Chapter Six
Michael lost track of time as they drove through the night. The alpha never spoke, his focus on the road, his eyes never wavering from the way ahead. Now and then they’d pass streetlights, the inside of the car briefly illuminated. It put the alpha’s head wound in stark relief, making Michael wince every time he saw it. He couldn’t understand how the alpha was still conscious, let alone driving. It hadn’t escaped him that Max’s hands were tight on the wheel and beads of sweat were running down his forehead. He was holding on by a thread.
“I could drive,” he suggested for the third time. He’d never learned, but how hard could it be?
As before, the alpha ignored him. Michael wondered if he’d even heard him. Wondered what would happen if he touched the alpha. But they were traveling fast and he was too afraid that if he startled the alpha they’d crash.
Having no idea where they were or where they were going, he kept an eye out for anything that might help him with that. There were road signs and towns but the names were unfamiliar to him. All he knew was what Max had said. That he was taking him to Finn and Drew. Until that moment, Michael hadn’t even been sure his brothers were still alive. Griffin had been gone a long time and Drew… well, he’d heard fighters didn’t last that long.
He didn’t let himself think about what he’d left behind. There’d be time for that but right then, on the run with an injured alpha, was not it. They’d long left the last town behind when the car suddenly slowed and sputtered to a stop.
“What is it?” Michael asked. “Are we there?”
‘There’ appeared to be a dark, unlit road in the middle of nowhere. Max didn’t reply to his question, his gaze dropping to the dashboard, his fingers turning the key. The engine ticked over but didn’t come to life. The alpha opened his door and got out, Michael watching him curiously as he rounded the front of the car. Then the door beside him opened, the cool night air hitting him, and the alpha was pulling him out. Michael went, almost tripping over his own feet. The alpha didn’t give him time to catch his balance, walking them both off the road and into a field. The car was left behind, still sitting in the middle of the road, both doors open.
“Where are we going?” Michael asked again, trying to tug his hand free from the alpha’s grip. Max just tightened his hold and quickened his pace, pulling Michael along with him.
He wasn’t sure how long they walked for. At some point, they started walking uphill, the grass growing taller, the terrain rockier. Michael struggled with it but the alpha didn’t seem fazed, moving onward unwaveringly as the sun appeared above the horizon.
Daylight did nothing to improve the situation. The alpha’s wound looked worse, and Michael thought his eyes looked funny, wrong somehow. Plus Michael, unused to exertion beyond chasing after the kids, was growing tired and weak. Each footstep became a struggle, his muscles screaming at him. His bare feet, cut from the rocks that were littering their path, were a constant throb of pain. His only consolation was that the alpha, silent as a stone, moved purposefully as if he knew where he was going. But still, Michael was close to breaking point.
“Max, please. I need to rest. Five minutes, please.”
The alpha, one hand still wrapped around Michael’s arm, didn’t even waver, he just kept resolutely marching onward, Michael limping along with him. He could feel the exhaustion dogging him, his pain growing numb as the tiredness took over. He stumbled with almost every step, his vision blurring as the sun seemed to bake down on them mockingly. Water would be nice right then, cool and clear. And a bed. With soft pillows. He’d lie there, cuddled up with Ryan and Elio—
With an anguished, exhausted cry, he tried to turn around. He’d left them behind. He couldn’t—
The alpha’s arms grabbed him before he could take another step, and the exhaustion reached its peak. He felt his legs give out as his vision turned gray. The world seemed to turn on its head before he had the vague sense of being carried, strong arms tight around him as consciousness just slipped from his grasp and the world went dark.
He spent a long while staring at the wooden beams of the ceiling before he realized he was awake. The sense of numbness that had settled over him was a relief as was the blanket he was lying under. He glanced down, running a hand across it, surprised to find it was old and tattered. He stroked his hand across it a second time, trying to remember why his blanket had so many holes in it. Nothing came to mind, just a soothing blankness. With a sigh, he settled back down on the floor. A cool breeze played across him and he went to curl up. The numbness shattered as pain lanced through him, his every muscle screaming in protest. His feet screamed the loudest, and Michael was almost afraid to look, scared of what he’d see. He waited until the worst of the pain had died down to a murmur before he pulled the blanket aside and looked down. He had feet. And they looked like feet. All ten toes were present and accounted for. Experimentally, he tried wiggling them. The pain almost took his breath away but it settled quickly once more. Twisting one leg so he could see the sole of his foot, he winced. Beneath the layer of dirt encrusting his foot were scratches, cuts, and torn skin. Ouch. They weren’t going to heal like that, not with an inch of dirt covering them.
There was a rhythmic sound in the background that he’d unconsciously latched on to. Whatever it was, he found it soothing. Until he looked for the source. His whole body tensed, sending another wave of pain through him and forcing a whimper past his lips. There was a bear not three feet from him, sleeping across the open doorway. Michael searched left and right, looking for another exit, but he couldn’t see one.
He must have been making more noise than he realized because the bear—Max, he recalled—was waking up. The bear lifted his head, sniffed the air and glanced his way. When he saw Michael was awake, he sat up. Michael sank lower, holding onto the tattered blanket like a shield. But the bear only cocked his head to the side, staring at him blankly, before shifting. A very human Max was watching him a moment later, an identical expression on his face. Lost. The wound on the alpha’s head was just as bad as it had been the last time Michael had seen it. He was starting to wonder if it had anything to do with the alpha’s newfound, stubborn silence.
“Hi, Max,” he tried softly. “How are you feeling?”
The alpha stared at him, looked around them, looked outside, then glanced back at Michael.
He tried again. “Does your head hurt? It looks pretty bad.”
Still nothing, just an unconcerned blankness. He wasn’t sure Max knew who he was or who the alpha himself was or much of anything right then.
“Are Griffin and Andrew here, Max? You said you were taking me to them, remember? Are they coming here or are we going to them?”
Maybe, if he could jog the alpha’s memory, they could get back on course.
Max wasn’t even looking at him now. He’d turned right around, his back to the omega, crouched at the door to the cabin they were in.
Michael looked around, hoping for some sign that they were where they were meant to be. But, if anything, the cabin looked long abandoned. There was damp on the walls and part of the floor, rotted wood, and a layer of dust that made Michael guess it had been empty for years.
He delayed for as long as he could before he decided there was nothing for it; he had to get to his feet. Bracing himself and giving himself to the count of three, he gingerly went first to his knees and then onto one foot before stepping up onto the second. The pain was bad enough that he felt himself pale and sway, but he held onto consciousness and swallowed down the nausea that swirled in his stomach. Max was still sitting by the door, ignoring him. Which was fine, except that Michael couldn’t just stay there hoping the alpha snapped out of it. His brothers were out there somewhere. If he was to have even a chance of getting his kids back, he needed to find them.
Stepping cautiously around the alpha, he stuck his head outside. They were in a clearing in the middle of a wood. It was unremarkable except for the sound of running water in the distance. It reminded Michael of how thirsty he was, and he went to take an eager step forward only to feel a hand grab the back of his shirt and yank him backward.
Seconds later, he found Max herding him back into the cabin, guiding him to the floor and putting the blanket across his legs. His hands were firm and they held Michael in place for a long moment before letting go.
“Max?” Michael called after him as the alpha disappeared outside.
He got up and hobbled to the door in time to see Max in his bear form again, disappearing through the trees.