commented.
Zade scowled and shook his head. "We were talking about Harley."
"Wrong," I snapped, my lips drawing back in a snarl. "You were ordering me away from him. That's hardly the same thing as talking about him."
Clint's forehead furrowed in confusion. "But Rafe said Scott saved Harley from tumbling down a cliff?" He waited for Zade's tight nod to confirm the story. "Then why are you trying to keep them apart?"
"Because I don't know their history and Harley isn't exactly in a position to tell me what he wants," Zade huffed.
"I already told you," I growled in turn. "We were planning on mating until he was sold away from me."
Clint looked from Zade to me and then back to Zade. "And?"
Zade sighed heavily and dropped to his butt in the crisp leaves on the forest floor. "And I can't collaborate it, Clint," he said quietly.
"Harley talked all the time when he first arrived. He told me everything. He told me about how he was raised, his hobbies, his schooling, his," Zade swallowed a sigh as a touch of red colored his cheeks, "heat cycles. He told me all kinds of things, including that he'd barely escaped being raped by an Alpha back before my pack elders offered for him." Zade lifted his eyes to meet mine. "But he never once mentioned Scott. Not by name, anyway."
What the Hell?
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I hissed. "I wasn't the bastard who tried to rape him, you dolt. That was his fucking cousin." I ground my teeth together, hoping the sting would help me hold back. "Did he also tell you that a friend stumbled onto them and stopped it?" I waited for Zade's nod. "That was me, asshole!"
Zade just shrugged. "There's no way for me to be sure," he snapped, "and I won't put Harley in any more danger."
"He's not in any danger from me!" I roared.
Clint stepped forward, one hand raised. "Okay. I really think that's enough." He looked at Zade. "Every inch of the living compound is under constant guard. Harley couldn't be any safer here. Why not let them hang together here, where he's safe, and give Scott a chance to jog his memory?"
Zade growled. "Why not just send Scott's ass home and I can let him know when - or if – Harley remembers him?"
Before I could respond, Clint chuckled. "Send him home until the Omega wants to see him?" Clint's chuckles turned into deep laughs. "Oh, hell, son. That's rich!"
"It's not that funny," Zade huffed.
I looked from one to the other, completely lost.
"It really is." Clint turned to me, wiping the tears from his eyes. "This from the same Alpha who all but kidnapped Levi and then followed him back here after we rescued him and refused to leave." He smirked when Zade snorted. "I finally took pity on him and said he could stay for a bit, so then he followed Levi around like a little lost stray."
"That's different. Harley's my responsibility," Zade protested a little weakly.
"Just like Levi was mine," Clint nodded. "And technically, I can't make you do jack shit." The werewolf shrugged. "But I can give Scott the same permission to hang around that I gave you." Clint turned back to me. "You can stay here as long as you need to."
"Thanks, Clint. I truly appreciate it."
With Harley still occupied and Zade glaring and spitting curses under his breath, I decided that it was a good time to retreat to my van. Discretion being the better part of valor and all.
Thinking it was a good opportunity to get back to my research on ways that I might be able to help my Omega, I folded the bed out and propped myself up against the pillows with my laptop on my thighs. Intending to give Harley a couple of hours before I hunted him down, I set a reminder on my phone and clicked the wifi icon on the screen. The tiny globe spun in circles before the browser opened with a cheerful chime.
I was deeply engrossed in an article published in the Boston Journal of Medicine on the use of grounding techniques when a hesitant knock came from the passenger door. Operating on autopilot as I scribbled notes on the notepad next to me, I called out "it's open" and continued to scan the article.
"This doesn't look like a good time."
My head jerked up when Harley's tired voice broke through my concentration.
"What? Oh, hey!" I quickly minimized the browser window before he could see what I was doing and hurriedly shuffled all the loose papers into a stack that I placed on the small shelf by the bed, using the laptop to both hold them in place and to shield them from his curious glance. "I wasn't expecting to see you."
When his forehead wrinkled, I mentally smacked myself. "I mean, I thought you'd still be with the Empath." I was about to stand up and flip the bed back into couch mode – Gods knew I didn't really trust myself with Harley on my bed – when he kicked off his shoes and flopped face-down on the mattress beside me.
"You're sure I'm not interrupting?"
"Absolutely not," I said firmly, allowing myself to gently rub his back and pretending not to notice the enticing scent flooding off of him. I wasn't sure what brought it on, but my Omega was definitely in the mood. Given how long it had been since I'd smelled it, since I'd tasted him, since I'd had him, I was pretty damned sure I deserved a damn medal for controlling myself.
"What are you working on?" Harley asked, glancing over curiously to my still-open laptop on the shelf. His eyes widened and I followed his gaze, unable to stop from cringing when I saw that my screen saver had kicked on. The screen saver that I had made from all of my favorite photos. Pictures of him, of us together.
I was digging through my brain for something – anything- that I could use to explain it when he looked back to me, his lips curved into a smile.
"You were my boyfriend," he said quietly.
I swallowed hard. "You remember?"
Harley shook his head but without the defeated look I'd already seen too many times when his memory failed him. He nodded to the screen that was displaying a picture of us embracing. We'd been skinny dipping and the water dripping off our bodies had caught the sparkle of the full moon. "No, but I'm pretty sure that I don't do that with just anyone."
"Yeah," I agreed, groaning inwardly. Zade was going to kill me. "Just with me. Back then, anyway," I rushed to qualify as the screen faded into a different picture. A smile brushed his lips and I thought back to the day the picture had been taken. "That one was taken on your birthday."
We – Harley and I - had spent his eighteenth birthday at a local amusement park and Harley had been obsessed with the roller coaster. It was one of those old, rickety jobs that swayed and rumbled under the weight of the trains. At the top, just before the final drop, there was an enclosed section, almost like a raised tunnel. Their souvenir camera had managed to snap our picture right as I stole my first kiss from him. Our lips were pressed together, Harley's cheeks were pink from the brisk air and the surprise was obvious in his still-open eyes.
"And now?"
I sighed. "Now? I honestly don't know, Har." I brushed my fingers over the back of his hand. "We really did lose touch for a while. I'm afraid I don't know what you've been up to."
I'd expected his smile to drop away at my admission, but instead, he laughed.
"I meant you, silly." Harley scooted a little closer. "Are you involved with someone?"
For a split second I considered lying to him, but, hell, the cat was already out of the bag, so instead I gathered him close, pulling him onto my lap and burying my nose in the soft skin behind his ear. "Never, Harley. I started looking for you the minute we were separated, and I never quit. You're all I've ever wanted."