Chapter 10
10
CONNOR
As the alpha in this relationship, my job was to provide for my omega. At least, that was what my pack leaders taught me. I'd been away from my pack for twelve years, but that amount of time wasn't enough to rewire my brain.
I should have taken a more active role in packing my bag and preparing to leave. Ben had packed up our room and divided our suitcases with quick efficiency while I lazed on the bed, still too blissed out from the fabulous sex.
What an alpha thing to do. I was the worst.
I'd channeled my inner angst to sell the two bottles of wine and the tin of caviar. I'd lied to the human couple celebrating their fifth anniversary, saying that my mate had rejected me. I showed them the card and said I was Doug. I'd been aiming for enough for one bus ticket, but they gave me money for two and then some. All I had to do was think how sad I would be if Ben actually rejected me, and that was enough to flood my eyes with tears.
Believing in fate was a lot to ask a human who didn't know about shifters and thought fated mates only existed in romance novels. He had every right to leave me at the Orange County airport and never look back.
This morning gave me hope, though. He'd initiated showering together, and he'd participated in our round of mutual orgasms.
The talk we'd had about alphas was a little disturbing—what did humans teach their omegas about sex? I also had no room to talk, since my pack had raised me to use my omega whenever I wanted because it was my right, even if they weren't my fated mate. Especially if they weren't my fated mate. Just thinking about it grossed me out.
I wasn't that kind of alpha. I wanted a mate with his own autonomy, who wasn't afraid to talk back to me or tell me no.
Ben excelled at saying no. I chuckled, remembering how adamant he was about not being able to smell me. In response, my wolf wanted to roll over on his back and show Ben his belly.
Playing with him in the snow had been the best, though. I hoped we got to play more once we arrived in California. Not in the snow, but maybe on a sandy beach. I couldn't wait to see Ben in a pair of swim trunks, flip-flops, and nothing else.
The ocean was probably a little too cold yet, but this summer …
There I went, getting too far ahead of myself again. If Ben wanted us to part at Orange County Airport and go our separate ways, I would respect that. It would hurt like hell, but I wouldn't force myself on him. I'd already spent the better part of a day with my fated mate. That was more than some folks got in their whole lives.
I paid for the two bus tickets and returned to the bench where I'd left Ben and our bags. I couldn't tell if his phone had offended him or if he had resting angry face.
As I sat down, a gaggle of elderly folks wandered through the double doors. A bus had dropped them off before heading to the gas station across the street. Thanks to my enhanced sight, I could see the string of numbers on the back.
"That's our bus," I told Ben. "I'm going to wait outside."
"I'll come with you."
I stopped short of arguing with him about the cold. He was an adult. If he wanted to stand in the freezing cold with his human temperature and unprotected skin, that was his right. As his mate, I would let him do whatever he wanted.
He'd tied his coat around his waist when we first entered the station. He missed the armhole twice while trying to put it back on before I held the coat open for him.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
Outside, a line of trees blocked the wind from the main doors. I tugged on my coat to seem more human, but it was warm enough I didn't zip it up.
After what seemed like forever, the bus driver finally returned to the parking lot and wrenched the door open. Ben and I boarded the bus, handing her our tickets.
"Shit," Ben whispered. "I should have been checking for flights." He asked the driver, "What time will we get to Vegas?"
"Around one thirty."
Ben thanked her and headed for an aisle seat in the middle of the bus.
"May I sit here?" I pointed at the window seat beside him.
He blinked up at me. "I was saving it for you."
"Thank you." I chuckled as I wiggled past him and sank down into the unexpectedly comfortable seat. "You know, if you wanted me to know this was my seat, it would have been a good idea to tell me so."
He nodded. "I'm sorry. I got distracted by a website and now I'm even further behind." He pulled up another website on his phone and sighed. "The flights are all full. We wouldn't be able to fly from Las Vegas to Orange County until tomorrow."
"We?"
He frowned. "Did you change your mind? I can look at flights to Phoenix, if you'd rather?—"
"No! Please. I have to see you reach your home. It's imperative."
He grinned. "Only you would say things like that."
He hopped from his seat and had a quick conversation with the bus driver before returning to talk to me.
"I asked about taking the train from Vegas to LA, but our driver recommended the bus, instead. It'll take longer, but it's better for our budget."
I hated that he had to worry about money. He'd stopped talking about going to the office when we reached his home, but I could tell the thought of missing work weighed heavily on him.
Once all passengers had boarded, the bus's air brakes let out a hiss, and we rolled from the parking lot onto the open highway. I waited until everyone settled before breaking out the crackers, meat, and cheese spread.
"You should eat," I said.
He frowned at me. "So should you."
