Chapter Nine
When Max had taken Michael’s ankle cuff off, he felt nothing but relief. Freedom was close at hand. But when he took the collar off, the omega felt a sudden heady sense of terror. He was more vulnerable than he had been in years with no collar. Having all the alpha’s attention on him was scary, and he pleaded with him, unsure what exactly he was frightened of. When Max pulled him down onto the floor, he panicked, trying to free himself. The alpha hugged him tighter, urging him to sleep, to rest. The fear eased away as he breathed in the alpha’s scent, realizing that all the other shifter was doing was holding him and waiting for him to calm down.
The tears came all too easily, and he pressed his face to Max’s shoulder, trying to stifle them. The alpha’s hand settled tentatively on his back, rubbing slow, calming circles across his shirt. Eventually, Michael slept.
Things were clearer the next morning. When Max left, he waited patiently for the alpha’s return. The wound on Max’s head was looking better, unlike the cuts on his own feet. He was healing human-slow, like he had done for years. Still, it didn’t hurt as much to walk so he decided to do his bit and went to gather some firewood. He wasn’t surprised when Max came back with fish for them both and more water. Everything seemed to be going well until the alpha decided to clean Michael’s feet again. That had him a little anxious but it was nothing compared to the all-consuming fear when the alpha reached for his neck. He huddled against the wall, trying to shield his neck from the alpha’s touch, expecting to be dragged from his hiding place.
“Come.”
He looked up to see Max holding out a hand, calmly waiting for him to move. The alpha didn’t look like he was out of control or about to force himself on Michael. And Michael couldn’t run or hide from him. So he took the alpha’s hand, letting Max pull him to his feet and help him kneel in front of the fire.
The alpha sat down behind him and started to clean his neck. It was all Michael could do to hold still. Of course the alpha would want him clean before he bit him, before he mated with him. The cloth was warm against his skin and, despite the awful anticipation about what would come next, he found himself relaxing. It had been so long since anyone had touched him. At least, when he hadn’t been drugged and terrified. The cloth glided across the nape of his neck, sending a flood of warmth along his skin. He shuddered, his breath escaping him in a huff of surprise. It felt good to be clean, to not have the constant chafing of the collar against his neck. The alpha set the cloth down, and Michael thought they were done, almost disappointed. That disappointment caved to a spurt of fear when instead Max took his shirt off.
Shaking, he leaned forward, his fingers holding tightly to his knees. Whatever happened next, he knew it couldn’t be good. So, when the warm, wet cloth ran the length of his back from neck to waist, he sagged forward in relief. Not the beating he’d half-suspected or the bite he’d feared. The alpha’s hand touched his skin lightly then stroked his back as he worked, the touch soothing.
Abruptly, Max was gone, moving away toward the door. As Michael turned to look at him, he shifted into his bear form and loped outside. Michael watched him go, bewildered by his sudden shift in behavior. Putting his shirt back on, he went to sit in the doorway. Max disappeared through the trees but the alpha didn’t go far. Michael could still hear him, stomping through the woods. He wasn’t brave enough to go after the alpha, but he knew they needed to talk. How long could they stay there before someone came looking for them? And who would find them first, Julian’s people, his new owners, or Michael’s brothers? And had Max really planned to bring Michael back to his family or had he just said that to get Max to go with him? He needed answers.
When the alpha wandered back to the cabin and found Michael waiting at the door, he shifted back to human form.
“Max?” Michael waited until the alpha looked at him. “We need to talk.”
The alpha didn’t move until Michael waved him over. Then he dropped to a crouch in front of the door so they were eye to eye.
“Max, I… you remember me, right?” The alpha stared blankly at him.
“I’m Michael.” He patted his chest twice. “Michael. And you’re Max.”
“Yes.”
The word was simple and didn’t tell Michael much. Did it mean Max remembered him or just that he remembered his own name?
Up close, he could see how well the wound on the alpha’s head was healing. That was something. But not enough.
“I need you to talk to me. You told me you’d take me to Griffin and Andrew. Remember? My brothers. But they’re not here and there might be people after us.”
There was no hint of understanding on the alpha’s face.
“Griffin? Andrew?” he tried again. “What about Julian and Claude? You worked for them, as a security guard.”
The alpha blinked. “No.”
“No? No, you didn’t work for them? No, you don’t remember them?”
“No.”
Michael felt his heart sink.
“Okay, look… I can’t stay here. Thank you for taking care of me, but I have to go before someone comes for me.”
As lost as he felt about the next steps to take, he wasn’t going to get anywhere just sitting there. And then there was Ryan and Eliot. Already, he’d been away from them too long. But if he just turned up at the door, they’d send him away again, this time to somewhere he couldn’t just walk away from.
Getting to his feet, he went to step past the alpha. Only for Max to press a hand to his shoulder.
“Safe here,” the alpha said. “Rest and heal.”
“We don’t know that it’s safe, and I can’t just wait around…”
He yelped when the alpha picked him up, carrying him back inside the cabin. Max set Michael down on the floor, kneeling next to him, wrapping a hand around his ankle and running a light finger across the sole of his foot. “Rest and heal.”
“But what if someone comes for me?”
“Safe here,” Max insisted. “Rest, Michael.”
It was the first time the alpha had used his name and it was as reassuring as it was surprising.
“Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll stay, for now.”
“Stay and shift,” the alpha insisted. “Rest and heal.”
