Page 35 of Claiming Xan
“Here.” The Alpha—Huxley—offered me a hand. I hesitated, but took it, and he helped me to my feet. Almost immediately, my wounded leg buckled and Huxley had to wrap my arm around his neck to keep me upright. His frown formed grooves in his forehead. “You’re hurt. What happened?”
I grimaced. “Was scavenging in someone’s trash can.” I didn’t look at Huxley, too ashamed to meet his gaze. “I got caught. He had a shotgun. I got lucky. The bullet only clipped me and I was able to get away, but…”
“Scavenging?” Huxley repeated.
“I can’t hunt. What else was I supposed to do?” I snapped, a growl to my voice.
“Easy,” he murmured. “I’m just surprised, is all. C’mon, let’s go inside and get you patched up. Chance is making dinner, so you’ll be eating good tonight.” He cracked a grin. “My mate can cook.”
With my arm looped around his neck and his arm wrapped around my torso, we limped back to his home nestled in the woods. It was idyllic, almost, like the perfect little set-up. I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy as we went up the porch steps and into the house.
I almost groaned at the heavenly scents that bombarded my nose, and suddenly, that crusty burger and soggy fries I’d eaten earlier didn’t exist. I was starving, and my stomach let out a loud rumble.
Huxley chuckled softly, but said nothing. He guided me down the hall to a bathroom. Shutting the door behind us for privacy, he had me brace my hands on the counter while he worked my pants down so that he could clean my wound.
I hissed as the antiseptic he used stung and sizzled. My hands fisted over the smooth counter, and I looked up into the mirror—and promptly wished I hadn’t.
Ugh, I looked like a homeless man. Like a stray they’d picked up off the street, bedraggled and grungy. My hair was greasy and my face and arms were dirty. My facial hair was grown out and scraggly. Not to mention I hadn’t brushed my teeth since before Xan’s heat.
Another pang shot through my heart. Xan… No. Not right now. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something else. Like the happy chatter and the sound of a kid’s show playing on the TV in the living room. A soft squeal rang out, followed by laughter and then, “Dad! He hit me!”
“How many kids do you have?” I asked, hoping to take my mind off the pain as Huxley stitched up my bullet wound.
“Two,” he replied easily. “Dresden and Charlie. They’re my everything. Do you have children?”
I frowned and looked down at my hands. I couldn’t help but think of the newborns stolen away from Sky at birth, to beturned into some sort of test-tube experiments. Slowly, I shook my head.
My stomach chose that moment to let out a warbling growl. “Sorry…” I grimaced and placed a hand on my belly, as if that might quell the gnawing ache. “I’m so hungry.”
“I think it’s almost dinner time,” Huxley assured me. He finished up, then washed his hands. I pulled my pants back up and took the couple of painkillers he handed me from the cabinet behind the mirror with a Dixie cup of water.
He helped me to the kitchen, where I eased down in one of the chairs at the table. He was right; his mate was just finishing up with dinner, and when Chance called out, “Dinnertime!” the kids came running, clambering up onto their seats like they were just as hungry as me, though I doubted it.
Charlotte, the young pup that had greeted me in the woods, had a head of dark curls and big brown eyes, while her brother was older by a few years, red-headed and freckled with a gap-toothed smile. They both beamed at me as Chance and Huxley began dishing out food.
I averted my gaze, and when Huxley set a large bowl of beef stew and a chunk of freshly-baked bread in front of me? I couldn’t help myself. I ate like a man starved. God, I was so damn hungry.
I finished before everyone else. The food sat like a lead weight on my stomach, but it didn’t stop me from wanting more, even if it meant I would probably get sick.
“How long have you been out there?” Chance asked softly once the kids had slithered out of their seats to go watch TV and it was just us adults at the table.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “A week? Two? It’s all blurred together.” I frowned, remembering something. Huxley called me by name. “How did you know who I was?”
Chance and Huxley exchanged a glance. “We’re members of Rubydawn, technically, but we live on the very outskirts of pack territory, for personal reasons. We’ve gotten a couple of calls, telling us to keep our eyes out for you.”
“Right.” I growled and sank down in my seat, hugging my arms to my chest. “Probably warning you of the unhinged Alpha lurking in the woods.”
“People make mistakes,” Huxley murmured. “Gracie’s aware that she reacted out of anger, and not how a pack Alpha should have. Things have been tense since you and Xan left.”
My head snapped up, my gaze locking on Huxley. Inside of me, my wolf bristled. “Xan left?” I demanded.
He nodded. “That’s what Gracie told me. They got into a fight and Xan packed a bag and drove off. He hasn’t been back since.”
I didn’t know what I expected, but that wasn’t it. My chest ached. “Shit.” This was all my fault. If I’d just kept my dick in my pants… If I’d just said no to Xan’s proposal… I reached up and touched the mark on my neck, which gave a strange twinge. “Do you know where he is?”
Another exchanged glance. “Yes.”
I sat up straighter in my seat. They did? “Can you take me there? Now?” I all but demanded.
