Midnight River Shorts

Steven and Thomas

Thomas's POV

I hate this Pack. I hate being here. I hate working here. I hate it all.

Thomas? Steven links me.

What's up? I reply.

We have orders. He sighs heavily.

Fuck. I groan to myself. Be right there, meet you out front. I reply.

I meet him in front of the Pack House. "Where are we going?" I ask, walking with him to his car.

"To the city." He pulls up an address on his phone.

We make our way to his car and climb in. Our ride is a silent one. We can't talk freely. Ever. Only in our Pack Link, and even then, we have to be careful. There are cameras and microphones everywhere. Our phones are bugged. Our living spaces are fitted with cameras and microphones. Even our personal cars are filled with cameras and microphones. Alpha Sands is obsessive and doesn't want any hint of going against his wishes.

We get to the address and get to the door. I can hear someone is inside. I test the knob and it opens. I look at Steven in surprise. He looks just as surprised as me.

We sneak inside, and I can hear someone's panicked heartbeat racing and the shower curtain in the bathroom slide closed.

Why are we here? I look at my secret Mate.

He frowns and looks around, trying to make sense of why we were sent here. "Shit." He whispers.

"What?" I say, just outside the bathroom.

"This is Ethan's Mate's place." He looks at me with clear panic on his face.

"Well, fuck me, then. He couldn't have told us?!" I groan. Granted, we haven't seen Ethan in years, but if Alpha Sands sent us here, he knew whose place this is.

"We need to leave. Now." He says, his panic building.

I walk back to him. "Agreed. Whoever it is, they've likely contacted him."

We sprint back out of the apartment and down to the car. I take his phone and drop it in the car with mine, then I take his hand and tug him down an alleyway. Away from the car. Away from Alpha Sands' cameras and microphones.

"Steven." I whisper. "Steven, look at me. You're okay."

His watery eyes lock onto mine. His frame trembles. He's scared.

"You're safe, Babe." I whisper, looking into his eyes. "We're okay."

His breathing slowly returns to normal. His tears slowly roll down his face. "I hate this Pack." He whispers.

"Me too, Baby." I hold him close. "Me too."

"I don't want to go back." He trembles.

"I know." I squeeze him. "I don't want to either. But we have to. You know what they'll do if we don't." I say softly, as I inhale his wonderful scent.

"Hunt us down and kill us." He mutters.

"Right." I whisper. "I wish we were in any other Pack but this one."

"Me, too." He whimpers.

"Are you ready to go?" I ask gently.

He nods silently, sniffling heavily. "Yeah."

I kiss his forehead, trying to pour as much love as I can into that kiss.

We've been Mates for years, but we've never completed our Bond. We've been too scared to. Our Pack would have either cast us out or killed us in front of the other.