Fake Dating Alpha Hockey Captain Chapter 66

“I haven’t been sssleeping well,” I explain. “It must have. Caught up.”

“Alex explained your situation to me,” Ryan says. He is looking at me as though I’m some curiosity behind glass at a side show. “I couldn’t imagine being in your shoes.”

I don’t know how to respond. My mind is still groggy from sleep and fighting to retrieve images from a dream I can’t quite recall.

But they’re all looking at me, and I want to curl myself into ball and disappear. Finally, I say, “I understand why you hide your identity from humans. I don’t know who would believe it…”

“Some superstitions are true. Though I promise we’re not the monsters people like to make us out to be.”

“Not now, anyway,” Rita adds.

She and Alex are not exactly side by side, but they’re not on opposite ends of the couch, either. Little details I notice that bother me more than the presence of werewolves.

Ryan brings me some water, and I smile in gratitude. So far, he hasn’t been anything but helpful and hospitable, but there’s something about him that sets my feelers on edge. I can’t quite put my finger on it…

“Did you find him?” I ask.

Alex exhales. “He was dead by the time we got there.”

Rita shifts her body so she can straighten her leg more. Her flinch suggests the wound id still sore. “That’s the second one.”

Ryan hovers in the entryway to the kitchen. “I guess that’s one more you won’t have to worry about.”

“How are we going to get back before anyone notices we’re gone?” Rita asks, looking down at her leg.

“Don’t worry,” Alex says. “I already sent my parents a mind link. I mean, it’s one thing if I’m the only one gone…it may take them a while to miss me—but all four of us? I told them what happened to Rita and that we’ll be back tomorrow. By then, Rita’s leg should be significantly better. As it is now, I wouldn’t risk taking her out there.”

Rita nods her understanding, probably relieved that she’s not expected to hobble through enemy territory. I know I’m relieved: I don’t think I could face another monster right now.

“Listen,” Ryan calls from the doorway, “let me whip us up some grub and we can discuss things over some food. These girls probably haven’t eaten since this morning.”

“Food would be nice,” Rita replies. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

They all look at me and I nod. “Me, too.”

_

You learn so much by watching people. Ryan, for example, is an excellent cook and looks right at home in the kitchen. Alex even helps, and I didn’t know Alex could cook.

I help put out the place settings and set the food on the dining room table: chicken, bacon, biscuits and a mix of random vegetables that don’t look like they belong together. I soon figured out Ryan put that unusual ensemble together for me, the human. “I’ve heard not all humans eat meat,” he explained.

Rita wanted to eat outside to get some fresh air, but Ryan pointed out that we would be discussing delicate matters and shouldn’t be outside where just anyone could get wind of the situation. Alex agreed, so we each took a seat and filled a plate.

As we eat, with me being the only one to touch the vegetable mix, they discuss events as we know them. No one seems to understand why I’m a factor in the rogue upset, much less me. No one knows for sure whether this is a coordinated effort against the Ayzena pack, or if the Malkeye pack should also be concerned.

That’s when Ryan tells me a little about his pack’s history.

“This isn’t our first run-in with rogue wolves.” He begins. “Rogue wolved killed my older brother a little over ten years ago. We never did find who did it.”

Now, Alex is even more convinced his theory is right. “Look, if your brother was murdered by rogues, and my brother was attacked by them and is on his death bed, it seems to me that the two events could be related.”

“I mean, it could be,” Ryan admits. “Hell, that was ten years ago. But we don’t know anything about these rogue werewolves. We don’t know if they’re organized enough to even do something like this. You said yourself, you only encounter one at a time.”

“But Michael and I encountered a group of them,” Rita adds. “What if Alex is right? What if they are trying to pick off the leaders of the local packs? They could come for you next.”

Ryan doesn’t seem convinced. “I don’t know. Why wait so long?”

Alex shakes his head. “Who knows? Maybe they weren’t ready…or weren’t able to deal with your succession. I’m sure it has something to do with timing.”

“Then why your human? She’s not important to anyone.”

He says this so matter-of-factly and I’m instantly offended.

Alex runs his hand through his hair, dropping his head. His scent falters with faint waves emanating from his body. “I think they’re after her because of me. If Michael dies, I’m next in line.”

Ryan nods. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Of course, it does,” Rita argues. “So what are we going to do about it?”

Ryan pushes his now empty plate forward and leans back in his chair. “Well, if they’re organized then they have a base. I suppose we could look for it.”

Alex nods excitedly and his scent regains its potency. “I’m sure we could sniff them out if we tried.”

“What direction did the wolf come from?” Alex asks Rita.

“I can’t be sure, but I think he came from the northwest.”

Ryan nods. “That’s all mountains. It would be a good place to hide…keep your scent confined.”

“Then that’s where we start,” Alex adds exuberantly.