Chapter Six
Yanking the cuffs apart like they were made of paperclips, Wade reached for Alex, who had slumped sideways against the vinyl like a ragdoll tossed off a shelf.
He pulled Alex into his arms, careful not to jostle him more than necessary.
The guy weighed almost nothing, all bones and trembling panic, head lolling awkwardly against Wade’s shoulder.
Blood, warm and just now soaking through Alex’s shirt, smeared onto Wade’s palm.
So, not only were they arrested but his mate was leaking fluid and might need an ambulance.
Alex felt limp, dead weight pressed against Wade’s chest, rainwater and panic soaking through Wade’s shirt. Words stuck in his throat. If this was how the universe planned to hand-deliver his mate, it had a pretty fucked sense of humor.
“Stay with me, sweetheart,” he muttered, fingers stroking down Alex’s back. Tension bunched into a knot at the base of Wade’s skull. Not even a hint of movement from Alex, unless you counted the trickle of drool edging out the corner of his mouth.
Wade lifted his mate’s shirt to check his wound. Already it had stopped bleeding. It would heal. Thankfully he wouldn’t need a tetanus shot. His shifter DNA would make sure of that. Even though Alex couldn’t shift, he would heal. It would just take much longer.
There had to be a way to get that damn collar off of him. Wade would brainstorm with his pack. Twenty-one heads were better than one. Preston, Sasha and Jalen might be human, but Wade still counted all the mates as pack.
Outside the cruiser, the two deputies conferred under the streaming gutter, their flashlights throwing jittery shadows across the driveway.
Wade recognized Roderick right away—the guy was built like a Malinois and had the bite to match.
The second deputy, Griffin, looked like someone had misplaced his bake sale, a little too friendly for this kind of gig.
Then the back door of the cruiser banged open hard enough to rattle what was left of Wade’s patience.
Deputy Roderick, who looked like he bench-pressed trespassers for fun, leaned in. His canines gleamed, lips curled, eyes fixed on Alex. The bear shifter’s scent screamed aggression.
Wade didn’t so much as twitch. “Alex is my mate. Unless you want a front-row ticket to my bad side, you’re going to back the fuck up and keep your hands to yourself.”
Roderick’s eyes sharpened then immediately lost their edge. All that cop bravado slunk out of his shoulders like someone had yanked the rug. He stepped back an inch then two. If he’d had a long enough tail, it would’ve been tucked.
Griffin, the other deputy, hovered behind Roderick in the doorframe, peering past his partner at the scene.
Wade, six-three and muddy, half-cuffed to a guy who looked like his last meal involved a juice box and trauma, must’ve made quite a sight.
The rain slicked Griffin’s hat to his hair, water dripping into his eyes.
“Shit,” Griffin muttered. “He okay?”
“He passed out,” Wade said. “He hates handcuffs. And cops.”
Griffin hesitated and then, with all the ritual of someone handing off a live grenade, dug a bottle of water from his belt and held it out. “For him. When he comes around.”
Wade nodded, the gesture curt. “Thanks.”
Griffin walked to the other cruiser as Wade glanced back down at Alex.
A scuff and a grunt then Bayne and Liam were herded alongside, both cuffed and huddling under the overhang. Bayne shot a look toward Wade that managed to say, “thanks for the backup, asshole” and “don’t let the bunny die” all in one twitch of his eyebrows.
Wade fished his phone out of the muddy mess on the backseat and thumbed Zeppelin’s number. His hand was wet, rain and blood mixing into a sticky mess. The phone slipped twice before he managed to get it up to his ear.
Zeppelin picked up on the first ring, voice the calm of a guy who’d seen everything and regretted none of it. “What’s your status?”
“We’re in the back of a cruiser,” Wade said, voice pitched low. “Not a party bus. Four of us picked up outside the murder house. Alex passed out, might need med attention.”
A pause. He could practically hear Zeppelin’s jaw flex through the phone. “I’ll be there in five. Don’t escalate.”
A dry laugh threatened, but Wade swallowed it. “Too late. I already broke their cuffs and threatened to rip the deputy’s arm off.”
Wade hung up as Alex blinked, eyes rolling a little before finally focusing on Wade. The tension eased just a notch, but he didn’t let go. Not with his mate so off-balance.
“Did we get caught?” Alex slurred, eyes blinking at different speeds.
“Not as Olympic trespassers, no. Just as garden-variety idiots,” Wade replied, knuckling a clump of wet hair off Alex’s forehead. “You fainted like a Victorian maiden. Want smelling salts or is water good enough?”
Alex’s lips twitched, then he groaned, turning his face against Wade’s chest. “Kill me now.”
“Sorry, I don’t do mercy killings in police cars. Departmental policy.” He ran a hand up and down Alex’s arm, feeling the tremor tapering off. “Hang tight, honey bunny. Zeppelin’s inbound.”
