Page 3 of Fearless Bond

I cut the engine.

“Hey! Wait!”

He paused and looked back. His little face was scrunched up with fear and exhaustion.

I waved, climbed off the four-wheeler, and walked toward him on the uneven ground… and he began to run away. What had happened to him that he was more scared of a human alpha than a grizzly bear?

“For fuck’s sake, stop! You’ll freeze to death.”

Stupid fucking humans.He tumbled into the snow but still tried to crawl away from me. In a few strides, I stood above him.

“Will you just stop it?”

Shivering, he gaped at me as I offered him my hand. His lips were almost white.

“You don’t want to die, do you? Up. C’mon.”

He opened his mouth and closed it, then he took my offered hand and let himself be pulled up. He was barely holding ittogether. A pang of pity hit me when I met his terrified gaze. I sighed. He couldn’t be more than twenty—a small omega, weak and alone. No wonder he was scared of me.

I tried to soften my tone. “Name’s Barclay Black. I live on the edge of Beauville, that way. I’ll get you to my place and call a doctor, yeah?”

That was when his knees gave out under him.

One more hour and he really could have died out here. Hopefully, he didn’t have any severe frostbite since it was just a few degrees below freezing.

I scooped him up and carried him to the four-wheeler, where I wrapped him in the parka. He reached only to my shoulders. His scent, even weak, was distracting, making me swallow compulsively.

“Here. Take these.” I pulled off my thick gloves and offered them to him, but he didn’t take them.

“Your… h-h-hands will f-f-freeze,” he stammered.

“I got extra, see?” I pulled my thin liners out of my jacket pocket and showed him.

Except I had to help him put the gloves on because he was shaking so much he nearly dropped them.

“What’s your name?”

“Ca-Calvin.”

“Okay, Calvin. Can you hold on to me while we ride?”

He eyed the four-wheeler and looked at me helplessly. His chin trembled.

“You know what…” I lifted him and put him in front of me instead of on the back. He was pocket-sized and light as a feather. I could easily manipulate the handlebars with him between my thighs and arms. Then I grabbed the straps I normally used to tie bags to the saddle and tied him to my chest.

“Not too tight?”

He shook his head. He had stopped trembling, but that wasn’t necessarily good.

“It’ll be five minutes tops.”

I knew this forest like the back of my hand. I drove fast but avoided the biggest bumps so I wouldn’t jostle him too much. By the time I got home, he seemed to be asleep, his head lolling on his shoulders.

That was definitely not a good sign.

I parked in front of my front door and carried him inside, kicking the door shut behind me. The living room was the warmest place in the house. I laid him on the lounge chair by the fireplace, pulled out my phone, and called Hunter. Speaker on, I set the phone on the coffee table. It let out three long ringing tones while I searched for the fluffiest blanket.

Pick up, dammit!

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