I woke up and realized I was in a car. Sitting in the cool leather seat felt unfamiliar. It'd been so long since I was in a car that it was starting to make me feel nauseous. The Alpha coolly palmed the steering wheel with one hand as he sped down the highway going seventy miles per hour.

My heart pulsed, not knowing where this man was taking me. He must've had a lot of money. Or else he wouldn't have left his expensive sports car parked at the city limits and not care if it was stolen.

As the Alpha exited the highway, into the city, we got a picture-perfect view of the city. Blue concrete skyscrapers rose through the fog, and the city glowed yellow from the streetlights.

I was reminded of everything that I’d run away from.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

I was naked, and I suddenly felt very self-conscious about it now that we were going into the city.

"I told you. I'm taking you to my home so your ankle can get treated," the Alpha said.

It sounded too good to be true. An Alpha who wanted to help me? My father had warned me that because I was a Golden wolf, I'd be desired by a lot of people once I got my first heat. I just turned eighteen, and it'd be anytime now. It was the reason why I’d run away in the first place, to get away from my overbearing father, who wouldn't let me do anything without his permission. I’d run away to be free, to get away from my dad, who was supposed to protect me but left me feeling like a prisoner.

The Alpha drove down a familiar street, and that was when I started to panic.

"You're taking me back to my dad's house?" I said. "I knew it!"

Without thinking, I reached over and grabbed the steering wheel, turning it to the side.

"What the fuck are you doing?" the Alpha screamed, jerking the wheel to turn back onto the road, narrowly missing the tree in front of us.

He slammed on his breaks, and my face hit the side of the window. I put my hand to my temple and felt blood dripping down from my head. I was lucky that the Alpha had put my seat belt on earlier, or I would've flown through the windshield.

"I know where you're taking me," I said.

"Where?" The Alpha screamed, obviously angry at what I'd just done.

"You're taking me to my dad's house," I said, looking through the cracked window and saw that we were just a few blocks down from the house that I’d been a prisoner in.

"You're crazy," he said. "I'm taking you to my house. I can't believe you almost got us both killed. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

I felt embarrassed. Maybe this Alpha was really just trying to help. But after being in the city limits by myself for so long, I'd lost trust in everyone. And I knew that it was only going to get harder to trust the Alpha's intentions because I was about to have my first heat anytime now.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I was scared. I don't want to go back to my dad."

The Alpha looked at me with his glowing yellow eyes. The color looked like the flame of a candle. I could tell he was mad at me, but I could also see that he was just trying to help.

"Are you going to do any more stupid shit?" he asked.

I shook my head, and the Alpha took a deep breath before he started driving down the road again. He turned into a private driveway surrounded by tall mature trees and stopped in front of a golden gate that wrapped around a property. It reminded me of my dad's house. He put in the code in the keypad, and the gate opened slowly.

"This is where you live?" I asked, looking up at the mansion that was lit up with Christmas lights.

The Alpha nodded. "This is where I live."

The Alpha stopped at the end of the driveway, and two Betas came out the front door toward us.

"Mr. Reyner, you're home," one of the Betas said.

The Alpha got out of the car and put a hand on his back. He was hunched forward with pain in his eyes. He must've hurt himself just now after I almost crashed the car.

"I need one of you to call the doctor to help the injured Omega in the car."

The Betas didn't even notice that I was in the car until the Alpha mentioned it.

"Is it Tyler?" one of the Betas asked.

The Alpha shook his head. I wondered who Tyler was. The Alpha walked to the passenger side and opened the door, reaching over me to take off my seat belt. His arm brushed my naked body, and his strong Alpha scent made me feel weaker than I already was. Even though he was in pain, he picked me up in one swift motion and carried me up the steps into the house. I was embarrassed to be naked in front of strangers. But the Alpha was too, and he didn't seem to mind. He carried me up the spiral staircase, down a long, winding hallway. He opened the door of a room and set me down carefully on the bed. I looked around and realized that it must've been the bedroom of his missing son. It reminded me of my room before I ran away.

The Alpha went into the walk-in closet and picked out a shirt and a pair of shorts and tossed it onto the bed.

"Put these on," he said.

I listened to him and slipped on the white T-shirt that fit me perfectly. But I struggled to put the shorts on because I was still in a lot of pain because of my ankle.

The Alpha noticed me struggling and came to help me. His hand grazed my ass as he put on the pair of red shorts for me.

There was a knock on the door, and one of the Betas I saw downstairs poked his head in.

"The doctor will be here in one hour," the Beta said, handing the Alpha a set of clean clothes.

The Alpha turned to the Beta and nodded. Then the Alpha put on the clothes that were given to him.

