The Forbidden Ex-Con Alpha (The Danger Alpha Brotherhood #4)

Chapter 1 The Mysterious Alpha

THE MYSTERIOUS ALPHA

Aaren did not want to go home.

He fiddled with the clean rags, looking up when his boss stopped in the kitchen doorway.

“Aaren,” Olson said with a frown. “Go home. I need to lock up.”

Aaren made a face. If only Olson would lock him up in the empty bar. “I don’t mind spending the night in here.”

It sounded better than going home. Olson had a couch in his office that Aaren could crash on; he’d seen his boss do that several times in the past.

“Hey,” Olson said gently, his crow’s feet growing deeper as he frowned. “If there’s something you need help with, all you have to do is ask.”

“I know.” Aaren slumped his round shoulders. “It’s just... You can’t do anything about it.”

Worst of all, it was Aaren’s own fault that he was in this mess.

“I’ll do everything I can to help,” Olson said fiercely.

He was speaking the truth. He was protective of all his employees, and that included Aaren. Most days, it warmed Aaren’s heart.

Except right now, Aaren didn’t have anywhere else to go that wasn’t home. Olson would not leave him alone in the bar, and Olson had already spent his entire day here. Aaren did not want to keep him from his family any longer.

With a sigh, he grabbed his ratty backpack, following Olson through the backdoor. Rex, Olson’s young alpha, was waiting by their car with their baby.

“Let me drop you off at home,” Olson said.

Suddenly, Aaren’s feet felt terribly heavy. He couldn’t bear the thought of walking home, and he didn’t want to hear Ballus’ voice again.

But what other choice did he have?

“Thanks,” he said. He got into the backseat next to the baby in the car seat, trying not to watch when Rex dropped kisses all over Olson’s face.

“Wait ‘til I’ve washed my face,” Olson said with a laugh, even as he leaned into Rex’s kisses. “I’m all grimy from today.”

“Don’t care,” Rex replied, cupping Olson’s jaw. “I like your face.”

The pathetic thing was, Ballus never did that with Aaren. He never held Aaren gently; it was only hindsight that made Aaren realize what a terrible mistake he had made, picking his alpha.

He clenched his fists, watching the quaint buildings fly by as Olson drove them through downtown Meadowfall.

Was it wrong to be envious of his happily bonded boss?

It didn’t take long for Olson to pull up in front of Ballus’ house. The house was a shabby little place with overgrown weeds in the front yard and shingles falling off the roof; Ballus had the time and money to fix it, but he never did.

Aaren sagged when Olson stopped the car in front of the driveway. Damn it. Ballus had probably noticed.

One of these days, he had to ask Olson to drop him off on the next street instead. He winced. “Thanks, Boss.”

Olson met his eyes through the rearview mirror. “I’m serious. Tell any of us if you need help. I’ve given you all our numbers.”

But what could they do? Gran’s contract was ironclad. Aaren had already signed it and he couldn’t escape.

“Okay,” Aaren said tiredly.

Olson waited until Aaren had stepped through the front door, before driving away.

Aaren breathed out a sigh. At least now he could stop worrying about disappointing his boss. He trudged deeper into the shadowy house, bracing himself for—

“The fuck was that?” Ballus growled, emerging from the bedroom like a monstrous cave slug. “You couldn’t walk home yourself? You had to let your boss drive you here to show off his new car?”

“My feet hurt,” Aaren said reproachfully.

“Suck it up. Maybe if you lost some weight, your feet won’t hurt at all.”

Aaren gritted his teeth. “You could be nicer about my weight. It’s not that easy to lose, and it’s not like I want to lose it. You’re my alpha. Alphas should be nice to their omegas.”

Ballus sneered, looking him up and down. “Be grateful that I’m letting you live here. With looks like yours, no other alpha would even bother with you.”

Not for the first time, Aaren regretted everything. He regretted not listening when Emmy said to be careful who he read a pickup line to. He regretted being so desperate for an alpha that he didn’t wait for a better one to come along.

Now, Ballus’ name was in Gran’s contract alongside his own, and twelve months felt like an eternity when they were to be spent with this alpha. So far, Aaren had only made it through six.

The only comfort he had, was that Ballus had not threatened him with his fists.

“Move aside,” Ballus said, shouldering past Aaren on his way to the front door. He stepped into his work boots. “I want a steak dinner waiting for me when I get home.”

Thankfully, he did not want a kiss before stepping out and slamming the door.

Aaren shuddered and shook his entire body like a dog, trying to get rid of Ballus’ bad juju. At least he had the house to himself now.

He took a shower and washed off the smells from the Wine Shack’s kitchen. He turned on all the lights too, unearthing from the closet a small, soft blanket that smelled only like himself. Then he curled up on the couch and queued up a few episodes of Mansion MD.

Mansion MD was one of Aaren’s favorite TV shows. It was about a dragon shifter who worked as an ER doctor, and who lived in a mansion. The costumes were odd, but Aaren enjoyed watching someone else struggle with their problems instead of his own.

Knock, knock!

Aaren jumped. “Who’s there?”

It couldn’t be Ballus. Aaren would’ve heard his truck, and Ballus had a key anyway. But it was also 4 AM. Who hammered on doors this early in the morning?

He crept to the window next to the door, peeking out carefully from around the curtain.

The porch light had been broken for weeks. All Aaren could see was a large, dark shape on the doorstep.

“I know you’re in there,” a deep, rough alpha voice said. “Saw your shadow moving in the window.”

Aaren jerked away from the curtain, his heart pounding. “Fuck!”

The man kept talking. “I’m not going to hurt you. You were the cook at Rizz Razz up in Mount Hood. Best damn burgers I’ve had in my life. Then you upped and left, and that place is no longer the same.”

Aaren blinked. And panicked more, because no one knew about him being a cook at Rizz Razz. How had this alpha known? Was he a stalker? He was, wasn’t he?

“All I want is another burger. Please. I’ll pay for it, and I’ll pay you for your time.”

Oh.

That... was not something Aaren had ever seen on TV.

Quietly, he crept to the front door. “You’re not here to kidnap me?”

“No,” the alpha said. “I just really missed your food.”

Aaren gaped. Things like this didn’t happen in real life.

One thing was for sure: This alpha was a lot more polite than Ballus.

“What’s your name?” he asked through the door.

“Hades.”

“Wow,” Aaren blurted. “Totally not ominous at all.”

The alpha laughed. But there was something in that laugh, low and rich, completely genuine, that made Aaren pause.

Hades didn’t sound more terrible than Ballus. If he kidnapped Aaren to cook for him... Well, that wasn’t the worst thing ever.

With fingers that were completely steady, Aaren opened the door.