Wade squinted through the wet glass as Zeppelin strode up the sidewalk, jacket clinging wet to his arms, his stride the kind that parted trouble like Moses with an attitude problem.
The alpha ducked down, peering into the car. The hard lines around his mouth softened when he saw Wade holding Alex.
“Anyone hurt?” Zeppelin asked.
“He cut himself on a nail,” Wade replied, keeping his tone low and gentle. “Alex just got a little overwhelmed and passed out when we were shoved into the cruiser. Nothing we can’t handle, boss. Just need to get my mate home.”
Zeppelin’s gaze cooled as he turned to the cops. “Evening, deputies. I’d like to clarify what’s going on here before anyone loses their job for a wrongful arrest.”
Everyone moved to stand under the awning, but despite the downpour, Wade could hear them with his heightened senses.
“If you’d shown up two minutes earlier, you’d have caught the guys actually committing a felony,” Bayne said as if he was born with confrontation embedded in his DNA. “Drug deal not ten feet away from where we’re standing.”
“Pretty steep prices if you ask me,” Liam chimed in with a low whistle. “Dude got ripped off.”
If Wade had been able to pick up their scents, he would’ve tracked them down later. But the heavy ozone smell and the winds made it impossible.
Roderick’s jaw worked. “You’re saying there was a drug deal happening in that backyard?”
Bayne rolled his eyes skyward. “Welcome to the conversation. They played you, man. Even left by the alley, while you were circling the front. Maybe next time, check all the exits? You want to search us for drugs, go right ahead, but we never even went inside the house.”
Liam stood behind him, arms folded impressively even while still cuffed. “We were cutting through. Didn’t realize trespassing was a felony now.”
Now Griffin looked interested. “Explain how you ended up in the backyard again?”
Liam did his best innocent lamb routine, which, on a wolf his size, was a little like putting lipstick on a crocodile. “We were taking a shortcut to our truck. House is empty. Nobody there. Then the storm hit, and next thing we know, deputies are screaming about B&E.”
Zeppelin took a step forward, voice smooth. “I’ll make sure my pack answers all your follow-up questions, Deputy Roderick. But right now, I’m getting them home before Wade’s mate faints again.”
Roderick studied them, weighing options, maybe mentally tabulating how many forms he’d have to fill out if he tried to detain them any longer. “We’ll have questions. Don’t leave town. And if any evidence comes up connecting you to what happened at that house, you’ll be the first ones we talk to.”
Bayne managed something like a salute. “If your next question is how to spell my last name, just ask. Happy to help.”
Bayne turned toward Wade and Alex. “Ready to get outta here?”
“Yeah,” Wade said, his hand automatically resettling around Alex’s waist as if someone might run up and try to take his mate. “We’re done here.”
Zeppelin didn’t even look back at the deputies. He gave Griffin a slow nod, like they’d had an actual conversation, then gestured for his men to get moving.
Wade carried Alex out of the cruiser, ignoring the cold rain that immediately started soaking through his jacket. Not that it mattered. He’d been wet before, and he’d be wet again. Alex shivered against him, smaller, softer, and still not all the way back from the edge.
They didn’t talk as they cut through the cluster of houses, just kept moving.
Wade’s truck was parked a block down, hidden under a wet blanket of darkness.
The rain hit harder here, bouncing off the metal roof and running down the sides in thick sheets.
By the time Wade opened the passenger door for his mate, Alex was shivering so badly he nearly couldn’t buckle the seatbelt.
Wade shrugged out of his jacket, wrapped it around his mate’s shoulders, and then jumped in, starting the truck. “Heat’s coming up. Hang tight.”
Alex’s lips barely moved, but he nodded, eyes fixed on the empty dash like he couldn’t look anywhere but straight ahead.
Wade didn’t blame him. After the night Alex just had, staring at nothing probably felt safer than risking what the future might bring.
Inside the truck, warmth kicked in quick, the vents blasting air that slowly replaced the chill that had set in. Wade watched as color returned to his mate’s face, little by little. “Want water?” He held out Griffin’s bottle, which Alex took with hands that trembled.
He watched Alex drink, each swallow a little steadier. Still, the guy was so quiet Wade wanted to check for a pulse. But he recognized the signs: freeze mode, survival, keep your head down until the predators look away.
“Good job back there,” Wade finally said. “You did great.”
Alex blinked. “I passed out.”
“That’s a strategy, not a failure.” Wade shrugged, eyeing the road as he put the truck in gear. “Kind of wish I’d thought of it myself. Cops probably would’ve left us alone if I’d started drooling on myself.”
A snort in the darkness. Wade counted it as a win.
He drove slowly, no need to risk hydroplaning into a mailbox now that the adrenaline had tapered off. The drive home was nothing but whispers of rain and the hum of wheels, a silence that felt heavy without being oppressive.
They reached the house, headlights tossing shadows across the garage. Wade killed the engine and glanced over. Alex still hadn’t moved, but his breathing was even now, the panic faded.
