Page 20 of Hayden's Haven
The second the cold air struck Hayden’s body, he shifted and ran. Giving in to his wolf’s demands would ease the stress, and Damien would certainly follow. The alpha, above the rest of the pack, always had an insatiable need to run. Probably all that pent up alpha energy that couldn’t find a release through sex or fighting. Their wolves were smart animals, but they still were slaves to their more primal needs. Hayden’s brother and family were proof of that.
After Hayden ran for several miles, Damien cut him off. Hayden shifted. “What the fuck, Damien?”
“Talk.”
Not a man of a lot of words, his alpha. “Nothing to talk about. It was a tougher mission than usual. Callen was supposed to lead the men away while I got the women to the meeting point. Nothing went according to plan, but we’re here. Callen has Kate and you have your new doctor.”
“And what do you have, Hayden?”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I can see it in your body language and the fact that you’ve barely said a word since returning.”
“We’ve only been back an hour.”
“And in that hour, you’ve growled upon entering my house, barely nodded hello to Tess and Anna, and then growled at Blade for some reason I can’t even fathom because for once he wasn’t being a jerk. On top of that, you totally ignored Abbie when she waved to you from across the compound.”
He hadn’t thought Damien had been watching. Not that it mattered. Hayden hadn’t made any promises to Abbie, not really. That explained why she had waved to him. He had asked her out before leaving with Callen to look for one Dr. Evans, Dr.MilaEvans, the woman who had grabbed hold of his dreams and his soul as surely as if she had grabbed hold of his cock. Great, one more fucking image to add to the collection haunting him. Except this was one he wanted to explore, with her.
“Whatever’s bothering you, don’t take it out on Abbie.”
Hayden had completely forgotten about Abbie. They were supposed to go down to the lake when he returned.Shit.
“It’s been a rough few weeks, Damien. Don’t read into it.”
Damien sighed, as he was prone to do when he was frustrated and forcing himself to be patient. “I spoke with Callen, briefly. He said he got cut off by U.S. ground troops. Any idea what they’re doing up by Medicine Bow or where they’re headed?”
“I didn’t see them. I had to contend with shifters following us.”
“From which pack?”
“No clue. Lone wolves maybe, banding together, forming their own pack.”
“Just what we don’t need. Good thing you stole a car. No way for them to track your scent here. And what happened to Dr. Evans? She’s pretty banged up.”
If it were any other shifter, Hayden would take that as an accusation. Damien knew how easily an op could go sideways. Then again, Mila’s injuries had been more than an op gone wrong.
“I screwed up. Performed a wider perimeter than I should have. One slipped through.”
“She’ll heal.”
“She should have healed by now. I didn’t even manage to accurately assess her injuries afterward. Don’t send me out on any other missions, Damien. I’m no good at it.”
“You got them back alive, Hayden. That’s what matters.”
“Tell that to Dr. Evans. Last night, after I returned with the car, I listened to her crying out in her sleep all fucking night long. If I could help her forget what happened to her, I would, but I can’t.”
“Is that why you’re sulking? You feel guilty over what happened? You expect too much of yourself. The mission was a success. You got Dr. Evans back here,andyou managed to find Kate, too. I’d say it was better than a success. More like a fucking miracle.”
“Kate found us. And I’m not sulking.” He was, but admitting it out loud wasn’t something he’d do, not to Damien who had managed to work through what had happened to Tess without taking it out on the world. Maybe that was because she’d taken to Damien from the start. Mila had rejected Hayden.
“Tell me what to do, Hayden.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re my second, the one I always go to for advice. I have this friend who’s punishing himself for something that was out of his control, and I don’t know how to help him. And I suspect he’s hiding something more from me.”
“I’m loyal to you, Damien.”
