Chapter Six
Noah was used to uneventful days. He had them by the handful. But the first few days after Ronan left were different. Nothing happened, nothing had changed, and yet, something had changed. It was a while before he realized that that something was him. He had changed, he was the one who was different. Because of Ronan. Because of the alpha’s promise, whatever that meant.
Noah was under no illusions. He was certain, when Ronan came back, the alpha would make his expectations clear. But, whatever it was, it had to be better than here and now, the endless drudgery of nothing, on and on into forever.
By day three, he started to get anxious that Ronan wouldn’t be back. Sure, he’d promised. And his bike was still parked in the garage. Noah checked twice, sometimes three times a day, oddly paranoid the alpha might slip in and take it without him noticing. There could be no clearer sign that he’d changed his mind than that. And yet, every time he looked for it, it was there. He’d even taken the time to clean it, so it gleamed in the sunlight that escaped through the broken window.
Day four he spent on tenterhooks, anxiously awaiting Ronan’s return. Any moment now, he kept telling himself. The minutes passed with excruciating slowness, and he just about cleaned every inch of the house in an effort to keep himself busy.
That night he slept very little, every distant sound of traffic jerking him awake in the hope that the noise would grow louder signaling Ronan’s return. But by morning, he was still alone.
It was midmorning when the sound of an engine reached his ears. At first, he didn’t believe it, assuming a change in wind direction or a lost human, but the sound grew louder and louder, and he just knew.
He practically flew to the front door, his feet barely touching the ground. Flinging it open, he threw himself out onto the porch, peering around the side of the house for the arriving vehicle. His heart sank as he caught sight of it. It was a familiar car, but it wasn’t Ronan. It was pack.
While he waited for them to park up and get out, he tried to decide how to explain about Ronan. They’d see it as good news, he was sure. A use for him, at last. Of course, he might have to explain about Preston too, but maybe it was best to say nothing unless they noticed. The whole situation was difficult to make sense of, seeing as he really didn’t know what it had been about. Just that Preston had stolen something and been caught red-handed by Ronan.
When Maurice, their pack’s second-in-command, stepped out of the car, Noah did a double take. In the eight months he’d been there, his brother was the highest level of pack member who’d been by. And Stephen was Gregory’s fifth.
Maurice was flanked by two of the pack’s Enforcers, Bert and Leslie. Not unusual, no one ever came here alone. But where was his brother? And why was Trey with them? Trey had been an enforcer too until one too many no-shows on his part had put him out of favor with Gregory.
“There you are, Noah. I’m glad to see you’re keeping busy,” Maurice said in greeting, his eyes dropping to the dust cloth in Noah’s hand.
“But you’ve always been a hard worker, haven’t you?” the alpha added with a smile. There was something in that smile, something predatory, that had Noah tensing and forcing himself not to take a step back. But there were expectations in any pack, and his was no different. He dropped slowly to his knees and bowed his head.
“Alpha Maurice. Welcome. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Of course not. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise visit if we called ahead, would it?” The alpha was trying to sound friendly, but there was a bite underneath his words.
“No, Alpha,” Noah whispered in reply. Maurice squeezed his shoulder, a signal for Noah to stand. He did, moving aside to let them enter the house. Leslie shoved past him, knocking his shoulder against the wall. Bert looked him up and down as he passed, leering and grinning. But the look Trey gave him was poisonous. What had Noah done to deserve that?
Following them inside, he busied himself in the kitchen making drinks while the others sat around the table.
“You’ve had a visitor?” Maurice asked, sounding surprised. The others looked confused, and Noah guessed only the alpha could scent anything.
“Yes, an alpha. He left a week ago, but he’ll be back, maybe even today.”
“Coming back here? Why would anyone want to come here in the first place?” Leslie said, glancing around disdainfully. Trey shot her a look which she ignored.
“I come bearing good news, Noah,” Maurice said, talking as if Leslie hadn’t spoken. “You’ve done well in your time here, and Gregory has seen fit to find you a new post. Somewhere you’ll be of more use.”
Noah spilled coffee over his hand, cursing under his breath and hurrying to run his hand under the sink.
“Alpha Maurice, I think, maybe, I won’t need a new post.”
That clearly wasn’t what Maurice wanted to hear.
“What are you saying?”
“The alpha, the one who was here. He’s coming back, because… because we… he and I, that is…”
“He and you, what?” Maurice asked, getting slowly to his feet. Noah gulped as the imposing alpha loomed over him.
“We’re compatible. And we have an understanding. He’s coming back for me.”
There was a long pause as Maurice stared down at him then the alpha began to laugh. The others joined in, Bert doubling over, holding his stomach.
“An alpha, coming here, for you?” Maurice said, struggling to take a breath. “He told you that, did he? Before or after you let him fuck you.”
Noah winced at the crass words. “No, we didn’t, I didn’t… he promised.”
That only seemed to make them laugh harder.
“Oh, he promised,” Leslie parroted. “He promised to love the broken omega forever.”
“If this is true,” Maurice said, sweeping his arm around the room, “then where is he?”
“He had to go. He was in the middle of a job, and he had to finish it. But he left his motorbike here, in the garage.”
“Then how did he leave?” Leslie challenged.
“In a car,” Noah explained, struggling to make them understand and hurt by their constant jibes.
Bert snorted with laughter, setting his coffee cup down on the table.
“Notwithstanding imaginary alphas,” Maurice said, settling back down into his seat, “our alpha has made arrangements for you to take up a new post. Trey is here to take over your position. You have thirty minutes to tell him what he needs to know, and then we’re leaving.”
“But Alpha Maurice…”
Quick as a flash, Maurice was back on his feet, looming over him, one hand curled into a fist.
“Your alpha has spoken, Noah. Are you refusing his request?”
“No, Alpha Maurice, of course not. But… just one more day, please. He’ll be here. He promised.”
Maurice’s eyes narrowed, and he reached out, cuffing Noah on the chin. “Thirty minutes. If you’re not in that car, you’ll be sorry you opened your mouth.”
Swallowing hard to fight down the tears, all Noah could do was nod.
He spent twenty minutes trying to explain to a disinterested Trey how everything worked, giving up when it was clear the beta didn’t know or care what his job entailed. Then he rushed upstairs to pack his belongings. Once again, he wondered where his brother was. And, more importantly, what exactly this new post entailed. Maurice hadn’t seemed inclined to give him much information.
As the final minutes ticked by, Noah closed his eyes and willed Ronan to arrive. If the alpha came now, they could sort something out, he was sure of it. Even Maurice wouldn’t be able to just ignore the fact that they had an understanding if Ronan was standing right in front of him.
Twenty-five minutes and Noah snuck back into the kitchen, grabbing the notepad and pen when the others weren’t looking. Ronan would probably never see it, but at least he’d tried.
Twenty-eight minutes and he was standing by the door, his bag over his shoulder.
“Let’s hit the road,” Maurice said. Trey didn’t come out to see them off. Noah guessed he was probably already getting into the alcohol in the cupboard.
He got into the back of the car next to Bert, Leslie driving, and Maurice sitting up front with her. There was something about the way Bert was grinning at him that made Noah uneasy. Whatever was about to happen, he doubted it would be good news for him.