Rain hammered the roof, a relentless pounding. Wade took a beat, figuring the best way to get his mate inside without adding hypothermia to their growing list of problems.
“Can you walk?” he asked.
Alex nodded but didn’t argue when Wade lifted him out of the passenger seat and into his arms. Wade ducked his head down, using his own body to shield Alex from the monsoon currently trying to drown both of them.
Inside, the house was quiet, the aftermath behind them for now. Wade toed the door closed behind them, half carrying, half dragging Alex up the stairs.
“Let’s get you dry,” he muttered, more to himself than his mate.
In the bathroom, he grabbed a stack of clean towels and started working on Alex, peeling off the soaked jacket and shirt.
Water beaded along Alex’s collarbone, cold to the touch.
Wade’s hands moved quickly but gently, running the towel through Alex’s hair and down his arms.
“Sit,” Wade said, pointing at the edge of the mattress. “I’ll get you something not sopping wet.”
He rifled through his own drawers before remembering the bundle of clothes Sasha had left by the door. Good enough. He dug out a long-sleeve tee and a pair of pajama pants in an orange so bright it could qualify as a warning signal.
Alex watched him with silent, wide eyes, not protesting as Wade stripped off the rest of his wet clothes and replaced them with warm ones. The collar still shone like a steel noose around his mate’s neck, and Wade wanted to rip it off with his bare hands.
Instead, he reached out, brushing a thumb over the mark on Alex’s neck where the collar dug in.
“Feel better?” Wade asked as Alex padded barefoot to the bed and sat on the edge.
His mate nodded “Thanks. Sorry about earlier.” He hunched his shoulders, looking ashamed to still be alive. “I don’t usually faint. Not my best moment.”
“Let’s be honest, you’ve had worse.” Wade sat beside him, propping his feet on the coffee table. The rain hammered the roof, a steady, grounding drumbeat. “Remember, that was three wolves, two armed deputies, and one bunny in a police car built for humiliation. Could’ve been uglier.”
Alex hid a smile. “Glad you snapped me out of it.”
“I’d do worse for you,” Wade admitted. “Just try to avoid giving me heart attacks in the future, okay?”
“I owe you one,” Alex said, lips quirked. “Maybe two. You didn’t have to haul me around all night.”
“I’m contractually obligated,” Wade replied. “It’s in the mate bylaws, somewhere after ‘don’t let mate die’ and before ‘share snacks when asked.’”
Alex laughed, the sound thin but real. “You clearly read the fine print.”
Wade bent closer, fingers itching for that first touch. Not the casual grab-and-drag of earlier but something real. Deliberate. He traced one knuckle lightly along Alex’s jaw. “You did good, back there. Most people would have peed themselves.”
“Almost did,” Alex said. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Been there myself. Except I was twelve and the sheriff was bigger than God.”
Alex eyed him then looked away, heat crawling up under his skin. “So, what happens now?”
Wade cupped Alex’s face and leaned close, letting their breaths mingle. “Now you let me be the guy who keeps you out of trouble,” he murmured. “And you kiss me, so I know this isn’t just a stress dream.”
Their lips met, soft at first, equal parts caution and curiosity. Alex’s lips were warm, as real as anything Wade had ever tasted. The first brush was over in a heartbeat, but the second lingered, letting Alex melt into the space between.
Wade deepened it, the taste of clean skin and rain and something stubborn edged with need. Their bodies pressed together, sharing heat and comfort and the relief of not being arrested. Would’ve been hard as fuck to kiss his mate between bars.
Snagging Alex by the waist, he tugged him up into his lap, this time holding him close and carefully.
Alex’s hands slid around Wade’s neck, careful of the collar, and pulled him back for more.
This was it. Not drama, not the demon nightmare or the assholes in the drug house, but this. Hands on skin. Relief in every touch.
Wade broke away first, just long enough to suck in a breath and let Alex catch up. His mate looked at him, eyes bright and shining despite the exhaustion hovering just out of view. “You taste better than anything I’ve ever put in my mouth. And I eat a lot.”
Alex hit him with an honest-to-god giggle. “I’m not supposed to like that comment, but I do.”
“Good.” He kissed the tip of Alex’s nose.
The whole scene felt weirdly domestic, considering they’d spent the night dodging cops, drug dealers, and a demon who had their home marked with a pin on Google Maps.
“I could get used to that,” his mate joked.
“Get used to me,” Wade said, rubbing circles along Alex’s ribs. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He pressed one last kiss to Alex’s forehead, settling his mate against his chest, and reached for the covers. “Get some sleep, honey bunny. Tomorrow, we figure out how to get that thing off your neck and maybe piss off a few demons while we’re at it.”
Alex nodded, eyelids heavy. “Sounds like a plan.”
Settling in, Wade wrapped them both in the thick comforter, letting the quiet night dissolve everything else. He let himself drift with Alex, warm and sure, and for the first time in decades, he actually felt like he’d survived something worth fighting for.