Max raised a good point. Maybe Michael’s healing was so slow because he hadn’t been able to shift for years. There was nothing stopping him now and yet, he hadn’t. It was hard for him to admit but part of him was scared he wouldn’t be able to, that that piece of him was lost forever. The rest of him worried about how much it would hurt.
“I want to shift,” he said softly. “But it’s been a long time since I’ve been free. I’m scared.”
He shivered as he spoke, avoiding Max’s piercing gaze as the alpha cocked his head to the side.
“Safe. Feel safe and rested then shift.”
It was good advice. Maybe Michael was trying to run before he could walk. Once he healed up, once his heart stopped racing like a jackhammer every moment, maybe his shifter animal would feel safe enough to come out.
Over the following days, they settled into a routine of sorts. Max seemed content at the cabin, hunting in the woods and the river for food, keeping the fire going, and watching the perimeter. When he slept, it was always between Michael and the door. Unlike the night where Michael had slept in his arms, the alpha kept his distance when they rested. Michael wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
He kept the alpha’s head wound clean and, in turn, the alpha cleaned Michael’s feet, ankle, and neck daily. It didn’t seem to matter that he could do it himself, the alpha insisted on it. After a day or so, the act no longer held the fear it had at first. In fact, he started to look forward to it. There was something nice about the gentle touches and the warmth of a body close to him.
“Healing,” the alpha announced, setting Michael’s foot back down on the floor.
“Still human-slow though,” he grumbled.
Even though the alpha did little by way of talking, Michael found it calmed him to talk to the other shifter.
“Fish or rabbit?” Max wanted to know. That had been their main source of food though, with some foraging, Michael had also unearthed berries and nuts.
“Maybe rabbit,” he said. “We had fish for breakfast. And dinner yesterday.” He got to his feet. “I’ll see if I can find more berries. Or some of those nuts you liked.”
The alpha grinned at him, handing him the pot to carry the berries back in.
“Don’t walk far.”
“I won’t.”
And he hadn’t intended to, but with autumn setting in, the berries and nuts were getting harder to find. He found a bush which appeared to have been picked clean but when he ducked down, he could see fresh berries hidden inside. Reaching a hand in, he ignored how the thorns pricked at his skin, pulling two handfuls of berries out and adding them to his collection. Now, all he needed was to find some more nuts for Max and he could go—
He heard something moving through the undergrowth and went still. It was too small to be Max, who was unmistakable when he moved through the forest. Slowly, he pulled his hand free and turned, still in a crouch, then rose to his feet. Two yellow eyes stared at him from the bush opposite. At first, he thought it was a wolf but the scent that reached him wasn’t lupine. Coyote. Shifter.
A soft growl carried across the air, and Michael reacted, flinging the pot at the shifter as it launched itself from the bush while he turned and fled. He knew he couldn’t outrun it but he had to try.
Behind him, he heard the coyote growl, crashing through the bushes as it gave chase. Something rippled under his skin, and Michael realized Max was wrong. Safety wasn’t going to bring his shifter animal back to the surface. Fear was. And the fight for survival.
His foot caught on an overgrown root, sending him sprawling to the ground. A split second later, the coyote was on him, grasping him by the nape of his neck. He whimpered then shifted, the contortions from the change knocking the coyote off of him. But not for long. Stumbling around, having long since forgotten what it felt like to walk on four legs, he found the coyote crouched opposite him, ready to pounce. He was an alpha, bigger than Michael’s cat form. Instead of jumping him, the coyote rose to his full height, growling. Michael sank lower in response, fearful at the alpha’s show of dominance. The coyote didn’t want to fight, he wanted to mate.
Michael growled back, forcing himself back up onto his legs, trying to look fierce. He opened his mouth to roar. The thundering roar that came was deafening, but it wasn’t his. Max launched into the clearing, sending branches flying. The coyote took one look at the furious bear and fled through the trees. Max gave chase.
Finding himself alone, Michael took a moment to get his bearings. He felt a little shaky on his paws and his tail seemed strange where it flicked back and forth behind him. Should he go after the alpha or back to the cabin? Before he’d made up his mind, Max was back. The bear came right up to him, scenting him, nudging him gently with his nose. Wanting the alpha to know he was okay, he tried to say so, but all that came out was a low purr.
Berries forgotten, he let himself be herded back to the cabin, the adrenaline rush leaving him shaking by the time they stumbled back there. He shifted back to human form, and Max did the same.
“Did you catch him?” he asked, breathless.
Max shook his head. “He was fast. You were alone. Not safe.” He stepped closer. “Hurt?”
“No,” Michael replied, running a hand through his hair. “You were there just in time. How did you know I needed help?”
The alpha’s gaze turned puzzled. “You called for me.”
Had he? He didn’t remember doing it.
Sinking to sit on the floor of the cabin, knowing he’d have to rest while he could, he raised the most pressing issue.
“He’s seen us. He knows there’s an omega with an alpha bear here. If anyone’s looking for us, he’ll be able to bring them right to us. We can’t stay here.”
“Not safe,” Max agreed reluctantly, pacing away toward the door.
“Max, I need to go find my brothers, please.”
The alpha glanced back at him. “Yes. We have to go.”
“But do you know where Griffin and Andrew are? Can you find them?”
The alpha hesitated, the first sign of uncertainty Michael had seen in the bear.
“No,” Max admitted. “But I know somewhere… somewhere safe.”