I'd never been inside this house before, but the luxurious mansion felt familiar. Everything about it reminded me of the house that I’d run away from. The neighborhood we were in was Forest Hill, and only the very rich could afford to live in this area. It was one of the few boroughs in the city that was safe enough for Golden wolves to live in.

"So, are you finally going to tell me your name?" the Alpha asked.

I'd forgotten how nice it was to be lying on a bed with clean clothes on.

I hesitated to tell him my name. But I was starting to trust the Alpha.

"My name is Ollie," I said quietly.

The Alpha looked into my eyes for a long time, making me look away self-consciously.

"That's a beautiful name," he said.

His voice was so deep and soothing that it made me wish he'd talk more so that I could hear it.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"People call me Mr. Reyner, but you can call me Richard if you want," he said.

So far, Richard hadn't done anything to raise any red flags that he was a bad person. And seeing his Beta servants acting so respectfully toward him made me wonder who Richard was that made him so important.

"You should bathe before the doctor gets here," he said. "It's going to be hard to treat your injury if you're dirty."

"I took a dip into the stream earlier this afternoon," I said.

"You need soap and clean water," the Alpha said. "I'll fill up the bathtub."

Before I could say anything else, Richard disappeared into the bathroom and ran the bath. He returned moments later with his sleeves rolled up. His muscular arms were dripping with water.

"You're going to have to take your clothes off again," he said.

Even though he'd seen me naked, and I'd seen him naked as well, I felt uncomfortable taking off my clothes in front of him. But I knew he wasn't going to take no for an answer. I took off my shirt slowly and used it to cover up my torso. Then I pulled off the shorts that he'd helped me put on moments ago. I could tell that the Alpha was trying to be courteous by not looking at my naked body. He picked me up off the bed and carried me into the bathroom. It was steamy in there. Richard closed the door behind us and carried me to the tub.

"It's going to be a bit warm," he said, lowering me gently into the tub.

The warm water stung my injured ankle, and it took a few seconds for me to adjust to the temperature. I looked up at the Alpha, who squeezed some soap into his hand and lathered it. The soap smelled of lavender as he rugged it onto my arms. I'd never met Richard before, but the way he was treating me made me wonder why he was being so caring toward me. I studied his face. He had a strong and sharp jawline with salt-and-pepper stubble. His silver-blond hair was slicked back effortlessly. Slight wrinkles extended from his golden eyes.

"What are you staring at?" he said, squeezing more soap onto my shoulders. The soap dripped down my chest, and Richard used his calloused hands to scrub my torso.

"Nothing," I said, blood rushing to my cheeks at being caught staring at him.

He had a warm and inviting scent that made me want to crawl into his arms. He smelled of the forest, of smoke and pine. The musk of a true Alpha.

I closed my eyes and basked in the warm bath as he continued to scrub my body. I could've bathed myself, and if it were someone else, I wouldn't let them put their hands all over my body. But Richard made me feel something that I'd never felt before. Thankfully he couldn't see I was hard beneath the soapy water.

"So tell me why you ran away from your dad," the Alpha said, dipping a clean washcloth into the water and using it to scrub my back.

"I wanted to be free," I said. "I was sick of my father telling me what to do. I hate being a Golden Omega wolf."

Richard nodded, and I could tell he was really listening, which was something my father never did. "Being a Golden is hard. I know," he said.

"But you're a Golden Alpha. You are free. You have Betas who work for you. You don't know a thing about being a Golden Omega."

Richard put the cloth down on the side of the tub. "You're right. I'm not an Omega, so I don't completely know what it's like to be in your shoes. But my son probably does."

There was sadness in his eyes when he mentioned his son.

"Is that who Tyler is?" I asked.

Richard raised a brow at me. "Do you know him?"

I shook my head. "No, but I heard you mention his name earlier."

Richard picked up the cloth again and dipped it into the water and then rung it with his strong hands.

"I miss him. I've been looking for him for months," the Alpha said.

"Is this his room?" I asked.

The Alpha nodded. "He ran away, just like you did. And I don't have any clue where he is."

Suddenly, things made more sense. There was a reason why the Alpha was so interested in helping me. He missed his son, and I reminded him of Tyler. I wondered why anyone would run away from such a caring Alpha. But then I thought about my father, who, on the outside, appeared like the perfect Alpha. But living in his house and under his rules had suffocated me until I just couldn't take it anymore. Thinking about how we were a few blocks down from his house gave me chills.

"I think you're clean enough now," the Alpha said. "The doctor should be here any minute."

The Alpha reached between my feet to drain the water. I watched the water level lower on my body, exposing first my knees, then my cock. I put a hand over my erection, but the Alpha pretended like he didn't see it

He stood up and handed me a towel.