Instead of agreeing, I shoved a cheese-laden cracker in his open mouth. He took it as a challenge to shove a giant summer sausage my direction. Fortunately for both of us, the sausage was pre-sliced, so he only ended up grabbing two pieces of it.
"Mmm," I said. "I love sausage!"
He rolled his eyes at me, but his cheeks darkened a shade as he loaded another cracker with all the fixings.
It could have been our big breakfast, but we only ate half of the snacks. I tucked the rest away for later.
The bus was louder than I remembered from my early days of traveling from town to town, looking for any job I could find while also sniffing for my fated mate. It felt weird to be back on a bus. At least this time, I was with my mate.
Ben was right. The bus was slower than flying, but it would get us to Orange County before midnight.
Or so we thought. The rumbling noise up front grew louder, and the front of the bus filled with smoke.
"This sucks," Ben said. "At this rate, I won't have a chance to go home and shower before my nephew's party. I'll roll up in a ride share like something the cat dragged in."
The bus had smoked to a stop on the side of the road not far from a Native American outpost.
"How long before we have a replacement?" I asked the driver when she opened the emergency exit window to let us out.
"We're about forty minutes from Vegas," she said.
Ben heaved a sigh and leaned his body against mine. If he were pack, he would be trying to assert dominance over me. I would have growled at anyone else, but I took this as a good sign from my fated mate. I wrapped my arm around his waist to comfort him and tucked him away from the brisk wind.
"Want to walk to the outpost?" I asked. "They might have a Wonderdog 3000."
"I doubt it," he huffed.
He took a step in that direction, pulling me along with him by lacing our fingers together at his waist. Awkward didn't begin to describe how hard it was for me to walk behind him like that, but I wasn't pulling my hand away for anything.
After I stepped on the back of his heel for the third time, he turned to face me with a grin, grabbing my hand in both of his and switching sides. My chest felt warm and light as we walked together to the outpost, our linked hands swinging between us.
The building was a relic from the early nineteenth century. It had probably started as a fur trading business, which made my skin crawl.
My pack told horror stories of wolves being trapped and hunted for their fur, only to watch us shift back to our human forms when we were dead. Now packless, I avoided shifting in open rural areas if I could help it. After the plane crash last night, I'd felt safe. No one in their right mind would attack a wolf with a dragon around. Either they'd run screaming, or they'd want the big lizard head mounted on their wall instead of mine.
Speaking of the annoying dragon, I pulled out my phone and texted Shen while Ben looked around. "You back in Phoenix yet?"
Nothing. Not that I'd expected him to respond.
Ben frowned at the turquoise jewelry on the table. "Are these authentic?"
The kid behind the counter nodded. He wore rustic deerskin clothes and had brown hair and eyes, but his skin was as white as mine.
Ben picked up a trinket and showed me the back of it, the frown never leaving his face. The barcode sticker on the back read, "Made in China."
Ben carefully placed the item back on the table and backed toward the door. "Thanks."
Another group from the bus was on their way to the outpost, so I held the door for them. Ben frowned at me, like the small act of kindness offended him.
"What?" I asked as we walked back to the bus, our hands laced together again.
"Everything about this makes me angry," he said. "Shen stealing your wallet. Riding the bus, and then it broke down. Rip-off outpost. Not getting home tonight like I'd wanted."
"Hey." I tugged on our linked fingers, pulling him to me for a hug. "It'll be all right. We'll get you home in time for your party. Who knows, along the way, we might find a Wonderdog 3000." The toys were also made in China, but I didn't want to anger him all over again.
"We won't," he said. "I've had an alert on my phone for the last six months, waiting. It's only notified me twice when stores had them in stock, and both times, they sold out before I could get there."
"I'm sorry." I dropped a kiss on top of his head. It felt so right to hold him against me like this. "Let's go back to the bus and see if we can help."
"That's what you do, isn't it?" His words sounded like an accusation. I stepped back so I could see his face. He grinned up at me, and I relaxed. He was teasing. "You're a helper. You make everything better."
"I try." I wanted to brighten my mate's day, though arriving home in time for Sunday dinner looked less and less likely by the moment.
With the bus driver's direction, we removed all luggage from the bus's storage compartment, and then we helped her stash them in the new bus when it arrived. The replacement reminded me of a school bus with the seat designs, and it was decidedly smaller than the first. Ben and I had to share a seat, which meant he was practically sitting in my lap. No harm, there, but the more he squirmed to get comfortable, the more my cock took notice.
I tried not to read over his shoulder as he sent text messages to his parents and the family group chat. I pulled up a game on my phone, hoping to focus on something other than Ben, but he distracted me with every gentle touch and the occasional kiss to my cheek.
It was the best/worst bus ride I'd ever taken.