Alpha Conway

Part 22

PART 22

Their hotel room was homey, it smelled of lilac and was draped with the most intricate pearl curtains. It was loved, Aeris could tell. Chase held the door open for the smaller as they walked in, shopping bags covering their arms.

Though the alpha carried the most, the male handling them with ease as he sat them near the door. It had been his idea to do some shopping, Aeris was surprised by what that entailed. They bought clothes, new phones, groceries, toiletries, disguises, basically the works.

Aeris set his own bags down on the bed, the male flopping unceremoniously on top as Chase locked and bolted the door shut. The town was just starting to stir and Chase didn't exactly want their presence to be known. They would lay low and hopefully regroup with any of the remaining survivors of his pack.

If there were any.

It was a seldom thought, but he knew the very real possibility.

His eyes shifted to Aeris as the male ruffled
through one of the bags, the small male pulling out a fuzzy light blue onesie. Chase had forgotten he had even got him that one-

"It's so fuzzy..." Aeris gleamed, crushing the article against his small chest in somewhat of an embrace.

"It looks like pajamas for a toddler," Chase deadpanned, the male frowning the instant the small boy looked a bit hurt.

Quickly changing the subject, he changed into his own plaid pajama pants. The male not bothering with a top as he joined the smaller male atop the comfortable mattress. His eyes closing almost immediately.

He didn't hear anything for the rest of the night.

Aeris' slight shuffling of clothes and bags falling on deft ears as the alpha took a much needed deep, replenishing slumber. Aeris tracing invisible lines in his chest as he slept, the smaller male too anxious to even think about sleep.

-

The morning was bright and carried the sweet scent of freshly baked waffles, Aeris groaning in his sleep at the delicious scent. There was a bit of rustling and the smell got stronger, the brunette finally opening his eyes to see what the tantalizing scent was.

Chase had gotten waffles and a plethora of other breakfast foods. The male currently eating them as he sat at the coffee table, eyes scanning the newspaper as he watched the local news station. His brows furrowed in what appeared to be, deep thought.

The shorter boy was hesitant to come over but he did anyway, his hunger getting the best of him.

Aeris watched the older in adoration as he shoved two waffles in his mouth, then two more after that, his appetite had skyrocketed. Though that was normal when adult wolves had to recover from any kind of injury, but his main problem was all of the blood lost in that dungeon.

Chase scratched his chin, his eyes wandering back to the local news that was playing on the TV, an endless repetition of sad stories one after another.

Aeris stood in front of the food, the brunette timidly trying to decide what to eat.

He settled on waffles, bacon, and some fruits.

Waddling over to the table to join Chase, he gasped as the burly male pulled him into his lap, the boy letting out a whine as a faint blush covered his cheeks, "Chase..."

"It's not fair... he got to touch you as much as he wanted," the male rasped, his hand falling to Aeris' thigh.

The mention of 'he' had the boy flinching on the spot, his time in that castle was horrible and he was currently trying to lock those deplorable memories away in the vault, the same vault that held everything that happened back then-

Chase frowned at the boys' expression, sliding his hand down to gently rub his back, comforting him. Aeris still hadn't told him exactly what happened while he was locked up, and Chase was still mad at himself for not being able to help him.

He should kill Damien.

Or at least brutally maim him.

Aeris took a moment to calm himself once more and began to eat, Chase watching him with pure interest as the brunette gazed at the TV then back down at his food, taking little bites here and there.

It was like watching a rabbit eat.

Chase smiled at that and shifted his own gaze back to the television, but immediately frowned at what was shown.

"Entire community burned to the ground after mysterious incident," the blonde reporter announced, "Homes are reduced to ash and rubble and it is seemingly a ghost town. The police are working with local forest rangers to figure out who must have committed this travesty..."

Aeris felt Chase stiffen under him as the news story continued to roll, everything was gone. Sitting down his fork, the brunette watched in silence as they showed more pictures of burnt homes, forestry, but no actual bodies.

And that itself was a major relief.

But he didn't dare speak to the blonde as he watched him witness the horrible images of his former home play over and over in complete silence. An almost unnerving feeling creeping up the back of the brunette's neck.

Chase didn't speak until they had moved on to another story, the male's voice gruff and agitated, "We have to find the rest."

The alpha got up so abruptly almost knocking Aeris to the floor, the smaller quickly hopping up so he wouldn't cascade to the floor.

Chase didn't say much else as he grabbed his jacket from the bedside, shrugged it on, his eyebrows furrowed as he grabbed his phone.

"Stay in here, don't let anyone in," The alpha ordered the younger, and with that, he was gone.