Page 34 of Leave Me
“From everyone.”
Chapter twenty-three
Fowler
Riley was presenting. Riley was an omega. Riley is going into heat. Riley might be my mate.The thoughts ran on repeat in my head, but my wolf only had one thought:
Protect.
We were on the same page as my instincts kicked in, escorting Riley out of the gym to the parking lot. Even when I saw myself as his protector in school, I always knew Riley was a strong-willed and capable person. He was smart, funny, sweet—not just his smell—and kind to a fault.
Riley thought he might be endangered by other shifters, and he was, but I saw danger from every corner. Betas and other omegas weren’t going to be clamoring over his scent, and I had to assume that was why Ricky and Rel had seemed unaffected at The Bar. Or he might not have been fully presenting yet. Uncle Clark and Gramps were Alphas, and they hadn’t seemed to notice his scent at the funeral.
So, it was only me who scented him and wanted him a couple of days before.
The sound of two bikes needing a tune-up rumbled closer, and I handed Riley my helmet. I couldn’t be sure they were a threat, but my wolf said otherwise.
Danger.
Protect!
Two large men pulled into the lot, and I recognized their orange hair. In school, they’d been bullies, and in adulthood… I could only imagine they were even worse. The MacTaryn twins weren’t wearing head protection, but they’d always been stupid.
Bear shifters thought they were at the top of the food chain, but they were bad at organizing and keeping their omegas alive. That would be scary enough to have Riley and his smell anywhere near them, but they were also Alphas.
Riley shivered beside me and clutched my arm, whimpering into my neck. “Let’s get out of here.”
Mine.
Agreeing with my wolf, I stepped between Riley and the twins. “Put the helmet on,” I growled under my breath, hoping he could hear me over the dual engines as they stopped on the other side of Kono’s bike.
Both men settled their bikes on kickstands, feral looks on their faces as they scented the air. Shit, they knew about Riley.
Protect!
“Fowler?”
Without taking my eyes off the bears, I pushed Riley towards my bike. Digging the key out of my pocket, I held it behind me. “Start the engine, Ri.”
“I’m not leaving without you,” Riley whispered harshly, holding my hand over the keys.
Moving to keep Riley at my back as the twins got off their bikes and stepped out to the open area behind them, I squeezed his hand. “You will. I’ll find you as soon as I can.”
Zac and Zed took a step in our direction, and I remembered how they were the only classmates I’d feared could hurt me. Their matching looks of open hunger for my best friend were creepy, especially considering how homophobic they were as teens. But I didn’t fear them anymore.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kono ushering in a few human stragglers and closing the gym doors. Perfect.
One of the twins moved to my left like they were trying to split my focus, but I saw the twitch in the hand of the one on my right. He was going to strike first.
As a trans man in a big city, I hadn’t shifted in years, but I could never resist helping Riley when he was in danger…
Transforming my hand, my bones cracked into a paw with red fur and razor-sharp claws. It hurt, as I hadn’t shifted in months, but I finished shifting to my wrist in the nick of time.
Swiping at whichever brother jumped me first, he jumped back, and I only caught the fabric of his shirt sleeve.
Kill!
My wolf had no patience for stalling and running away. He wanted me to eliminate the threat to my…
