Page 13 of Crescent Warrior

“And where the fuck has that gotten us?” Alex snapped. “Nowhere closer to the end goal, I can tell you that. Selene is still there, with that animal touching her, and Jason isn’t king, is he?”

“He has a plan,” Michael said simply, and Alex wondered how the fuck he could have so much faith in him. Sure, Alex trusted Jason because he had no reason not to, but he still questioned him sometimes. Michael, on the other hand, seemed to follow him blindly.

Except with Dani.

When they captured Danielle, keeping her away from the pack so they could draw out Damen and his brother to kill them, Michael tried to help her escape. Since Alex had been doing the same thing, trying to get her free without Jason finding out, he didn’t exactly have a leg to stand on, but he found it odd that Michael would do anything at all. He didn’t even know her.

“Hey,” Alex murmured, keeping his voice low in case Jason was nearby, “I never got to ask you why you helped Dani.”

Michael’s brow dropped into a serious expression, and he shrugged. “I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

Alex kept his eyes on him, knowing that there was more to the story. “Have you seen someone get hurt before?”

Michael didn’t reply, not even bothering to look at him.

“Well, don’t gab my ear off.” Alex rolled his eyes, settling back on the sofa to search his features again for a long moment. “You ever get the feeling that we know each other?”

That made Michael look up, his green eyes clashing against Alex’s in a way that made him feel that zing of familiarity again. He gave him a slow, uncertain nod.

“Ever since I caught your scent for the first time, I’ve felt like I know you somehow,” Alex explained, shaking his head. “It’s already weird that we’re the only ones who can scent ourselves. And then, sometimes, when I look at you, it’s like you look like someone, but I just can’t put my finger on it.”

Another slow nod from Michael.

“My mom is from Italy. Where are your parents from?”

Michael shrugged, looking back down at his book. Alex rolled his eyes.

“Would be nice if we were cousins or something.” He yawned, turning on the sofa, plumping the pillow. “I don’t really have any family except for Selene’s. My mom… she’s not really altogether there, you know?”

He saw Michael watching him, but he settled back to lie down and stare at the ceiling. Michael offered him the bed multiple times, but he refused. Something about him made Alex feel protective. Even the way he seemed to blindly trust Jason.

“I know you don’t say much, bro,” Alex yawned widely again, “but if you ever want to talk, just let me know. I used to be a cop, so I can keep secrets with the best of ‘em.”

He turned, facing the cushions as he began to drift off to sleep. He heard Michael stand, but the instincts he relied on in life-or-death situations felt safe around him for some reason. When the lights flickered off, he heard Michael say in his gruff voice,

“Thanks.”

Cole’s fingers dug into the upholstery of his seat, glancing at his watch for the millionth time. He wished there was a way to speed up time.

“We’re about to land, sir,” the attendant called, an awkward smile plastered on his face.

Cole knew that he looked like an anxious lunatic, but really, it couldn’t be that bad. Feeling the pain in his jaw from where it was clenched tight, he sighed.

Or maybe it could be.

He had made an executive decision—even though he wasn’t exactly an executive—to join the pack in Minnesota before they all traveled to Greece together. He had never been there, not wanting to make his mate uncomfortable in her home.

She was very clear about her feelings but Gods damn it, it was about time he apologized in person. He needed to take this step for them. He needed her in his life, in whatever way she would have him.

Squeezing his eyes shut as the plane landed smoothly onto the runway, it wasn’t long before the door was being opened and the stairs rolled into place.

Fuck. It’s time.

Swallowing convulsively, he stood, smoothing his hands over his clothes. He had tried to dress well, donning a suit, which was something he almost never did, in the hopes of making a good impression on Hippolyta.

Maybe if she could see that he was different, that he was grown up and changed, she might be able to find it in her heart to forgive him for being the biggest asshole in the world.

While he sincerely doubted it, since his mate was too intelligent to be fooled by a suit, he made sure it accentuated his shoulders, something she always complimented him on. Practicing his smile on the flight attendant, another thing she had loved about him when he was younger, he was rewarded with an expression of mild fear.

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