Page 63 of Run Free

As he rolled to lay next to me, I curled up next to him and quickly fell to sleep without another word.

Gage

Chapter 27

Never in my wildest dreams could I have prepared myself for Clara. She was smart, funny, and a loaner with an aggressive side just like me. We had so much more in common than I had originally suspected and last night, or rather earlier this morning, had proven that once again. I was still uncomfortably hard just thinking about it.

She had been equally assertive and submissive. Although I was, or had been, a lone wolf, I still had Alpha blood flowing through my veins. I needed that balance she provided. Clara was exactly the woman I never knew I needed in my life, that piece of me I hadn’t realized was missing.

The sun was shining bright and she was still out cold, cuddled up in my arms. I didn’t want to wake her, but I knew we had a lot on our plate for the day. As it was, I’d let her sleep until after ten. She’d been so physically and emotionally spent she had practically passed out on me. I had worried for a few moments that I had hurt her, or taken things too far, until I heard her soft snores and happy cooing as she slept.

I kissed the top of her head, but she didn’t move.

“Sweetheart, you have to wake up now,” I said. She moaned and rolled to trap me to the bed. I rubbed her back. “Clara, angel, you have to get up.”

“I don’t want to,” she grumbled.

“I know, but we already missed breakfast with Lily and Thomas. We can’t miss lunch, too. It’s after ten,” I told her.

She groaned. Slowly and begrudgingly, she started to wake and then, like a zombie, she got up and headed straight for the bathroom. I heard the shower come on shortly after and it took everything in my power not to follow her in there. I knew we wouldn’t make it to lunch in an hour if I did. I could feel myself becoming addicted to Clara’s body and didn’t think it was possible to ever get enough of her.

When Clara came back out of the bathroom, she was wearing only a towel. Fighting the urge to rip it off her, I quickly ran past her, shutting the door behind me. A long, ice-cold shower helped me regain some control over myself.

We left the house just in time to meet Lily and Thomas at their place for lunch. Since Peyton was working the breakfast shift, she was able to get away and join us. We had all agreed quickly that the fewer people who knew of the Larkens plans, the better, but Peyton would play an important role in keeping the Alpha safe.

Half an hour into our meal, Peyton stood up and started to pace. “This can’t be right. I trust everyone at Kate’s, Thomas. They are Pack. You know them. There’s no way possible any of them would turn tail on you.”

“Pey, I know you’re upset, but we have to take this threat seriously. Gage has no reason to lie about what he heard,” Thomas reasoned.

“I didn’t even know who these people were, and I certainly didn’t want any part of some conspiracy,” I said.

“If you fully knew his past, Peyton, you wouldn’t doubt that,” Clara said.

It brought me joy to hear her standing up for me and believing what I’d overheard.

“But I personally know everyone that works there, and I’d vouch for any of them,” she insisted.

I tried to think through what I’d heard. “The old man said he had an insider to Kate’s Diner. So how can it not be someone working there?”

“I don’t know, but I’m telling you these are my friends. I trust them,” Peyton said.

“Suppliers?” Ruby asked.

“Huh?” Peyton and I both asked at the same time.

“If it’s poison, like you said, then maybe it’s not an actual worker. I mean, you have food suppliers that make deliveries, right?” she continued.

Peyton nodded. “Fresh produce is delivered every Saturday and Wednesday, but we use local farmers only, it’s all Collier vegetables. Kate buys bulk dry goods from the city. She and Wyatt make monthly trips for that stuff.” Her eyes grew wide. “Meats come in fresh on Tuesday, late afternoon. Thomas always arrives at four-thirty to beat the crowd. Like clockwork. I’ve only done dinner shift a few times, but even I know that Thomas eats a rare steak with baked potato and Kate’s famous bacon green beans every Tuesday.”

“Because the steak is fresh off the truck,” Thomas finished.

“That has to be it,” Ruby said. “But isn’t that Collier stock, too?”

“Yes,” Peyton said. “But the packaging plant here in Collier burnt down almost a year ago, so we use one two towns over. There are no Collier wolves working there that I’m aware of, but it is definitely possible there’re some Larkens as it’s much closer to their territory.”

“You have to order the steak, Thomas,” I said. “If you’re going to flush them out and catch this Jedidiah in the act, then we have to see this through. He said it wouldn’t kill you, only make you sick.”

“But I can’t afford to be in a weakened state, Gage. Not with the rest of his plan,” Thomas said, pointing out the obvious.

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