Alpha Assignment (BL) Chapter 40 (Early Access) (Patreon)

“Can I… think about this for a moment?”

Remi nodded, hands tucked between his knees.

The proposition put forward from omega to alpha, over coffee and hot chocolate, horrified him. It wouldn’t help to show as much on his face, so he sipped his coffee and tried to mull it over. There were so many reasons to say ‘no’ and no gentle way to do it.

“You don’t like it, I can tell,” Remi mumbled.

Quinn sighed. “I’m not… excited about the idea.” Absolutely terrified by it.

“Please.” Puppy dog eyes pouted up at him. Hot chocolate forgotten on the side table.

Quinn said with a wince, “I don’t want you out after dark, not on Halloween. I’m sorry.” Not on any day, but at least the human holiday gave him a 24-hour-long excuse.

“I’ll be back before dark,” Remi promised. He rocked forward onto his knees, half-climbing into Quinn’s lap. “And if anyone asks me about my dress-up I’ll say I’m a werewolf!

“Please don’t.” Quinn put aside his coffee and grabbed Remi’s delicate shoulders. “If anyone asks you anything about Halloween, just say you don’t celebrate it.” He tried to sound stern, but didn’t feel it. All he felt was fear.

“So… I can go out?” A hesitant smile that only made Quinn want to senselessly agree fluttered at Remi’s plump lips.

Quinn grimaced. It went against everything his instincts were screaming at him, but refusing Remi his freedom went against every moral in his mind. There was a secret, too, something Remi wasn’t telling him.

“And… there’s no particular reason? You want to just… wander?”

Remi watched him for a moment, a strange look on his face. Maybe a little… guilty?

“I want to go outside,” he said simply.

“Alone?”

Remi nodded.

Quinn’s hands slid from Remi’s shoulders to his arms, squeezing in little pulses. Reassuring himself, centring himself, reminding his hands of the feel of Remi’s softness. He released him and sighed, forcing out pure petrification.

“I really appreciate you asking for my permission.” It shouldn’t be necessary, he was not Remi’s cult leader. Even less so now that they were mates, almost equals even in the werewolf world.

Remi frowned. “But you’re not going to give it.” He turned away, scooting back across the sofa. Quinn caught him again, clutching his hands.

He had no right to dictate where Remi could go, what he could do and when he did it. Freedom was all he wanted to give Remi, the freedom to live his life on his own terms. All Quinn could do was attempt to keep him safe as he did.

“Please keep your phone on you, and turned on,” he said in resignation. The phone could do little more than text and call, but as long as they had a constant line of communication, one that extended further than the bond was capable of reaching, Quinn had to find it within himself to be reasonable.

Remi nodded, both excited and uncertain.

“Do you know where it is?”

Remi froze, looked away, and answered, “I will do once I’ve had a look!”

Quinn sighed again.

Bundled up, phone tucked into his pocket, boots tied tight, Remi stepped out of the front door. Quinn clung to the frame to keep from following. A hundred questions bubbled inside of him. Where? Why? How long? How would he handle an unexpected human interaction? Would he be distracted by all the spooky decorations?

The neighbours’ houses were strung with handkerchief ghosts and cotton webbing, dotted with pumpkins carved and waiting to be lit, and sprayed with cartoon spiders and ghouls. Maybe not that scary in daylight, but Remi wouldn’t have seen anything like it before. Everything was a hazard, a possibility, a worry.

Quinn watched Remi walk to the end of the drive, look up and down the street, and take off to the left, the choice seemingly random. Long after Remi had walked out of view, Quinn stood and stared. His watch informed him that it had taken note of a workout that his heart was taking without the rest of his body.

It was five minutes before his resolve broke and he sent a check-in text. Remi responded almost immediately. If he hadn’t, Quinn would have thrown himself down the street, possibly on all fours. Instead, he managed to finally shut the front door. Then he sent another text, and received another response.

Remi’s messages were clumsily typed, and pretty short, but volleyed back to Quinn quick enough to just about keep him in check.

He was supposed to be working, but all he managed was mouse wiggling. That, and pacing around the house like a caged animal. He wished he’d followed Remi, but knew he’d have hated himself if he had. Remi was an adult, he was capable, he had spent time around humans and was still cautious around them… but why did he want to wander outside alone?

The original request was permission to take a walk, but how long did a walk need to take?

Hours passed, and although Remi continued to text back, always assuring that he was fine, Quinn was shaking from the strain of holding back his need to chase. To see his mate with his own eyes. Feel him with his own hands. The stress was going to combust inside of him soon, but that was preferable to forcing Remi to his will, following him around like his master. He tried not to tear his own hair out in the wait.

Footsteps passing were always parents and children, sometimes already costumed, and never the little feet he wanted to hear. The noise began to infuriate him.

Nerves fried to splinters, the ring of the doorbell almost stung. Quinn tore through the living room, almost enough to give his feet carpet burn, and threw the front door open violently.

On the doorstep stood two people:

One tiny omega with fluffy, flicking hair that bounced in a topknot, earth-toned wool clothes, and eyes like the night.

One man hunched over him, incapable of standing on his own, and soaked in blood. It was transferring to Remi as it continued to flow, with drips leading a trail up the driveway. He was beaten, bruised, and his skin was split in numerous places. Only one eye was open, and it cringed as it fought to stay that way.

The guilty look had returned to Remi’s face, and Quinn knew his held horror.

“Inside. Now.”