Page 78 of Claimed By Blood

I expected to return to Samuel’s hideout, but we pull into a hotel after what can’t be more than an hour of driving.

“Why have we stopped?” I ask, confused.

“It’s their protocol,” Silas mutters, putting down his phone. “Samuel’s people don’t want to risk anything coming back to them. We’ve been given orders to find a place to crash and wait until tomorrow evening. The others are doing the same thing in a different town.”

“Sensible,” I mutter, but at the same time, I hate the idea of splitting up. I can practically feel Vane and Draven’s absence.

Gideon scoffs, but keeps his thoughts to himself.

Finn gets out of the car the second we stop, as if he can’t wait to escape the toxic atmosphere. Gideon sighs, rubbing his eyes before following him. The rest of us sit in the car as the door slams behind the alpha.

“What’s going on between them?” I whisper.

Silas rolls his eyes. “If we knew, we could fix it.”

“Finn is soangry,” I mutter.

It wouldn’t disturb me so much if I couldn’t feel how unlike him it was down our bond.

Frost shakes his head in exasperation. “Ninety percent of the time, when something like this happens, it’s because Gid is fighting his instincts and Finn has him sorted out by the next morning.”

“What about when it’s Finn fightinghisinstincts?” I ask.

Silas turns to face me, his stormy blue eyes flicking over me. “That hasn’t happened before. Usually, Finn is a bit more understanding of Gid’s… baggage. Omegas are naturally forgiving.”

Scoffing, because to me that sounds an awful lot like something made up to give alphas the right to be dicks to omegas guilt free, I run my hand through my hair.

The only reason I haven’t pounced on Gideon for how Finn is reacting is because he doesn’t seem like he expects Finn to just get over himself.

If anything, the alpha is giving his omega a kind of apologetic space.

“I’m not sure waiting for Finn is going to work this time,” Frost mutters, shoving open the door. “Until we figure it out, the plan is the same: give them space and listen if they ask for it, but otherwise let them work it out for themselves.”

Reluctantly, I follow him out into the cold, grimacing at the state of the place we’ve pulled into. It’s a fairly bland, large chain hotel, but it’s definitely seen better days. Part of the sign isn’t illuminated, and beyond the glass doors, the paint on the front desk is peeling. Thanks to the late hour, the receptionist is asleep, snoring with her mouth wide open.

Gideon is already approaching her, and I grimace at how much barely leashed tension is contained in the aggressive tilt of his shoulders as he pushes inside.

Poor woman.

Silas heads inside after him, probably to smooth things over with the rudely awoken receptionist, and Frosts stands by the door, keeping an eye on them without going inside.

Abandoning the mortal to deal with the pissed off alpha, I turn instead to Finn, who’s leaning against the wall a little way away.

“You okay?” I whisper, tugging him into my arms.

All the stiffness in his body seems to evaporate at the contact, and he makes a tiny strangled sound of exasperation in the back of his throat.

“I’m okay,” he lies.

I know it’s a lie because the bond is screaming his hurt and anger at me.

“What happened?”

God, it’s hard to keep my voice level and soft rather than demand it from him. But I get the feeling that Finn has had enough of people demanding and ordering him around.

Finn sighs, leaning back against the wall and hugging me against his chest.

“The same bullshit that always happens. I just don’t have the energy to pretend itdidn’tthis time.”

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